St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish

About St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish

St Thomas Aquinas is a Catholic parish served by the Dominican Friars, bearing witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, celebrating the Sacraments, fostering spiritual and intellectual growth, and serving the students, faculty, staff, and greater University of Virginia community. As a University Parish, it is not simply a parish near a university, but a place where those who engage the complexity of the intellect may also embrace complexity in the life of Faith, gathered by the Holy Spirit in all sorts of people.

History of the Parish

Catholic presence at UVA traces to a Newman Club in 1943; the Dominicans arrived in 1959 to take charge of the Newman Center. Bishop John Russell formally established St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in 1963 as a uniquely non-territorial university parish entrusted to the Order of Preachers. A first church was dedicated on Alderman Road in October 1967; a second church followed in November 1995 (dedicated by Bishop Walter Sullivan) along with a parish center completed in spring 2004. Bishop Francis DiLorenzo blessed the adjoining Dominican Priory in 2013, marking fifty years of Dominican campus ministry at UVA. The parish has since completed its third and final church building on the site.

• 1943 — Catholic presence at UVA begins with a Newman Club and Center
• 1948 — Newman Center acquires a home on Jefferson Park Avenue
• 1959 — Dominican Friars (Province of St. Joseph) take charge of the Newman Center
• 1962 — Fr. William Stickle, O.P. leads purchase of Alderman Road land
• 1963 — Bishop John Russell establishes St. Thomas Aquinas Parish
• October 1967 — First church dedicated on Alderman Road
• November 1995 — Bishop Sullivan dedicates the second church
• 2002–2004 — New Parish Center constructed
• 2013 — Bishop DiLorenzo blesses the Dominican Priory (50 years of Dominican campus ministry)
• Current (third) church — Romanesque edifice completed on same grounds

A University Parish

St. Thomas Aquinas is a non-territorial parish: its mission is to the University of Virginia, not defined by neighborhood boundaries. The Dominican Friars provide the pastor, parochial vicars, and chaplains to the University Hospital, and the parish exists to extend an intelligent, well-instructed Catholic witness — an idea Cardinal Newman articulated and the Order of Preachers was founded to embody.

The Order of Preachers (Dominican Friars)

The parish is pastored by the Order of Preachers, founded by St. Dominic in 1216. The Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Joseph, headquartered in New York City, assumed responsibility for the UVA Newman Center in 1959 and have staffed the parish continuously since its canonical erection in 1963.

Our Church Building

The current St. Thomas Aquinas church was designed as a building that teaches and evangelizes. Romanesque in inspiration — simple nobility, symmetry, thickness, stability, and round arches — its Greek Cross plan maximizes use of parish land and centers attention on the altar from every pew. A blue dome dotted with golden stars crowns the crossing, white Carrara marble dresses the floor, altar, albo, and font, and Marian and St. Joseph shrines fill the transepts. Stained glass, stations, and the central crucifix are by Netherlands-born artist Sylvia Nicolas; the tympanum above the Alderman Road entrance is the work of classical sculptor and parishioner Thomas Marsh.

• Romanesque design with round arches and Greek Cross plan
• Azure-blue dome with golden stars and cupola
• White Carrara marble (Italy) in floor, altar, albo, and baptismal font
• Altar pelican symbolizing Our Lord in the Eucharist
• Relics in the altar: St. Maria Goretti, St. Dominic, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Martin de Porres, St. Agnes of Montepulciano, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
• Ornamental tympanum (Lord as pilgrim with St. Dominic and St. Thomas Aquinas) by sculptor Thomas Marsh
• Stained glass, stations, and central crucifix by Sylvia Nicolas
• Custom hybrid organ (Viscount) combining authentic pipes with high-end electronics
• Four confessionals, sacristy and vestry, Marian and St. Joseph shrines in the transepts

Dominican Priory

In 2013 Bishop Francis DiLorenzo blessed the Dominican Priory constructed beside the church. The Priory gives the Friars a proper home rooted in contemplation and common life, the source from which their apostolic ministry flows — and physically echoes the church's unabashed Catholic invitation to the broader University community.

Friars & Staff

Clergy and lay staff working together to support parish life. Pastor Fr. Walter Wagner, O.P., leads a team of Dominican parochial vicars (including the Very Rev. David Mott, O.P. who serves as Prior), with one permanent deacon, a Director of Worship, a Director of Music & Mission, a Director of Communications, a Business Administrator, a Director of Facilities, an Organist, a Youth Minister, a Religious Education Coordinator, and a Campus Minister for Catholic Hoos.

• Pastor — Rev. Walter Wagner, O.P.
• Parochial Vicars — Rev. Mario Calabrese, O.P.; Rev. Joseph-Anthony Kress, O.P.; Rev. David J. Mott, O.P. (Prior); Rev. Joseph Hagan, O.P.; Rev. Matthew Erickson, O.P.; Rev. Nicodemus Thomas, O.P.
• Permanent Deacon — Rev. Mr. Anthony DiTolve
• Karl Meier — Director of Music & Mission
• Sam Nicholson — Director of Worship
• Eleanor Nicholson — Director of Communications
• Marta Brannon — Business Administrator
• Lori Donlon — Organist
• Grace Bailey — Associate Director of Campus Ministry
• Reed Golomb — Youth Minister
• Kathleen Rosenberg — Religious Education Coordinator
• Caroline Golomb — (parish staff)

Campus Ministry — Catholic Hoos

Catholic Hoos is the parish's undergraduate campus ministry, run in partnership with FOCUS. It exists to invite, form, and send UVA students into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, integrating the parish, the residence halls, and the academic life of the University.

