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PARISH PROFILE
 St. Benedict Chapel, Chesapeake: ‘That pearl of great value’
By Sandy Grecco
of The Catholic Virginian
Tucked away behind the winding roads of a quaint Chesapeake neighborhood lies a flourishing Catholic community dedicated to upholding the roots of the faith.
One of only two churches in the Diocese of Richmond recognized as offering the traditional Tridentine Rite Mass, St. Benedict’s Chapel offers a “rich and spiritual” experience for Catholics looking to reconnect through the traditional Latin Mass.
“The extraordinary form of the Roman Rite” or Latin Mass at St. Benedict’s is celebrated every day of the week and sung in front of a standing room only crowd of worshipers during High Mass at 10:30 Sunday mornings.
It is customary during these celebrations for the priest to offer Mass facing the altar rather than the congregation, for women and girls to voluntarily cover their heads with scarves and chapel veils out of respect and modesty, and for incense to be used throughout the liturgy.
At St. Benedict’s confessions are heard before and after every Mass, and the Rosary is recited daily.
“I get excited talking about this, because we offer more than just a Latin Mass,” said St. Benedict’s chaplain Father Neal Nichols, F.S.S.P. (Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter).
“We offer a different option for people and allow them to experience everything it means to be Catholic.”
 People of all walks of life and from very different backgrounds have discovered this little chapel hidden back in the woods. In just the past 18 months the congregation has grown from a little more than 100 to almost 170 members, far exceeding the space that currently seats 150.
That is why by the end of this year the parish hopes to have moved across the parking lot into a new church building that “will have seating for over 300, a choir loft, a large cry room and a spacious sanctuary.”
“With the choir loft at the new church,” said Jeanne Dart, choir director, “I will no longer have to move my music stand out of the aisle each time someone walks in or out the back doors.”
Many people say they found the chapel while searching the internet for a local Latin Mass, others heard of it through friends.
A good number of the new members are young families looking to raise their children in the traditions of the Catholic Church and are driving from all corners of the region to come to Mass at St. Benedict’s.
One North Carolina family was driving 200 miles each way to attend Mass on Sundays. They would get up at 3 a.m., dress and feed their three small children, and be on the road in time to attend the 10:30 Mass.
“We found out about their commute when they apologized for not being able to attend more functions during the week,” said Parish Council Chairman Mike Kimener.
“They’ve since found a parish 50 miles closer to their home, so now they’re driving only 300 miles round trip instead of 400.”
St. Benedict’s began with a dedicated group of “about 50 or 60 people” back in July of 1980.
 “They incorporated us as the ‘Traditional Catholics of Tidewater’ as a means of holding the land and farmhouse that is the church now,” said Richard Forrest, son of one of the founding members.
The chapel was formally established in September 1992, at the initiative of Bishop Walter F. Sullivan, and has continued to flourish as a self-sufficient mission of St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church, Virginia Beach.
It is now also the sole Apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter in the Richmond Diocese.
The FSSP or Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, founded in July 1988, is a community of Roman Catholic priests who do not take religious vows, but who work together for a common mission that includes the “formation and sanctification of priests in the cadre of the traditional liturgy of the Roman rite, and secondly, the pastoral deployment of the priests in the service of the Church.”
“We’re a kind of hybrid of priests and religious,” explained Father Nichols, a native Virginian who grew up in Richmond. He graduated from Benedictine High School and Hampden-Sydney College.
Now 48, Father Nichols worked in a family-owned business after college and entered the seminary at age 33. He was ordained a priest in 2001 after completing studies at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Lincoln, Neb.
 Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo invited the FSSP into the Diocese to staff St. Benedict’s Chapel, when members of the Chapel were unable to find a diocesan priest to succeed Fr. Damian Abbaticchio, OSB. Between 2006 and 2008 much of the building planning began with Father Kevin Willis, FSSP, and continues with Father Nichols.
“His presence is like a magnet,” said Dave Roddy. “He is a testimony of what it means to be Catholic and not be shy about it.”
Roddy and his wife Tracy co-chair the Pro-Life efforts at the parish that include educating people “actively and contemplatively” about abortion.
Once a month, along with Father Nichols, a group from the chapel will perform the 15 decades of the Rosary at Planned Parenthood in Norfolk.
“No signs and no yelling,” said Dave. “We just offer a presence that voices an alternative.”
Other outreach activities of the chapel include pulling together once a month to volunteer at the Sacred Heart Ministry Soup Kitchen in Norfolk, where they have helped serve more than 1,500 meals.
It is the active community of this parish that has been able to make “seemingly old” traditions seem interesting and relevant to younger families.
“Young families tell us they are drawn to the Baltimore Catechism we offer and our traditional views on the sacraments,” said Mike Sottung, “but they are also given many opportunities to serve and to participate.”
Many of the ministries at St. Benedict’s are named in patronage of saints for parishioners to emulate. For instance, most of the chapel’s community outreach programs are themed after St. Vincent DePaul.
 St. Joseph’s Men’s Guild members manage a multitude of activities including Family Fun Days, a pot-luck luncheon held the last Sunday of every month.
St. Anne’s Sodality is a fellowship and service group for women 18 and older, and the St. Michael’s Youth Group meets every other Saturday to give teens (12–18) an active place to be “challenged in their Catholic faith through teachings, fellowship & prayer.”
“I would tell people they should at least give it a try,” said Scarlett Stuart, age 15. “The Latin Mass takes a little getting used to, but God is being respected and it deepens my faith.”
Other ministries include the Knights of the Altar, a program for altar servers, and the “Little Flowers,” a program for young girls ages 4-12 that teaches what it means to be a Catholic girl and eventually a Catholic woman.
At Christmas the entire congregation comes together on Gaudete Sunday following the 10:30 Mass for “The Saints Come to the Christmas Manger.” Children ages 4 and up are invited to participate in the story that begins with St. Francis of Assisi assembling the Manger for the first live Nativity.
Traditional narrations of the Christmas story are followed by a parade of saints, including St. Nicholas, offering their own special “gift to the Baby Jesus.”
 At the end the porcelain Baby Jesus is replaced with a newborn baby from one of St. Benedict’s families.
“We’ve been doing this for five years,” said Chapel Secretary Connie Law. “We have the lively support of adults as the choir and maker of costumes, and such.”
St. Benedict’s hopes to be dedicating its new building this December. The roof should be up in June, and many of the interior furnishings such as the pews and Stations of the Cross have arrived and are scattered about in storage facilities, including a few members’ garages.
Many of the pieces have been obtained from older churches that are renovating, including a number of the stained glass pieces.
“Connie and Father Nichols scoured the globe via the internet looking for statues of each of the 12 Apostles for us to insert in the Church’s new footings,” said Al Hennessey, chairman of the building committee. “Connie came up with pewter spoons instead (including one of Christ) from somewhere in England.”
 Pulling together pieces of the old to build something relevant and new is the perfect analogy for this thriving parish.
“I believe ours is that pearl of great value Jesus spoke of in Matthew, Chapter 13,” said Nancy Von-Tersch a member of the parish pastoral council, catechism teacher, and team leader for the chapel’s community outreach.
“As small as we are, we are a growing influence in our community. And I believe it’s because we are full of charity, and certainly of love.”
Dawnelle Cruze, a parishioner who is blind and sings in the choir, counts on parishioners to take her to and from church. She has never been let down.
“She has remarked that people are always willing to help, even without being asked,” Father Nichols said.
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Copyright © 2009 The Catholic Virginian Press. Articles from Catholic News Services, including Fr. Dietzen’s column, may not be reproduced due to copyright considerations.
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