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St. Augustine’s, Richmond, to dedicate new Pastoral Center

by Steve Neill
of The Catholic Virginian

After more than 35 years since the church was dedicated in 1975, St. Augustine Parish in Richmond will be able to move its parish offices from the original rectory to a new Parish Pastoral Center which will be dedicated the weekend of Jan. 22-23.

“The new center will enable us to expand our parish outreach and community efforts,” said Msgr. Michael Schmied, pastor.

“We will also have more space now for Christian formation, education gatherings and meeting space which is handicap-accessible,” he added.

Worshippers at St. Augustine’s on the fourth weekend in January will be invited to visit the new center at an Open House after each Mass. Msgr. Schmied, who will mark his 40th anniversary of ordination in May, will offer what he called a simple blessing of the facility at each liturgy and parish staff members will guide visitors through the building.

Bishop Emeritus Walter F. Sullivan, who established St. Augustine Parish in 1973, will formally dedicate the Parish Pastoral Center at the 11 a.m. Mass which will be bi-lingual in English and Spanish.

St. Augustine’s was founded in 1973 with 400 families. The diocese purchased property at Beulah and Hopkins Roads in rapidly growing Chesterfield County. The late Msgr. John J. McMahon was the first pastor.

The parish has now grown to 1,800 families. There are five liturgies each weekend, including two in Spanish.

The new Parish Pastoral Center will have 6,900 square feet and the cost of construction and furnishings is approximately $1.2 million, Msgr. Schmied told The Catholic Virginian.

The dedication marks the completion of Phase 2 of St. Augustine’s master plan developed in 1994. The Renaissance Campaign for Phase 1 which began in 1995 called for construction of a parish hall and renovation of the education wing and sanctuary. The Phase 1 project was dedicated in 1998.

Phase 2 began in 2009 with the Renaissance Revisited campaign.

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