Welcome to the journey.
Thus far, your search for meaning, purpose, and home, has brought you to this point. We invite you to worship with us at Sunday mass, and eventually come sit down and begin a conversation about where you are, and how you would want us to accompany you on your journey. It is your journey after all. Only you would know if you are on the right path.
(Click on "Welcome to our Church" to see a video about "How Do I Become Catholic?" from Liturgical Training Publications)
Welcome to our church.
The Roman Catholic Church is a worldwide community of believers whose origins go back to the beginnings of Christianity. We are the church founded by Jesus Christ upon the rock that is the faith of the Galilean fisherman turned apostle, Simon Peter. We trace a vital connection to the 1st century Christian community in an unbroken line of pastoral leaders, and maintain communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Francis elected in the conclave of 2013.
Every Catholic Christian in the world belongs to a local church community called a “parish” under the care of a parish priest (also known as a pastor), appointed by the local bishop. Each parish is part of a larger community of churches called a diocese under the care of a bishop. The bishop of a diocese is appointed by the pope.
We at St. John the Evangelist church are part of the Roman Catholic diocese of Richmond, under the care of our Bishop Barry Christopher Knestout, appointed by Pope Francis in 2017.
Welcome home.
One who seeks full participation as a member of the Roman Catholic Church essentially desires an intimate personal relationship with God.
The Catholic community expresses this intimate relationship with God most visibly in the manner we live out Jesus' commandment of Love for God and neighbor. We celebrate God's love and mercy each week when we gather to listen to God’s Word proclaimed in sacred scripture, and to break Bread at the table of the Most Sacred Eucharist.
Now for us Catholics, being able to partake in Holy Communion at mass is one of the most intimate expressions of a personal relationship with God. But the discipline of our church does not permit us to invite all to the Eucharistic Table. The path to Eucharist is determined according to church law by a process of discernment and the imparting to the Seeker our way of life with the help of our Christian Initiation Team, under the leadership of Michele Kresge, Director of Faith Formation.
This journey is taken under the guidance of the pastor, Fr. Francis Musolooza, who welcomes the Seeker into the Catholic Church through the celebration of the Sacrament of Baptism (or the Rite of Reception into Full Communion), the Sacrament of Confirmation, and the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.