Our division made a $5,000 donation to the new alcove dedicated to St. Patrick at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington to Father Joseph Farrell during our Sept. 9 monthly business meeting.
In addition, Inishfail Chairman Vincent Fitzpatrick announced the contribution of an additional $2,500 from his group, which organizes the Greater Manassas St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Farrell is in charge of the fundraising for the $100,000 alcove and, as state chaplain of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, has asked divisions throughout the Arlington diocese to contribute to the cost.
Our check was presented to Father Farrell by Division President Greg Gibbons.
Fitzpatrick also gave the Inishfail check to Father Farrell at the meeting.
Father Farrell is the chaplain at George Mason University, where he has asked students to contribute $2,500 toward the drive. Farrell also has pledged another $2,500 personally.
The donation by the Father Kelley Division is the largest by any division in the state, Father Farrell said. He noted that he previously served as the chaplain for the AOH Cunningham Division in Sterling, “so I know that there was a lot of work that went into these checks.”
“This is not just something that you write it from some sort of account that you have just sitting there,” he said.
Father Farrell described the project as “a once-in-a-generation opportunity.”
The new statue and alcove is the first one on the right side as you enter the cathedral, he said.
“We will have a place where, when we have our Masses there, we can stand in front of it, have a picture, and know we provided this,” Father Farrell said. “When our children and grandchildren of the current divisions go there, they’ll see that it was this generation of Hibernians that provided for this shrine.”
The alcove and statue reflect “our heritage, our faith, and, what we stand for as Hibernians,” he said.
Bishop Burbridge is also of Irish descent. Growing up in Philadelphia, he marched with his father in the Saint Patrick’s Day parade year after year, said Father Farrell.
The statue of St. Patrick is the centerpiece of the alcove, which also includes new stained-glass windows encased in woodwork.
The new alcove is part of a larger renovation of the cathedral.
