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History of St. Jude's
Construction of the new house of worship looms over the original buildings.
Since its inception in 1956, St. Jude has been blessed with gracious families, devoted to their faith and dedicated to bolstering their parish community. As we have grown in size physically, we have grown closer, as a family, in the Spirit. Here is a brief history of our first forty years together.
Several factors could be said to have contributed to the founding of St. Jude Parish, the most important of which was a phenomenal population growth of suburban Montgomery County, especially in the Wheaton and Rockville areas, in the years 1950 to 1960. First, the land abutting Veirs Mill Road from Georgia Avenue north to Rt. 355 was filled with new housing developments. Rockville statistics show 1,881 housing units in 1951 that increased to 6,636 by 1960! Second, the over-crowded condition of adjoining parishes, St. Mary's Rockville and St. Catherine's in Wheaton, indicated a clear need for an additional parish. Third, the generous gift of $25,500 from the family of Dr. Charles W. Allen to the Archdiocese of Washington for the purchase of a ten acre tract of land in Aspen Hill Park stipulated that a church be built and dedicated to St. Jude, The Patron of Desperate Causes.
Then in June of 1956, Cardinal O'Boyle announced the establishment of St. Jude parish naming Francis J. Lauriola as Pastor and Rev. David E. Foley, now a Bishop of the Richmond Archdiocese, Associate Pastor. Seven hundred sixty-one families formed the nucleus of the congregation that now numbers roughly 1,800 families.
A joyful spirit of new beginnings and new challenges sparked the parishioners. From the novel experience of attending Mass in the Veirs Mill Movie Theater, the present Rodman's Drug, to the celebration of the first Mass in the new auditorium/chapel, there was an air of sustained enthusiasm among the parishioners that prevailed as the parish organizations were established. A series of fundraising projects was started through the Sodality and bazaars brought people together socially while they chipped away at the parish debt. With a debt of $643,779 in 1956, subsequent additions to the school, convent, rectory and grounds and most importantly, the construction of the new church, brought the parish debt to over one million dollars. The debt was retired and the mortgage burned at the parish 25th anniversary celebration in 1981.
The founding of a parish school was always a top priority for St. Jude. Therefore, in early September 1956, even before the dedication ceremony, school bells were rung by Sister Gerald, the first principal. Two hundred fifty students, in three grades, opened the school with five Bernadine nuns as teachers. As the top grade moved up each year, one grade was added and more nuns were assigned. The peak years saw the convent filled with twenty sisters and the school with 24 classrooms to accommodate 1200 students. Lay teachers began to join the staff, and today St. Jude school is staffed entirely by lay teachers, assisted by some of the retired nuns.
In 1957, the C.C.D. program established classes for children attending public school, and in the same year the Parish Youth Organization was formed to address the needs of the parish youth in athletic, cultural and spiritual areas. These included the scounting programs, the Teen Club, Young Adults Club and various athletic teams and programs for boys and girls. The present Athletic Association was formed in 1966 and had developed and expanded to include all categories of sports. St. Jude teams have won Archdiocesan championships in virtually all of those categories.
A parish newspaper, "The Servant," published its first edition in February 1957 and continued until 1992 to keep the parish informed of news of parish events.
In 1966 the parishioners looked back with pride at their accomplishments of the previous ten years. The census figures showed the total number of souls to be 11,451 with 1,207 children in the parish school and 2,326 in the school of religion. The Solality membership stood at 838 members and the Holy Name Society numbered 656. The spiritual life of the parish was also flourishing, with attendance at retreats, missions and novenas breaking records. Many of the men of the parish attended a Holy Hour, held monthly at St. Mary's Rockville, on the eve of First Fridays.
Not to be overlooked were the fun things! A series of Saturday afternoon movies were shown in the all-purpose room for the youth of the parish. The adults had their fun at the "Kooling Off" party held in the auditorium to celebrate the newly installed air conditioning system.
It was during this ten year growth that St. Patrick's was founded. Due to boundary realignments, St. Jude lost many parishioners who had been charter members. During these years Vatican II prescribed the formulation of parish councils. St. Jude was one of the first councils in the Archdiocese to be established and continues to assist the pastor to formulate policies affecting the parish.
To mark the start of the second decade of the parish, Monsignor Lauriola announced the launching of a building fund for a new church. Groundbreaking was held on April 26, 1970. One year later, April 3, 1971, the church was dedicated by His Eminence, Patrick Cardinal O'Boyle. On this occasion the homilist, Bishop Spence, said, "What the Catholic people of this parish have accomplished in the 14 years since it was established is truly remarkable; in fact, it is incredible; in fact, it is almost a miracle."
The seventies came blustering in, and with them came Hurricane Agnes. As warnings of possible flooding went out, St. Jude opened the door of the Thaddeus Room to 800 evacuees and 24 pets. The catering committee provided food that was augmented by 1,000 donuts donated by radio station WMAL. The main danger was the chance that Brighton Dam would overflow. The dam held; "Agnes" departed and a grand time was had by all.
The seventies brought changes in some parish pursuits, for example, following a practice in the early church, the men-only choir had been a tradition at St. Jude. At this time, women joined the choir and as the music ministry expanded a Youth Choir was formed. Today there are a variety of choral and instrumental groups. The Adult Choir has performed in concert on many occasions and was honored to be invited to sing at the Papal Mass on the Mall, celebrated by Pope John Paul II.
