A joyful, standing-room congregation of 800 people filled St. John Neumann Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on Sept. 16, as Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory blessed the church’s new building addition that includes a large welcoming space, an expansive Eucharistic adoration chapel, offices for staff, a religious education room, a new vesting sacristy for priests, space for two confessionals and a dramatic exterior façade visible from Goshen and Warfield roads.

Among the concelebrants were two young priests who grew up in the parish, and who happily greeted parishioners as they stepped outside after Mass. They both praised the new look for the church at the parish that was founded in 1978.

“It’s beautiful on the outside, and it speaks to something even more beautiful on the inside,” said Father Nicholas Morrison, praising the prayerfulness of the parishioners there whom he witnessed over the years crowded into its previous small adoration chapel. He was ordained as a priest for The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington in 2021 and now serves as a parochial vicar at St. Peter’s Parish on Capitol Hill.

Noting the church’s new façade that can be seen from the roadways and as people walk in from its sloping front parking lot, Father Peter Mlynarczyk said, “It’s like the holy church on the hill. You’re walking up to it, and it’s like you’re walking up to God’s house.”

Father Mlynarczyk, who was ordained as a priest for the archdiocese in 2022 and now serves as a parochial vicar at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, D.C., said, “For me, this is where it all began. My faith journey began here.”

Moments later, Msgr. Robert Panke paused as he greeted people outside to reflect on the church’s new addition, saying, “It’s a great day in the history of this wonderful parish. It will provide more places to gather, to pray, to do ministry and to proclaim the Gospel.”

Also standing outside the church were the two architects for the project, Art Lohsen and Marlan Laurenzi of the Franck & Lohsen Architects firm.

“The purpose of the new façade was to make St. John Neumann look a lot more like a Catholic church. It’s intended to be welcoming,” said Lohsen, who noted that the three archways at the church’s entrance are reflective of the Holy Trinity.

On one end of the revised church façade, the new adoration chapel is topped by a cupola and a golden cross, and the side of the chapel includes a statue of Mary carved in white Carrara marble by Rugo Stone.

Msgr. Panke has described St. John Neumann’s adoration chapel as “the heart of the parish,” where parishioners have faithfully prayed before the Eucharist for more than two decades.

The architects reflected on the simplicity and beauty of the new adoration chapel, and Lohsen noted how a few parishioners who joined their pastor for an advanced look at the chapel before it was finished had tears in their eyes. “They understood it was a beautiful home for our Lord,” he said.

Laurenzi added that she hopes the new adoration chapel there “will continue to lift the spirits of everyone who comes and prays there. It’s a beautiful space for them to do it.”

Presiding at the blessing of the building addition before he celebrated Mass at St. John Neumann Church, Cardinal Gregory prayed that the adoration chapel will be a place where “the faithful will adore Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, receiving his love and strength to live out their mission in the world.”

Noting the expanded space for the new parish offices and meeting rooms, the cardinal prayed that, “May all who come here know the presence of Christ, experience the joy of his friendship and grow in his love.”

Washington’s archbishop sprinkled holy water as he walked through the building addition and the adoration chapel, where he offered special prayers to sanctify that space.

As Mass began, Msgr. Panke noted that the concelebrating priests included two former pastors at St. John Neumann – Father Thomas LaHood, now the pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Upper Marlboro; and Father   Kevin Regan, now the vice-rector and dean of students at the archdiocese’s Saint John Paul II Seminary.

Along with Father Morrison and Father Mlynarczyk, the concelebrating priests included Father Martin Begley, the parochial vicar at St. John Neumann, and several priests who earlier served there as parochial vicars.

Archdiocesan seminarians assisting at the Mass who are from St. John Neumann Parish included Danny Morrison, Father Morrison’s brother (another brother, Father James Morrison, serves as a parochial vicar at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Bethesda); and seminarians Reid Robilotto, Gian Gonzalez and Brandon Chernosky. 

A daughter in the Morrison family, Sister Mary Sophia Morrison, is a member of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville, Tennessee. Another woman religious from St. John Neumann, Sister Teresa Rose, is a member of the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus congregation.

In his homily at the Mass, Cardinal Gregory stressed the importance of hospitality and welcome at churches. “Christian hospitality is best practiced when everyone is made to feel at home within the church,” he said.

The cardinal noted that the experience of the pandemic offered “a heightened awareness of our need to be with one another physically as a vital part of our prayer,” and he said the new addition at St. John Neumann Church “provides spacious room for hospitality and welcome” for people of all backgrounds.

Concluding his homily, Cardinal Gregory said, “The utmost future compliment to be made about this new expansion here at St. John Neumann will come when some stranger who knows nothing of your history or your generous efforts to renew and expand this building observes, ‘What a remarkable church edifice and what great and gracious people must worship God therein.’”

He then added, “If you have built a welcoming space, then that must mean you are welcoming people!”

In an earlier interview, Msgr. Panke spoke about the new addition and the importance of the building being recognizable as a Catholic church.

“People are drawn into church by beauty. By making the church a welcoming place and also a place of beauty, that will draw people moving into the neighborhood,” he said.

St. John Neumann’s pastor noted that before the parish offices were about one-half mile away, and now the new church addition has work areas for the priests, the business manager, the director of religious education and the head of youth ministry, so they can work together as a team at the same location as the church.

“It’s so much better to be all in one place. It’s one-stop shopping,” the priest joked.

As the Sept. 16 Mass and dedication concluded, Msgr. Panke thanked parishioners, the parish’s staff and its building committee for their support of their project. He also thanked the architects and the Forrester Construction company for their work on the church addition.

“It’s a work in progress. We’re not completely done,” he said, expressing hope that the adoration chapel will be ready in about a month.

Prayers and Scripture readings, and parts of the cardinal’s homily, were recited in English and Spanish at the Mass, and songs in both languages were sung, reflecting the parish’s diversity. 

As he concluded his remarks, Msgr. Panke invited people to gather afterward for a reception in the upper parking lot that featured two taco stations. “Thank you, gracias and God bless you,” he said.

Also greeting people afterward was Deacon Steve Castellano, a member of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception who grew up at St. John Neumann Parish.

“This parish was like my first spiritual home,” said the religious who is studying to be a priest. He said participating in the youth group there helped him grow closer to God with other youth who were his age.

Among those greeting people as they toured the new parish office spaces was Judy Paredes, who leads the parish’s youth ministry. “This is such a blessing… We’re all together (now),” she said.

Standing outside the church’s new façade and entranceway, longtime parishioner Tom Doherty said, “It’s really created more of a Catholic architectural element that people can relate to. This looks like a Catholic church. This creates an icon that people can be proud of.”

The two young priests who grew up in St. John Neumann Parish, Father Morrison and Father Mlynarczyk, said it was especially meaningful for them to return there and concelebrate the Mass when the new church additions were blessed.

“For me, what it means to come back here is just to really come and pray for all the parishioners that I know have prayed for me,” Father Morrison said, adding that he offered that Mass for the parishioners, praying that “great saints will come from this parish.”

For Father Mlynarczyk, seeing the space for the new adoration chapel brought back memories of his time at the parish. “It was through coming to the adoration chapel when I had no idea what do with my life, that I rediscovered Jesus.” He said he offered the Mass “for any wayward souls who are looking for their way, to come here and find Jesus.”

Noting the expanded space for the new Eucharistic adoration chapel at St. John Neumann Church, Father Mlynarczyk smiled and said, “Bring ‘em in! Now come one, come all, we’ve got the space, so you can hang out with Jesus however long you want.”