A History of St. Stephen the Martyr Catholic
Church
Shortly after the announcement that St. Marguerite d'Youville,
the first mission of St. John Neumann, was to become a parish, Archbishop
John F. Donoghue also announced a second mission was to be formed
from St. John Neumann Parish. A search for suitable property began
immediately; through the grace of God, 15.7 acres located at the northeast
corner of Wydella Rd., and Rockbridge Rd. was purchased on September
20, 1995.
On September 17, 1996, at 9:00 a.m. the first Mass was celebrated
at Parkview High School Cafeteria on Cole Drive by the pastor, Fr.
Jim Fennessy, assisted by Deacons Evelio Garcia-Carreras and Gary
Womack. Approximately 300 parishioners and guests attended. It was
after the first Mass that the name of St. Stephen the Martyr was
selected by those present and later approved by the Archbishop.
For the first four months, only one Sunday Mass was celebrated
each week. In January of 1996, a second Mass was added to allow
for the needs of our growing community. Depending on the circumstances
and availability, Holy Day Masses were celebrated at Horis Ward
Funeral Home in Mountain Park, at the rectory, or at St. John Neumann
Church.
The Religious Education Family Program was started by Mindy Crean
in October, 1995. In September, 1996, the Family Program was supplemented
by regular religious education classes headed by Kathleen Jordan,
and were held between the two Masses (8:30 and 11:00 a.m.). Prior
to a large part of the rectory basement being finished, groups were
now able to meet there.
Fr. Paddy Donaghey was assigned as a parochial
vicar to St. John Neumann in June, 1996. He immediately became the
priest in residence (along with Isabella, his cat). Currently there
are about 570 registered families with approximately 700 additional
families who live in the St. Stephen boundaries. Archbishop John
F. Donoghue was the principle celebrant at the first Confirmation
Mass on Sunday, April 19, 1997. Fr. Jim Fennessy and Fr. Paddy Donaghey
concelebrated this Mass with the Archishop. Eleven students and
one adult received the Sacrament of Confirmation. Fr. Paddy presided
at the first First Holy Communion on Sunday, May 11, 1997. Nine
children received the Sacrament of Communion. Volunteerism and the
Stewardship of Time are the rule at St. Stephen. Maintenance, lawn
care, teaching, social events, and office work were accomplished
by volunteers--truly a sign of willingness to serve God by serving
in our community.
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In the spring of 1996, Fr. Jim Fennessy established a Building
Committee. The committee immediately began gathering designs from
other churches and functional building requirements from the various
ministries for a new multi-purpose facility. With the help of the
Archdiocese and Catholic Construction Services, an architecture
firm was elected. The architects began to work with Fr. Paddy and
the Building Committee on what eventually would become the present
design of St. Stephen the Martyr Catholic Church. In the fall of
1998, a general contractor was selected. Parish status was granted
and ground breaking occurred on June 24, 1999. The Roof Blessing
Ceremony was held on Palm Sunday, 2000. The first Mass in the new
church was celebrated on August 5, 2000. Our Parker Kane Memorial
Pro Life Garden was dedicated on May 12, 2002. The church, with
a capacity of about 550, initially included front and back sacristies,
five classrooms, a fellowship room with adjoining kitchen (which
can be divided into four classrooms), a nursery/classroom, administrative
offices, and offices for the Pastor and Parish Manager. The St.
Joseph classroom was redesigned into two offices for the Director
of Religious Education and the Life Teen Director, as well as establishing
a church library in a portion of the space. Our parking lot was
expanded in the spring of 2003 and the layout and location of the
building were designed to allow for easy future expansion.
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