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PARISH PROFILE
 St. Joseph’s, Richmond: All sacraments in the traditional Latin rite
By Steve Neill
Of The Catholic Virginian
When one enters the sanctuary of St. Joseph’s Church in Richmond, there is immediate silence. This is one of the characteristics of the parish, one of two in the Diocese of Richmond which offers the Latin Tridentine Mass.
“I like the reverence of the people,” said Father Adrian Harmening, a Benedictine priest who was ordained in 1955. He has been pastor of the congregation since it was established in 1991.
Indeed, it is the quiet prayerful environment and solemn reverence during the Mass which attracts parishioners, some of whom come a great distance for Sunday Mass.
Boone and Kathryn Hichborn drive 76 miles one way from Stafford to St. Joseph’s, located at 828 Buford Road in the Bon Air neighborhood of Chesterfield County. They began coming to Mass at St. Joseph’s 17 years ago when the Latin Tridentine rite was celebrated at St. Joseph’s Villa. They wouldn’t go anywhere else.
“When we first started coming, we came for special feast days for a treat to ourselves,” Mrs. Hichborn said.
“Then the fact that the Mass was so reverent, we began coming twice a month and then we gradually kept increasing it and finally we registered, she added, pointing out that she obtained permission from the diocese to register since the family lived in the Diocese of Arlington.
 “I really wanted my children to receive the sacraments in the old rite,” Mrs. Hichborn continued.
“The children thought it was a long drive, but they recognized the value of it because Mass was so reverent.”
The appeal of reverence in the Latin Tridentine Rite was repeated by many St. Joseph parishioners when asked what they like about the worship. But they make every effort to be warm and welcoming to newcomers and visitors.
“We’re not quite as uptight as some make us out to be,” said Bob Kaplan, a parishioner since 1992.
Mr. Kaplan, his wife, Linda, and their four children were members of St. Benedict parish when Bishop Walter F. Sullivan established the St. Joseph’s Chapel Community which was allowed to have Mass in the Latin Tridentine Rite. Mass was held in the Romanesque chapel at St. Joseph’s Villa, which had originally been operated as an orphanage by the Daughters of Charity.
“Bob said we should go to St. Joseph’s as a good will gesture,” Mrs. Kaplan said. “We got there and we liked it and the kids liked it.”
Jack, the Kaplan’s 17-year-old son who is a senior at Richmond Trinity Episcopal School, agreed.
“I think the best thing about it is the tradition — just the way that it’s been going on for many centuries,” he said. “I feel that practicing the Catholic religion in the traditional rite gives you the full impact of the faith.”
In addition to two Masses on Sunday at 8:30 a.m.(low Mass) and 11 a.m. (high Mass), Mass is celebrated on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 10 a.m. A low Mass is offered on Wednesday nights at 6 followed by a novena and Benediction. There is a First Friday Mass at 6 p.m., followed by all night Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament until the Saturday morning Mass at 10.
 Bill Doran, who is chairman of the theology department of Benedictine High School from which he graduated in 1992, is in charge of religious education at St. Joseph’s. He and his wife, Meghan, met at Christendom College and are parents of four daughters.
“We use the Baltimore Catechism for the younger children,” he told The Catholic Virginian, adding that the Catholicism and Reason series from C.R. Publications is used for older children.
There are 130 children from kindergarten through the 12th grade enrolled in religious education.
A point Mr. Doran made is that most of the teachers in the religious education program are fathers. He is pleased with this aspect since he said the mothers of many of the children are the primary teachers with home schooling.
“I like to have the fathers involved in their children’s education,” Mr. Doran said. “I think it’s important for boys and girls to have their fathers involved.
“Classes meet every Sunday for an hour,” he continued. “The Confirmandi meet every Sunday with their regular class and twice a month with Father Adrian.”
Mr. Doran’s father, also known as Bill Doran and is a lawyer, leads adult education classes which are held between the two Sunday Masses.
Father Adrian leads what he calls a “convert class” on Saturday mornings. It is open to anyone interested in becoming a Catholic and others who may want to renew their knowledge of the Catholic faith.
St. Joseph’s has about 245 registered families. There are 614 total registered children and adults. “We have well over 800 people coming on Sundays, but many are not registered,” Carol Anne Hassel, administrative secretary, said.
“We sometimes see people who’ve been away from the Church for 30 years who return to the faith,” Father Adrian said. “It is one of the blessings of the parish.”
Several parishioners have recently entered the religious life. Father Neal Nichols, who grew up in Richmond, is a member of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter and will be visiting the parish starting Aug. 28. He will celebrate Mass Labor Day weekend while Father Adrian is on vacation. David Boroff is a third year theology student with the same religious community.
 Sister Marie Helene Fabiato, a graduate of the University of Virginia, has made her final profession as a Sister of the Visitation at Monte Maria Monastery in Hanover County. Elizabeth Radel is now Sister Scholastica with the Benedictines of Mary Queen of the Apostles.
Visitors to St. Joseph’s will find many young families with four or more children. There is one family with 12 children. Two families each have nine children and another with eight is expecting their ninth child.
The parish’s children participated in the recent Christ the King Summer Camp in late July. The theme of the week-long activities was “Restoration of Christian Culture.” The daytime activities featured a number of traditional recreations and brought many children, most of the mothers and a few of the fathers.
Among the activities were country dancing and charades “and a lot of old fashioned things,” said Naomi Siwko, a mother of five.
“The children were challenged to give up all electronic equipment for a week and to go home and play charades and board games with the whole family, just liked people used to do,” she said.
St. Joseph’s has both Boy Scout Troop 828 and Cub Pack 828. Each Scout unit has 12 boys.There is also Knights of Columbus Council No.12525, headed by Grand Knight Niall McCaul.
St. Joseph’s, located in the residential Bon Air neighborhood of Chesterfield County, sits on 20 acres at 828 Buford Rd. The church is part of an original complex built in 1976 by a Pentecostal community. An addition was put on in 1994. In 2006 there was a narthex addition built.
“We came in November 2002,” Father Adrian said, noting that they had left St. Joseph’s Villa. “We renovated the entire main structure and made a cruciform sanctuary.
People are generous in their gifts of time, talent and treasure.
“We borrow, but we hope to be debt-free this time next year,” Father Adrian said.
“They’re a very generous, dedicated community,” he said, adding that parishioners do most of the building and grounds maintenance.
 Many were involved in the cleaning and painting as renovations to the building were made. A parishioner who is a retired engineer oversees the air conditioning and heating systems.
“We owe it all to the Holy Spirit,” Father Adrian said. “The Holy Spirit does the pushing, I just follow His guidance.”
A committed family to St. Joseph’s is Andrew and Naomi Siwko and their five children. When they were first married, Naomi was a Lutheran who regularly attended her church. Her husband, a lifelong Catholic, and she agreed to attend Sunday services in both churches.
“The liturgies were remarkably similar. They even had the same readings,” Mr. Siwko said. “It really challenged us to understand what our faith was.”
Mrs. Siwko eventually became a Catholic and is happy she did so.
“As Catholics, I think we could be a little more evangelical with clear and unambiguous truth,” she said. “I think it would be lovely if we could reach out more to people.
“We’re so blessed to have found this parish,” she continued. “There are so many beautiful families here. It has been such a blessing to us and to our children.”
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Copyright © 2006 The Catholic Virginian Press. Articles from Catholic News Services, including Fr. Dietzen’s column, may not be reproduced here due to copyright considerations.
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