Late in 1974, due to ill health, Monsignor Lauriola left St. Jude to become pastor of a smaller parish in Southern Maryland. At a testimonial dinner, grateful parishioners expressed their thanks to Monsignor for his 18 years of vigorous service in building and nurturing this remarkable parish. After retiring from active parish work in 1977, Monsignor Lauriola served as Consultor to the Archdiocesan Finance office. He died in June of 1992 and was waked among the people he loved and buried from the church he founded.
The new pastor, Reverend John Madigan, came from Holy Angels in Avenue, Maryland. One can only speculate on how much of a change this was for the pastor of a rural flock to find himself shepherding a fold in a busy suburban setting. Quickly adapting, Father Madigan was soon taking the lead in many parish endeavors. He planned the construction of the St. Jude Chapel and petitioned the Archdiocese to add the designation of "Shrine" to our parish name. In 1979 the parish rejoiced with Father Madigan as he celebrated the 25th anniversary of his ordination.
The seventies merged into the eighties. The banner year 1981 marked the 25th anniversary of St. Jude. The theme for all parish activities that year was "Silver Jubilee," from the "sublime" celebration of the Mass to the Jubilee Slugfest between the Holy Name Society softball teams. Souvenir coffee mugs from the 25th will probably be making their way to antique shops. The motto, "St. Jude making the Impossible Possible for 25 years" was the winning entry in a school contest. As part of the observance, a grounds beautification project was undertaken; weeding, seeding and feeding brought forth blooming results to brighten the big day. Currently, the St. Jude gardeners have continued to keep the grounds in blossom and beauty, winning first place for many years in Montgomery County's annual "Keep Montgomery County Beautiful" awards.
The spiritual life of the parish continued to prosper. In 1984, answering the call from the Archdiocese, a RENEW program was established. Groups met in the homes for Scripture reading and discussion; R.C.I. programs were started, a Parish Library was established and Religious Enrichment programs were presented to parishioners. The Christian Spirit Tree project was started in 1984. When he visited in 1985, Cardinal Hickey complimented all parishioners for sharing their good fortune with needy people.
The Home and School Association was reorganized with the aim of providing service to the school. Through the efforts of supportive parents, funds have been generated to purchase equipment for the school., as well as to help keep the tuition rate one of the most affordable in the Archdiocese. In this same vein, the Bingo program must be recognized and applauded. All of the profits have been designated to help defray the cost of operating the school. The program is operated by the parents of the school children, under the direction of a succession of hard-working, able chairmen.
In 1987 Father Madigan saw the need for an organization to utilize the talents of a particular group of men: the once-youthful "founders" of the parish who were now the energetic retirees. The Retired Men's Service Organization was formed with the main objective of taking parishioners who had no other transportation to doctor's appointments and cancer treatments. The members have served as acolytes, pall bearers, lectors at funerals and have helped in any parish activity where needed. Other special ministries were formed at this time, as well. The Ministry of the Handicapped and Special Education C.C.D. programs were formed. The lovely outdoor Marian Shrine was completed in 1986, the Marian Year.
After 17 years of ministering to the needs of St. Jude's people, Father Madigan was reassigned as pastor of St. Jane de Chantal Parish. With his kindness and his warm- hearted nature, Father Madigan endeared himself to all. In his own words, on the occasion of this 25th anniversary celebration, he summed up his philosophy. "As a priest you share their (your people's) joys, their sorrows, their hopes, their disappointments." Father Madigan, in an outstanding way, filled this role.
Reverend Edward Hartel, our third pastor, came to St. Jude from an interim assignment at Holy Cross Parish. He previously had served as pastor at several other parishes in the Archdiocese where he had established R.C.I.A., baptismal and marriage programs. One of his early projects after his arrival at St. Jude was to update facilities and equipment in the school. The next order of business was the conversion of the convent to a retirement home for the Bernadine nuns. Having been under-utilized for many years, the convent took on a new life as the home for nine retired nuns after a complete renovation and refurbishing. Father Hartel was an effective speaker, inspiring his listeners with his well-prepared and eloquently delivered homilies. At his departure in March 1995 the parish prayed for his welfare, and continues to do so. United in prayer, our people have helped each other to weather bad times as well as good. For example, a group of parishioners meets weekly in the convent chapel to pray for the seriously ill. Their generous support in material ways also was shown by the fund-raisers they organized to help a parishioner pay for an expensive medical procedure.
In April 1995, the parish greeted its new pastor, Reverend Oliver McGready. Father McGready was pastor at Holy Family Church in Hillcrest Heights, and he looked on his new assignment as a "wonderful opportunity to grow." Since coming to St. Jude his interests in all phases of parish life have been recognized. One of his first undertakings was to organize the publication of a parish directory to coincide with the celebration of St. Jude 40th anniversary. It must be left to a future parish history to tell the full story of Father McGready's tenure and to credit his achievements at St. Jude, but for the present time, it is firmly established that he has won the admiration and support of his parishioners.
Time has brought changes to St. Jude. The years have witnessed reorganizations, renovations, up-grading, and down-sizing. The years have seen the passing of dear friends and watched grandchildren fill the classrooms that were used by their parents. Yet, "the more things change, the more they remain the same." The same faith and devotion pervade, the same unfailing support of church and school, the same commitment to the welfare of others. These are the hallmarks of the St. Jude people. The words of the dedication ceremony have rung true through the years: "May the true faith flourish here, along with the fear of God and brotherly love."