The inspiring parish life he witnessed growing up helped draw Father Raymond Moore to the priesthood, and in his 40 years as a priest, the faith he’s witnessed at his parishes has continued to inspire him. For about three-fourths of his priesthood, the native of Washington has served as a parish priest in that city.
“It’s been a great experience. It’s my heart and my soul,” the pastor of St. Thomas More Parish in Washington, said, adding that he has gotten “a lot of encouragement and peace in those different parishes I’ve served.”
The future priest, who was born in 1950, grew up as a member of St. Bernard’s Parish in Riverdale, one of four children of the late Raymond and Mary Moore. His father drove a Metro bus and his mother worked as a town administrator for Riverdale.
St. Bernard’s longtime pastor, the late Msgr. Thomas Dade, and the younger priests serving there then, including Father Peter Sweeney and Father Raymond Wadas, impressed Father Moore by their “strong faith and commitment to ministering,” he said. Father Sweeney, who is marking his 60th anniversary this year, is now retired and serving at St. John Neumann Parish in Gaithersburg, and Father Wadas is also retired and will mark his 50th anniversary in 2022.
Msgr. Dade motivated the St. Bernard parishioners to use their talents in support of the parish, and many pitched in to help construct the rectory and other buildings there, Father Moore remembered, adding, there was “just a huge spirit of togetherness. The idea was St. Bernard’s was the best church in the world.”
After graduating from St. Bernard’s School and nearby Northwestern High School, Raymond Moore earned a bachelor’s degree in education at the University of Maryland at College Park. Then for about three years, he worked as a police officer for the state of Maryland at the University of Maryland. “It was an opportunity to serve, to extend compassion to people in difficult situations,” he said.
After witnessing the “fullness of life and grace in ministry” by the priests at his parish, he was eventually drawn to entering the seminary, motivated by a desire “to be of service, especially to those in need, and the priesthood was a perfect opportunity” to do that, he said.
After studying at St. Pius X Seminary in Dalton, Pennsylvania and at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Father Moore was ordained as a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington by then-Archbishop James Hickey at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in 1981.
His first 15 years as a priest involved ministering at parishes and serving as a chaplain in Washington, first as an associate pastor at St. Francis Xavier Parish, then as an associate pastor at St. Gabriel Parish and later as a chaplain at Archbishop Carroll High School, and as an associate pastor at Nativity Parish. From 1992-96, Father Moore served as the pastor of Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish.
Then after serving as an associate pastor at St. Pius X Parish in Bowie, he served as a pastor in Southern Maryland from 1997 to 2001, first as the pastor of St. Peter Claver in St. Inigoes and then as the pastor of St. Cecilia in St. Mary’s City.
From 2001 to 2007, Father Moore was pastor at St. Joseph in Largo. In Maryland, he also served as a chaplain to the Prince George’s County Correctional Center and as a member of the Community Advisory Committee for the State of Maryland Department of Juvenile Service’s Cheltenham Youth Facility.
Since 2007, Father Moore has served as the pastor of St. Thomas More Parish in Washington.
Asked about the greatest blessings of his 40 years as a priest, he said, “I guess the people that have come into my life and given me encouragement and worked alongside (me) and made things happen for other people.”
The priest, who has mostly served in predominantly African American Catholic parishes, added that he has also been blessed “just to experience dynamic worship and sincere praise” of God during Masses.
St. Thomas More Parish is located in Ward 8, an underserved part of Washington impacted by poverty. The parish, founded in 1952, has been a beacon of hope to its neighborhood, he said. St. Thomas More Catholic Academy, a Catholic elementary school that is part of the Archdiocese of Washington’s Consortium of Catholic Academies, is next to its church, and the parish grounds include the nearby Mary Virginia Merrick Center, a community and youth recreational facility operated by the archdiocese and named for the woman from Washington who founded the Christ Child Society and whose cause for sainthood is under consideration.
“This parish has been a vital link for the past 70 years,” he said, adding “the community knows they can come here in their need. We have a great relationship with Catholic Charities.”
Praising the work of St. Thomas More Catholic Academy, Father Moore said, “It’s a miracle the school is still operating. It makes a big difference in people’s lives… We’re able to maintain a Catholic education for so many of our children. That’s a grace in itself, Catholic education as social justice, giving people the opportunities and skills they need to overcome life’s challenges.”
In a part of the city lacking grocery stores and where hunger is a reality for some residents, the priest said St. Thomas More’s food outreach has been a constant.
“I’m really proud of our food pantry, which didn’t miss a day during the pandemic,” he said.
In a challenging year when the health and economic impacts of the worldwide coronavirus outbreak were especially felt in that part of the nation’s capital, Father Moore pointed out that “We haven’t missed a beat since the pandemic. We organized a group called Community Connection. We were able to contact and support everybody in the parish. We didn’t miss anybody. People were very generous in financial donations and in reaching out to each other.”
During the pandemic, St. Thomas More Parish also livestreamed its Masses to stay connected to its members.
Father Moore said his parishioners inspire him.
“It’s genuine faith, people who are supportive of each other and just loving and giving, whether in the school or other ministries,” he said.
When asked what his 40th anniversary meant to him, the priest, who turned 70 in December 2020, said, “It means a greater opportunity to minister and to experience the love of the people we serve, and to create a more vibrant community.”
