Saint Timothy

Founding Pastor: Rev. Thomas O'Connell - Mission Church and Rev. Robert E. Nudd - Richmond Diocese
Parish Founded: 1923
Church Dedication: January 25, 1975 by Bishop Thomas J. Welsh
School: St. Timothy Catholic School - home of the Tigers! - was founded in 1981. Founding pastor was Rev. R. Roy Crosby.

History

December 1924: St. Timothy Church's building is completed, which is still standing today along Route 28 in Centreville. St. Timothy was a mission church of Fairfax Station's St. Mary's parish.

1944: St. Timothy was closed, then reopened as the Mission of All Saints in Manassas.

By 1967, the Catholic population had increased to such a magnitude that there was not even standing room in the little St. Timothy Church. As subdivisions were being built, many more Catholics were moving into the area. Chantilly Firehouse was used for three additional Sunday Masses.

November 1968: St. Timothy Catholic Church leased space in the Greenbriar East School for most of St. Timothy's parishioners; St. Timothy Chapel continued to serve those people in Centreville.

June 1969: Fr. Robert E. Nudd was appointed the first Pastor by John J. Russell, Bishop of Richmond. St. Timothy Chapel's land would not pass the soil percolation tests and sewer lines would not be available in the area for many years. Land was then purchased on Poplar Tree Road in Chantilly, VA -- this would be the home of the parish we know today. Pastor Fr. Nudd lived in the Greenbriar subdivision for four years.

November 12, 1972: Ground breaking ceremony was held to build St. Timothy Church.

January 25, 1975: St. Timothy Church was dedicated by Most Reverend Thomas J. Welsh, Bishop of Arlington. Parish continued to grow in August 1976 and an assistant pastor was needed. Fr. Francis J. Diamond was appointed.

Spring 1978: Fr. Vincent Keane of St. Leo Parish in Fairfax was assigned to St. Timothy as administrator. Fr. Nudd became too ill to care for his flock.

August 7, 1978: Fr. Nudd passed.

September 12, 1978: Fr. Roy Cosby was assigned as pastor. His vision was to provide education for the children of the parish. This led to the building of a social hall and a school on the property.

Fall 1980: Building of the Fr. Nudd Hall began. It consisted of six classrooms, three office spaces with storage, a gymnasium-social hall for recreation and parish celebrations and a well-equipped professional kitchen. The school was completed in time for the 1981-1982 school year. St. Timothy's parochial school has the distinction of employing the first lay principal in the diocese, Mrs. Marilyn S. Valatka and an all lay staff. Due to increase in the size of the school enrollment, St. Timothy's School required the enlargement of the original school building.  A mid-1980s addition to the school included a new library and two wings of class rooms. St. Clare of Assisi in Clifton was established as a mission of St. Timothy Parish.

April 1983: Fr. Cornelius O 'Brien was assigned as pastor.

1989: St. Timothy continued to grow and ended the decade as the largest parish in the diocese. This required splitting the parish and adding new parish, St. Andrew the Apostle.

1990s: By the early 1990s St. Timothy had increased to such an extent that the 750 seat church was no longer adequate. In 1993 the parish launched a $4 million fundraising campaign to enlarge the church and other parish facilities. The campaign was ultimately a success, and in 1996 the parish celebrated the opening of an expanded church which now seats 1400 people. In addition, the school built a new cafeteria, gym and more classroom space. A new rectory was also added.

June 1999: Fr. Gerald Weymes was assigned as Pastor. St. Timothy Catholic community continued to grow. Bishop Loverde announced and established a new parish in the Chantilly-Herndon area: St. Veronica. St. Timothy still remained one of the largest parishes in the diocese.

2005: St. Timothy expands again. This time the expansion included the new adjacent building for middle school students.

December 3, 2007: Eucharistic Chapel of Divine Mercy was opened on the First Sunday of Advent in 2007.

June 2017: Fr. David Meng was assigned as Pastor.

May 2019: Completion of the Parish Center Renovation construction project. Adoration Chapel was renovated and reopened.

Cemetery Information

Name of the cemetery: Sacred Heart Pleasant Valley Cemetery, Centreville, Virginia

The cemetery was given to St. Timothy Catholic Church in the 1970s. The cemetery was originally part of the property of the John L. Schneider family farm donated to build the Sacred Heart Chapel, constructed in 1910. Rev. Van from St. James in West Falls Church was pastor to this mission church, visiting 3 to 4 times a year hearing confessions and offering the Holy Mass.  

What Makes This Parish Unique?

St. Timothy Catholic Church is an active faith-filled community. Our beautiful Adoration Chapel of Divine Mercy offers a peaceful place to sit quietly close to the Lord in this world of static noise.

St. Timothy's large congregation has the opportunity to attend daily Masses Monday-Friday at 6:15 a.m. and 12 p.m.; Saturday at 9 a.m., with a Vigil Mass at 5:30 p.m.; Sunday at 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 5:30 p.m.

St. Timothy is known in the community for their generous outreach through the St. Vincent de Paul Society, meeting those in need face-to-face. The SVDP Food Pantry assists those in the parish boundaries and beyond. St. Timothy hosts Blood Drives, Meals Ministry, Nursing Home Ministry, The Calix Society, Bereavement Group, Pro-Life Apostolate, and much more to support those in parish boundaries.

Our youth are our future, and St. Timothy supports them through the school, PK3-8, Religious Education, PK-8, High School Youth, VBS, Family Parish fun events, as well as clubs and scouts and more. St. Timothy also has a very active Young Adult ministry with Bible studies, socials, and adoration. St Timothy is a parish with 36+ ministries and groups -- something for everyone growing in faith and charity.

For more information about Saint Timothy Catholic Church, visit: sttimothyparish.org.