The Story of the Parish
This year, 2023, we celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Queen of Apostles Church. On May 14, 1963, Father Thomas Scannell proposed boundaries for a new parish to the Bishop of Richmond, The Most Reverend John J. Russell. Father John P. Hannan was appointed the first Pastor on May 25, 1963. The Church was to serve the Catholic Community in the West end of Alexandria and the Eastern end of Fairfax County.
Rev. Hannan commissioned the building of the Church with beautiful stained glass windows from Ireland, Mosaic Altars, and an unusual design. The baseball diamond shape of the Church featured a concrete roof with a hyperbolic paraboloid shape.
Queen of Apostles was dedicated on Ascension Thursday, May 27, 1965, by Bishop John J. Russell. Three months after the opening of the Church, the School was established. The school added a new grade each year until it was a fully functioning elementary school.
The parish has been blessed with the assistance of two orders of nuns. The Sisters of St. Dominic were the first teachers in the school and stayed in the Parish until 1974. The Poor Sisters of St. Joseph came to the area in 1970 and continue to provide Child Care to parishioners and non-parishioners.
The parish became part of the new Diocese founded in 1974. Bishop Thomas J. Welsh was the first Bishop of the Arlington Diocese.
Many changes have occurred in the parish. A new school was built and dedicated on September 16, 1979, by Bishop Thomas J. Welsh. In 1192, Pastor Keith Ramey supervised major renovations to the church. The Changes to the altar included adding statues of the twelve Apostles and the Blessed Mother, as well as a marble base, altar, and podium. Father William Saunders completed the renovations by adding the oil painting of the Trinity that hangs over the main altar.
The most recent additions to the Parish include the Crucifixion Statue in front of the church, the school gym added in 2001, the vestibule which allows space for assembling and visiting after Sunday Masses, and the Adoration Chapel which offers parishioners time to pray before the Blessed Sacrament.
However, the most valuable asset of the parish is the diverse congregation. People of all nationalities and races have the opportunity to continue to worship and pray as we prepare for the future and the next 60 years.
