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A Brief History of the Cathedral of Saint Thomas More

As the Diocese of Richmond grew in Northern Virginia, new parishes flourished. In 1938, Richmond Bishop Andrew Brennan sent Father Edwin Lee to build a house of God in Arlington. Imbued with energy, determination, and faith, Father Lee led a growing population through its earliest days as a parish. Initially, Masses were held in buildings that were destined to become the nucleus of a school.

From its inception, Saint Thomas More Church was a spiritual home to military and diplomatic personnel as well as government employees. With the retirement of Father Lee due to ill health (he died in 1945), Monsignor Arthur Taylor was installed as the parish’s second pastor in 1944.

It was Monsignor Taylor who oversaw the opening of Saint Thomas More School in 1944. Until 1998, the Cathedral School was staffed by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The school grew rapidly and by 1945, a second story was added; by 1947, it had 17 classrooms. In 1952, a new convent was constructed to house the additional sisters who came to teach the expanding student population.

Construction began in 1949 for a separate church building. Until 1961 this “basement” or “crypt” church was the main church for the parish. In 1961, the cruciform shape we know today rose along Arlington Boulevard and was dedicated by Richmond Bishop John Russell on December 9, 1961. In the late 1950s, Saint Thomas More joined five other parishes in contributing to the construction of a new diocesan high school, Bishop Denis J. O’Connell. Located just a few miles away in Arlington, the school opened in 1961.

In 1969, Monsignor Richard J. Burke became pastor. Under his leadership and guidance, the major portion of the former “first-floor” church was transformed into a parish activities hall with kitchen facilities. The hall was eventually named in Monsignor Burke’s honor, after his transfer to Holy Spirit parish.

With the creation of the Diocese of Arlington in 1974, Saint Thomas More was designated as a Cathedral and became the new diocese’s official “Mother Church.” Four bishops have shepherded the diocese since then, with the Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge serving as our current bishop.

The Cathedral School was awarded the Blue Ribbon Award for Academic Excellence in 2010 and continues to educate young women and men to be servant leaders.

Today, the Cathedral is home to more than 1,400 families who partake in a wide variety of spiritual and social activities. It is also the site of important diocesan events such as ordinations and other major liturgical rites.