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709 Buffalo Street, Farmville, Virginia 23901, United States

Voice: 434-392-3934 FAX: 434-392-6677

Voice: 434-392-3934 FAX: 434-392-6677

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    • Home
    • Mass
    • Bulletins
    • Our Community
      • Catholic Campus Ministry
      • Immaculate Heart of Mary
      • Nativity Cemetery
      • Sacred Heart
      • St. Theresa
      • Have You Seen?
    • Calendar
    • How to ...
      • Sacraments Plus!
      • Make On-line Offerings
      • Attend Public Mass
      • Register As a Parishioner
      • Volunteer
    • Alive In Christ
    • Contact
    • Links
      • The Holy See
      • Richmond Catholic Diocese
      • Saint of the Day
      • The Roman Missal
  • Home
  • Mass
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  • Our Community
  • Calendar
  • How to ...
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Central Virginia Catholic Cluster

Central Virginia Catholic ClusterCentral Virginia Catholic ClusterCentral Virginia Catholic Cluster

Catholic Diocese of Richmond

Catholic Diocese of RichmondCatholic Diocese of Richmond

St. Theresa Parish History

St. Theresa Parish Page
St. Theresa Finance Council
St. Theresa Parish Council

Compiled by
Lois Gager and Eniko Swanick
Approved by
Fr. Stefan Migac, Pastor

See Photo Gallery Below History

In 1939, the Fathers of the Precious Blood, from Carthagena, Ohio,  established: a Catholic Church in Crewe, Virginia; missions in  Blackstone and Farmville; and took over serving the mission in Meherrin.  The first pastor, Father Marcellus Fortman, assisted by Father Isadore  McCarthy, traveled to Farmville from Crewe to celebrate Mass in a room  at the Hotel Prince Edward for the first two years. At the time, there  were only 20 Catholics in the area. As the membership grew, including  more students from the local all-female college (now Longwood  University), it became apparent that this location was no longer  adequate. Longwood kindly offered the use of French Auditorium for  Sunday Masses.


In the late 1940’s, Father McCarthy,  the pastor, traveled to other parishes to preach for funds to build a  permanent building. Businesses were contacted for free or discounted  materials. One large donor asked that the church be named for St.  Therese of Lisieux (an appropriate name for a mission church). On May  25, 1951, the Rt. Reverend Michael J. Cannon, acting for the Bishop  Ireton of Richmond, officiated at the dedication of St. Theresa Church,  the present church in Farmville, which consisted of the current commons  area and office space.


Priests at the time lived in a small room  above the current parish office. This was a fine arrangement for  visiting priests. In 1964, the pastor and Newman Club Chaplain, Father  Carl Reikowsky was assigned to resident pastor at St. Theresa’s. From  1967 to 1968, the Reverend Cornelius Fenton, C.Pp.S., served as pastor  until the Reverend Urban Dumminger, C.Pp.S. arrived in 1968. Father Dumminger, who served longest as resident pastor (August 1968 to June  1978), was at St. Theresa’s when the rectory final moved to Oak Street  in the 1970’s. Father Dumminger was the last of the C.Pp.S. Order  priests to serve at St. Theresa’s. In the summer of 1978, priests from  the Diocese of Richmond began pastorship of the parish. Under the  administration of The Fathers of the Precious Blood, St. Theresa’s  parish had lost its mission status. Both Order and diocesan priests at St. Theresa’s then served other missions. After Father Dumminger  left St. Theresa’s in June of 1978, Father Thomas Summers served at St.  Theresa’s from 1978 to 1979.


One of the first diocesan priests,  Father Robert McEleney, had the distinction of serving as pastor twice,  from June 1979 to June 1987 and from November 1999 to June 2000. He  continued to assist when needed. As the parish continued to grow, it was  apparent that a parish center was needed and plans began under Father  McEleney. The building on Buffalo Street was completed under the  direction of Father Robert Spencer in 1988. Father James C. Ditty  stepped in as interim pastor in the early part of the 1990’s.  


In  January 1997, work began on our current worship area addition under the  direction of Father Joseph Metzger, III. The new addition was dedicated  in June 1998. The parish  celebrated its 50th anniversary on  Buffalo Street with Father Richard Mooney as pastor in 2001. After  Father Mooney’s reassignment in 2002, Father Carl DeSouza served as  pastor until retirement in 2007. Father James M. Glass, OSB became  pastor of the newly formed Central Virginia Catholic Cluster until his  departure in May 2010. In the interim, Father Joseph Wamala served as  interim  pastor until the arrival of Father Anthony W. Morris in  September 2010. Father Joseph Wamala was reassigned to St. Francis  Assisi in Staunton. Serving as parochial vicar during this time was  Father Emmanel DeLeon until his departure in 2012. Father Paul A. Kkonde  was assigned to St. Theresa as parochial vicar in 2012. After Father  Morris’ reassignment to Portsmouth Catholic Cluster, Father Stefan Migac  arrived in 2015 and is currently serving as pastor of the Central  Virginia Catholic Cluster.


The Church in Farmville has grown  from a handful of faithful, attending Mass in a hotel room, to 300+  families with strong campus ministries at both Longwood University and  Hampden-Sydney College. We have grown from a mission church with  visiting priests to a parish with two full-time priests and two deacons  serving the spiritual needs of the parishes of the Central Virginia  Catholic Cluster.

List of Pastors and Service Dates

1939 – 1940 – Father Marcellus Fortman
Late 1940 – 1964 – Father Isadore McCarthy
1964 – 1967 – Father Carl Reikowsky
1967 – 1968 – Reverend Cornelius Fenton C.Pp.S.
1968 – June 1978 – Reverend Urban Dumminger, C.Pp.S
1978 – 1979 – Father Thomas Summers
1979 – June 1987 – Father Robert McEleney
1987 – 1990 – Father Robert Spenser, Father Robert Krenik, and Father James C. Ditty
1993 – 1997 – Father Joseph Metzger, III
1999 – 2000 – Father Robert McEleney
2001 – 2002 – Father Richard Mooney
2002 – 2007 – Father Carl DeSouza
2007 – 2010 – Father James M. Glass, OSB
2010 – Interim Pastor – Father Joseph Wamala
2010 – 2015 – Father Anthony W. Morris
2015 to Present Father Stefan Migac

Photo Gallery

If you like this gallery, check out the complete photo albums. Each link  below opens a pdf file, in a separate tab, containing the indicated  pages from each album volume. 

VOLUME A

VolumeA-Pages1-10 (pdf)Download
VolumeA-Pages11-20 (pdf)Download
VolumeA-Pages21-30 (pdf)Download
VolumeA-Pages31-40 (pdf)Download
VolumeA-Pages41-50 (pdf)Download
VolumeA-Pages51-60 (pdf)Download
VolumeA-Pages61-70 (pdf)Download
VolumeA-Pages71-80 (pdf)Download
VolumeA-Pages81-90 (pdf)Download
VolumeA-Pages91-96 (pdf)Download

VOLUME B

VolumeB-Pages1-10 (pdf)Download
VolumeB-Pages11-20 (pdf)Download
VolumeB-Pages21-30 (pdf)Download
VolumeB-Pages31-40 (pdf)Download
VolumeB-Pages41-50 (pdf)Download
VolumeB-Pages51-60 (pdf)Download
VolumeB-Pages61-70 (pdf)Download
VolumeB-Pages71-80 (pdf)Download
VolumeB-Pages81-90 (pdf)Download
VolumeB-Pages91-96 (pdf)Download

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