• Associate Director of Campus Ministry: Grace Bailey
• Friday Adoration for college students
• Bible studies, small groups, retreats, and outreach to 4,000+ self-identified Catholic undergraduates

Graduate Students, Faculty & Professional Groups

Recognizing that UVA's graduate and professional students, faculty, and staff have their own rhythms and questions, the parish supports a constellation of sub-communities tailored to particular vocations and disciplines.

• GradCats — graduate students
• St. Anselm Institute
• Darden Catholic Student Association
• St. Luke Society
• Catholic Healthcare Professional Group
• St. Thomas More Society

Youth & Young Adults

The parish runs an active Youth Ministry (led by Reed Golomb) alongside the Frassati young-adult group (ages 21–39, under the patronage of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, O.P.) and the Life Teen Band that supports youth Masses. The youth program offers something for every young person, with VBS in summer and ongoing formation through the school year.

• Youth Minister — Reed Golomb
• Frassati (young adults 21–39)
• Life Teen Band
• VBS: 'Rainforest Falls — Exploring the Nature of God' (June 22–26, 2026)

Religious Education (RE)

Parish religious education runs Kindergarten through 5th grade on Sunday mornings 10:15–11:15, drawing catechists from both the parish and the Catholic Hoos community. Sacramental preparation for First Confession and First Communion is embedded in the 2nd-grade curriculum. Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is offered for ages 3–6 in the Blessed Jane of Aza Atrium, with sessions both Sunday mornings and Thursday mornings.

• K–5 RE: Sundays 10:15–11:15, Faith and Life series (K uses Image of God)
• Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (ages 3–6): Sundays 10:15–11:15 and Thursdays 9:00–11:00 AM
• Coordinator: Caroline Golomb
• All volunteers background-screened and certified through Diocesan Safe Environment Program

Music Ministry

Music at St. Thomas Aquinas is a living liturgical art. The parish supports a Traditional Choir (chant, polyphony, and hymns at the 9:00 Solemn Mass, rehearsing Tuesdays at 7:00 PM), a Folk Choir (contemporary songs from Gather at the 11:30 AM Mass), the Worship Collective (Praise & Worship, hymns, and chant at the 5:15 PM Mass), a Children's Choir, the Life Teen Band, and student choirs. The church's Viscount hybrid pipe organ anchors the Traditional Choir.

• Director of Music — Karl Meier
• Traditional Choir (Tuesdays 7:00 PM)
• Folk Choir (11:30 AM Mass)
• Worship Collective (5:15 PM Mass — auditions; seeking string players and acoustic guitar)
• Children's Choir and Life Teen Band
• Viscount hybrid pipe organ (combining real pipes with high-end electronics)

Liturgical Ministry

Parishioners serve the liturgy as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, Lectors, Coordinators, members of the Altar Society, Altar Servers, and through Hospital Ministry (with the UVA Medical Center chaplaincy).

• Director of Worship — Sam Nicholson
• Extraordinary Ministers, Lectors, Coordinators, Altar Servers
• Altar Society
• Hospital Ministry

Growing in Faith: Scripture Studies & Small Groups

Adult faith formation centers on regular Scripture study and small-group life. The Women's Little Rock Scripture Study meets throughout the academic year, the Thursday Evening Adult Scripture Study is a scholarly pursuit led by Charlotte Burns, and the Hounds of the Lord men's group meets Saturdays at 7:15 AM in the Old Library for study, prayer, and brotherhood.

• Women's Little Rock Scripture Study (Patty Gazewood, 434-996-4736)
• Thursday Night Scripture Study (Charlotte Burns, 434-975-1132)
• Hounds of the Lord men's small group (Domenic Puzio)
• Women's Ministry monthly talks and retreats

Service, Mercy & Justice

Service is constitutive of parish life. Many opportunities exist to practice the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy locally and globally. The parish maintains a long-running twinning with a parish in Saltadere, Haiti, alongside Holy Comforter and Church of the Incarnation.

• Haiti Outreach — twin parish in Saltadere (tri-parish partnership since the early 1990s)
• St. Vincent de Paul Society — Holy Trinity Conference (food, rent, utilities, emergency assistance, spiritual support)
• Knights of Columbus (charity, unity, brotherhood)
• Respect Life ministry

Dominican Laity

The Fraternity of St. Dominic forms its members in the charisms of study, prayer, and service according to the spirituality of St. Dominic. The St. Thomas Aquinas Chapter of Lay Dominicans, led in 2009 by President Marta Brannon, gathers locally as part of the worldwide Dominican family.

For Newcomers

If you regularly attend, the parish asks that you register. Registration is available online or via hard-copy form from the parish office. Those not yet Catholic may inquire into OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults). The parish office is open Monday–Friday 9:00 AM–4:30 PM (closed federal holidays), with extended hours Sunday 9:00 AM–1:00 PM.

• Parish registration (online or by paper form)
• OCIA for adults seeking to become Catholic
• Office hours: Mon–Fri 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM; Sun 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM