Saint Philip the Apostle Roman Catholic Church

Here follows an excerpt from the "Parish History Profiles" created by the Catholic Diocese of Arlington and published on their website:

Founding Pastor: Rev. L. Longmire Speight
Parish Founded: May 1962
Church Dedication: December 15, 1963

School Information:
Saint Philip Elementary School - 1964-1989
Corpus Christi Early Childhood Center - 1989-2018
Saint Philip Early Childhood Center - 2018-2020

What Makes This Parish Unique?

Saint Philip Parish is a diverse community with many languages and nations represented among her members. She is truly catholic-meaning universal-not only as a portion of the one Church spread throughout the world, but also in the cultural variety of her parishioners. Two Masses in Spanish are celebrated each Sunday for the active Hispanic community at the parish. Guatemalans, Salvadorians and Bolivians are the largest nationalities, but the majority of Central and South American countries are represented. From the Asian continent, many parishioners hail from Vietnam, including our permanent deacon, Deacon Cong Nguyen, and his family, who has strong ties both to Holy Martyrs of Vietnam Church in Arlington and his native Vietnam where his uncle and brother serve as priests. Tagalog can be heard at the well-established Filipino prayer group “Jesus is All.” Other parishioners from Japan, Eritrea, Sicily and Scotland (to name a few), and also many parts of the United States, now call Falls Church and Saint Philip home. Saint Philip's catholicity is one of the hallmarks of this community, a living glimpse of Saint John's vision of the Church “from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Rev 5:9).

Parish History:

The Parish of Saint Philip the Apostle was founded in May 1962 when the Most Rev. John J. Russell, Bishop of Richmond, agreed to purchase 12 to 15 acres of land in the Broyhill Park Subdivision and appointed Rev. L. Longmire Speight as the first pastor. The bishop carved the new parish out of three contiguous parishes: Saint James in Falls Church, Saint Michael in Annandale and Saint Anthony of Padua in Bailey's Crossroads. Since the major portion of the parish was excised from Saint James Parish, the bishop suggested that the parish be named Saint Philip, who is thought to be the brother of James the Apostle.

The first Mass was celebrated on September 9, 1962, in the auditorium of Whittier School (now Falls Church High School). On November 10, 1963, the first Mass in the new church was celebrated, and the dedication was held on December 15, 1963. In September 1964, the school was opened under the supervision of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. The new school, rectory and convent were completed by February 22, 1967. A major renovation of the church was completed in August 2007.

In August 1965, Rev. John T. Cilinski was appointed as the second pastor of Saint Philip after the sudden death of Father Speight. Father Cilinski remained pastor for 16 years, until May 1981. Rev. Charles A. Ryan was then appointed as the third pastor in June 1981. He served the parish until November 1986, when Rev. Richard B. Martin was appointed that same month as the fourth pastor of Saint Philip. The fifth pastor was the Rev. Richard Martin; he served until 1996. Rev. Joseph Loftus was pastor from 1996 to 1998. Rev. Daniel S. Spychala was appointed parish administrator from 1998 to 2002. Rev. Kevin Walsh was the seventh pastor and served from 2002 to 2010 and oversaw the renovation. Rev. Denis Donahue is the current pastor and has been at Saint Philip since 2010.

In 1989, the school sadly saw the departure of the Sisters of Saint Joseph after 26 years of dedicated service. That year, it also saw a first for the Diocese with the reorganization of the school with neighboring Saint Anthony under its new title "Corpus Christi." The early childhood center (preschool and kindergarten) was located at Saint Philip's campus and grades 1-8 at Saint Anthony's campus. In 2018, the schools separated and Saint Philip Early Childhood Center was created. In 2020, the Early Childhood Center closed.

