“From the Archives” Ordinations at Saint Mary’s

On June 5, four new priests – Fathers Jonathan Fioramonti, John Paul Heisler, Jonathan Smith (Basilica of Saint Mary parishioner) and Joseph Townsend (new parochial vicar at Saint Mary) – were ordained for the Arlington Diocese by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge. As is traditional, their ordinations occurred at the diocesan cathedral, Saint Thomas More in Arlington.

However, in Saint Mary’s long history, three ordinations actually occurred in our church. Father Richard L. Carne (1826-1911) was ordained at Saint Mary in 1892 at the age of 66, possibly the oldest man ordained in the United States up to that time. Father John S. Igoe (died in 1969) was ordained here in 1924. Both Father Carne and Father Igoe were native sons of Saint Mary Parish.

The ministry of the permanent deacon was revived after Vatican II, opening the way for the May 26, 1972, ordination at Saint Mary of the first permanent deacon in the Diocese of Richmond, John Bowler. An attorney with the U.S. Civil Service Commission, the Reverend Mr. Bowler was ordained here by Richmond Bishop Walter J. Sullivan. (Northern Virginia was still part of the Diocese of Richmond at that time.)

In his homily that day, Bishop Sullivan noted, “This is a very historic event in our diocese.” Monsignor Joseph Wingler, Saint Mary pastor, commented: “We are only beginning to scratch the surface…. None of us can see how far this program [the permanent diaconate] will go in the next 25 to 50 years.”

Monsignor Wingler was right. In 2020, there were 72 active permanent deacons serving in the Arlington Diocese, including four Eastern Rite deacons. The Basilica of Saint Mary does not currently have a permanent deacon. The last to serve here was Deacon William Pivarnik, now retired after serving as a deacon for 32 years, including 1999-2002 at Saint Mary.

— Kitty Guy, Parish Historian

In 2020, to commemorate the 225th anniversary of our parish, we started “From the Archives” as a weekly feature online and in our bulletin to spotlight the history of Saint Mary’s. Due to its popularity, we are continuing the series in 2021. An archive of the features is located here.