Comparing Catholic Schools in Springfield/Annandale Area

[claremarie]

Perhaps if you can define "good Catholic school/church community," you can get some more helpful suggestions.
Compared to many other parts of the country, Arlington parishes are considerably more orthodox in doctrine and liturgy. There are very few priests who criticize or dissent from Church teachings, and fewer departures from the rubrics during the celebration of Mass. Some people think that's a good thing, others are appalled and flee to Holy Trinity in Georgetown. Most of the public schools in the area are excellent, so parents are more likely to be choosing the parish school for religious rather than academic reasons.

[ted08721]

Originally Posted by claremarie

Perhaps if you can define "good Catholic school/church community," you can get some more helpful suggestions.
Compared to many other parts of the country, Arlington parishes are considerably more orthodox in doctrine and liturgy. There are very few priests who criticize or dissent from Church teachings, and fewer departures from the rubrics during the celebration of Mass. Some people think that's a good thing, others are appalled and flee to Holy Trinity in Georgetown. Most of the public schools in the area are excellent, so parents are more likely to be choosing the parish school for religious rather than academic reasons.

No need to swim the Potomic to Georgetown

Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church, Arlington, VA - Yahoo! Travel

[kristin1]

When I wrote ""good catholic school/church community", I meant we are basically lookng for a welcoming parish with young families who are active in it's ministries. We are trying to avoid a church where most of the congregants pack into the last few rows of the church and then leave right after communion. Even though we are coming from the bay area, we are not looking for liberal churches or dissident priests.

Currently, we have a situation where our church community feels like our family, which is important to us since our family is so far away. We like seeing our friends every Sunday, volunteering together, and looking out for each other's kids. It's a great community, and we are reluctant to leave it in a sense, but realize we cannot stunt either of our professional growth because we like an elementary school. And I'm dying to get back to the east coast as well.

I agree, most of the public schools in Northern Virginia are top knotch academically, but we are looking at Catholic schools for religious reasons.

[claremarie]

I think that you will find what you are looking for in most parishes in northern Virginia. The area is full of families, though parishes will have plenty of older members as well. You will also find the marginal members you describe in every parish too -- since we are all sinners and some folks are still attending Mass out of a sense of obligation rather than because they want to.
One thing I've noticed is that parishes with smaller numbers of members tend to be easier for newcomers than the mega-parishes. This is something you can figure out online, I think, since there should be statistics on parish size either on the diocesan website or in archived articles in the Arlington Catholic Herald. St. Bernadette's is one of the larger parishes in the Springfield area, for example.

[mlv311]

Originally Posted by kristin1

When I wrote ""good catholic school/church community", I meant we are basically lookng for a welcoming parish with young families who are active in it's ministries. We are trying to avoid a church where most of the congregants pack into the last few rows of the church and then leave right after communion. Even though we are coming from the bay area, we are not looking for liberal churches or dissident priests.

Currently, we have a situation where our church community feels like our family, which is important to us since our family is so far away. We like seeing our friends every Sunday, volunteering together, and looking out for each other's kids. It's a great community, and we are reluctant to leave it in a sense, but realize we cannot stunt either of our professional growth because we like an elementary school. And I'm dying to get back to the east coast as well.

I agree, most of the public schools in Northern Virginia are top knotch academically, but we are looking at Catholic schools for religious reasons.

Based on what you are looking for, I suggest you check out St. Michael, Holy Spirit and St. Ambrose. I have met parents who have children in all three schools and are very pleased. Since Holy Spirit charges the same tuition fee whether you are a parishioner or not, they tend to have kids from other parishes (that may be something different than what you are looking for), but it's a very good school with nice facilities. BTW, all three are considered conservative/traditional parishes. I can't comment on St. Bernadette as a church, but the school has a good reputation.

If you choose to look outside of that area, I recommend St. Andrew the Apostle in Clifton. It's small, the priest is very involved, there are many families, and it's a wonderful community like the one you describe.

[ted08721]

Originally Posted by kristin1

When I wrote ""good catholic school/church community", I meant we are basically lookng for a welcoming parish with young families who are active in it's ministries. We are trying to avoid a church where most of the congregants pack into the last few rows of the church and then leave right after communion. Even though we are coming from the bay area, we are not looking for liberal churches or dissident priests.

Currently, we have a situation where our church community feels like our family, which is important to us since our family is so far away. We like seeing our friends every Sunday, volunteering together, and looking out for each other's kids. It's a great community, and we are reluctant to leave it in a sense, but realize we cannot stunt either of our professional growth because we like an elementary school. And I'm dying to get back to the east coast as well.

I agree, most of the public schools in Northern Virginia are top knotch academically, but we are looking at Catholic schools for religious reasons.

What is a dissident priest

[Goodhart]

Hi There,

Old Town Alexandria has a wonderful Catholic parish and school that is conservative and has a very active parish/school environment. We have our children there and have been very happy. Definitely keep St. Mary's at the top of your list especially if you plan to live close to DC...Old Town is right across the river and about a 10 minute drive into DC. If you plan to live outside of the metro area, I second the comment on St. Andrew The Apostle in Clifton, VA. We are currently looking to move out of Old Town to get some land and space and that school is very high on our list...just having trouble finding a home we like.

The DC area is fantastic and it offers you so much on the professional development front as well as a wonderful educational environment for your kids. Best of luck with your decision and possible move!