In 2006, at the invitation of Bishop Loverde, the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist (FSE) moved into the long-vacant convent. The FSE sisters have pontifical status and were founded in 1973. They are professional women working in the marketplace witnessing to a Franciscan eucharistic presence in the secular world. The sisters teach at universities, work in hospitals, operate a school in Bethlehem and work at the Vatican. The community has thirteen different centers around the world, including the United States, Jerusalem, Rome and Assisi.

Throughout its nearly 60 years, Saint Philip has been like an oasis in the midst of one of the busiest parts of the Diocese of Arlington. Tucked behind Falls Church High School, in the middle of subdivision and surrounded by trees, Saint Philip Parish's property can easily be overlooked. It is fitting that the parish motto is “come and see” (Jn 1:39), the words of our patron, Saint Philip the Apostle, when he invited Saint Nathaniel to meet Jesus for the first time. Parishioners use Saint Philip's invitation frequently when speaking with those unaware of a Catholic Church in the neighborhood. Those who come and see behold one of the most unique features of the parish: the renovated church.

As was the case with many Catholic parishes, when first founded, the worship space was set in the school gymnasium. In time, that space was used only for worship. In 2007, the space was renovated and now includes a baptismal pool, nine stained glass windows and an altar made of marble from the Holy Land. The four corners of the full-immersion baptismal pool are framed by stone mosaics featuring the images that represent the four Gospels: an image of Saint Matthew, an ox for Saint Luke, an eagle for Saint John, a lion for Saint Mark. Part of the symbolism of the baptismal pool is dying with Christ, so the dimensions are similar to that of a grave: three feet by six feet. Eight of the stained windows each features one of Jesus' parables. The ninth and largest window, called “The Saint John Window,” contains five vignettes from the life of Saint Philip based on passages from the Gospel of Saint John.


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Here follows an excerpt from the church's website:

About Our Parish
History
The Parish of Saint Philip was founded in May of 1962 when the Most Reverend John J. Russell, Bishop of Richmond, agreed to purchase 12 to 15 acres of land in the Broyhill Park Subdivision and appointed the Reverend L. Longiuire Speight as the first pastor. The Bishop carved the new parish out of three contiguous parishes: Saint James of Falls Church, Saint Michael of Annandale and Saint Anthony of Bailey's Crossroads. Since the major portion of the parish was excised from Saint James parish, the Bishop suggested that it be named Saint Philip, the brother of James the Apostle.

The first Mass was celebrated on September 9, 1962 in the auditorium of Whittier School. On November 10, 1963 the first Mass was celebrated in the new church and the dedication was held on December 15, 1963. In September 1964, the school was opened under the supervision of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. The church buildings and grounds were completed by February 22, 1967.

In August of 1965, the Reverend John T. Cilinski was appointed as the second pastor of Saint Philip. Father Cilinski remained pastor for 16 years, until May of 1981. The Reverend Charles A. Ryan was then appointed as the third pastor in June of 1981. He served the parish until November 1986, when the Reverend Richard B. Martin was appointed that same month as the fourth pastor of Saint Philip.

In November 1987, Father Martin proclaimed a year long period of celebration honoring the 25th anniversary of the parish. Saint Philip's present congregation numbers around 3,900, one of the smallest Catholic communities in the area. Being a smaller congregation has lead to a friendlier and more personal community that often-times is lacking in larger parishes.

In 1989, our school sadly saw the departure of the Sisters of Saint Joseph after 26 years of dedicated service. That year we also saw a first for our diocese with the reorganization of our school with neighboring Saint Anthony's under its new title “Corpus Christi." The early childhood center (preschool) was located at Saint Philip campus, and grades 1-8 at Saint Anthony's campus. Corpus Christi School separated into separate entities in 2018. The preschool, under the direction of Saint Philip, changed its name to St. Philip Early Childhood Center; the K-8 school changed its name to St. Anthony School and added preschool programs in 2019. The St. Philip Early Childhood Center closed in 2020.

Saint Philip Community, “The Church With A Welcome”, invites you to become an active part of our parish family. We look forward to sharing with you and your sharing your gifts and talents with all of us.