Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

Founding Pastor: Fr. Philip Majka
Parish Founded: 1976
Church Dedication: First Mass was held at Rockledge Elementary in October 1976. Original Church (now Seton Hall) was dedicated in 1981. Current church was dedicated in 1994.

What Makes This Parish Unique?

The parish's ever-growing parish family, in which some are long-time parishioners and some are brand new to the area, creates a dynamism and activity level second to none.

School Information:

Saint Thomas Aquinas Regional School (located at Our Lady of the Angels in Woodbridge)
Founded: 1977

Saint Thomas Aquinas Regional School was founded in 1977 and is administered to and staffed by the religious community of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia and a lay faculty. It serves more than 510 students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade and three diocesan parishes: Our Lady of Angels, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, and Sacred Heart (Manassas). It has a diverse student body, with over 20 percent of the students speaking one of 17 secondary languages. 

Parish History:

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church dates back to 1975, when Bishop Welsh asked Father Cosby, pastor of Holy Family Parish in Dale City, to recommend building sites for a new parish to be located in Lake Ridge, Virginia. After the present site was chosen, steps were begun to obtain proper zoning for a church complex. Bishop Welsh selected and assigned Fr. Philip Majka as founding pastor of the parish on September 27, 1976. Arrangements were made to use Rockledge Elementary School for Masses. The first Mass was celebrated at Rockledge on October 16, 1976, with approximately 200 people in attendance. Arrangements were made to purchase a home for the pastor, and he moved into the Crabapple Court rectory on October 18, 1976. The parish Building Committee held its first meeting on July 8, 1977, at the rectory. Due to high inflation in building costs, the construction of the main church was postponed. Instead, a two-level interim church and activities center were constructed. The interim church was dedicated in a ceremony on November 30, 1981.

The parish continued to grow in size and in programs. In January 1992, the Building Committee was chartered to manage the planning and construction of the main church. March 21, 1993, marks the day of the groundbreaking ceremony, which included the Sisters of Charity from Emmitsburg (home of the parish's patroness saint and founder of the order) bringing bags of soil to mix with the dirt on the site in a symbolic gesture of making the ground sacred. During the excavation of the basement, large quantities of rock and shale were found beneath the soil and the biblical saying of “ . . . upon this rock you will build my church.” On August 28, 1994, the new church was dedicated by Bishop Keating. Fittingly, August 28 is the anniversary of the birth of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.

To learn more about Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Roman Catholic Church, visit setonlakeridge.org.