Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church Luray, Virginia
To celebrate our Anniversary we went away for the weekend. It was a weekend spent in a cosy cabin in the Blue Ridge mountains. Being away from the city was an opportunity to get some fresh air and exercise. We spent our days hiking around the Shenandoah National Park. On Sunday we attended Mass at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church.
Our Lady of the Valley Church was built in the early 1950s after the Redemptorist Fathers arrived by the invitation of Bishop Ireton of Richmond to help establish a permanent Elkton parish to the Luray Valley. The Redemptorist Fathers served the parish until 1968. For a few years it operated as an independent parish before it becoming a part of the Arlington Diocese.
It is a very small church and on the weekend we attended it was very busy with many visitors to the area. Many were there celebrating graduations for the local Catholic schools. Imagine our surprise when our daughter caught sight of our very own Pastor Fr. VW filling in for their Priest. What a fun surprise and made for an entertaining time. She kept insisting that she knew the priest and we kept saying she’s mistaken. We enjoyed having a moment after Mass to catch up with Fr. VW and laugh all around at how unexpected it is for a priest to come across his own parishioners for a last minute favor to fill in for a sick priest. Oh the joy we have in seeing familiar faces. By far out of all our parish visits this one was the most surprising.
The Small Pencil Catechist 