About St. Thomas More Chapel · Front Royal, Virginia
St. Thomas More Chapel is a Catholic chapel tucked into the second floor of Chelsea Academy's lower-school campus in Front Royal, Virginia, and it serves as the Sunday home for the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) celebrated for St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. Opened in 2022 after diocesan restrictions required the parish's main church to stop hosting Sunday TLMs, the chapel was built in just under five weeks with funding from more than fifty parishioners of St. John the Baptist and St. Peter's. It is part of the Diocese of Arlington, canonically served by Fr. Daniel Gee, pastor of St. John the Baptist, and remains both the spiritual heart of Chelsea Academy (a K-12 classical Catholic school) and a community hub that draws several hundred faithful every Sunday for the 1962 Missale Romanum.
- Established
- 2022
- Patron
- St. Thomas More
- Rector
- Rev. Daniel Gee (pastor of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, which uses the chapel)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Arlington
Why belong here
St. Thomas More Chapel is a living expression of the Traditional Latin Mass in the Shenandoah Valley, celebrated every Sunday at 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. in the 1962 Missale Romanum. It is also the spiritual heart of Chelsea Academy, where students and faculty gather each Monday for whole-school Mass with the Chelsea Schola, with weekly confession and adoration available afterward. Built through the generosity of more than fifty local parishioners and opened under the patronage of the great Catholic lawyer-statesman St. Thomas More, the chapel offers a reverent, traditional liturgical home for families seeking the older Latin Mass while serving the wider Front Royal Catholic community in partnership with St. John the Baptist parish.
Mass times at St. Thomas More Chapel
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- St. John the Baptist parish — Monday–Saturday: after 8:30 a.m. Mass and at 6:30 p.m.; Saturday: 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.; or by appointment (540-635-3780)
- Chelsea Academy students — weekly after Monday school Mass
Adoration times
- St. John the Baptist parish — Monday 9:00 a.m. through Saturday 8:00 a.m. (Eucharistic Adoration)
- Chelsea Academy students — weekly after Monday school Mass
History & Origins
St. Thomas More Chapel was born in 2022 out of necessity. When diocesan restrictions prevented St. John the Baptist Catholic Church from continuing to host the Traditional Latin Mass in its main church, Fr. Daniel Gee and Chelsea headmaster John M. DeJak sought a new home. Bishop Michael Burbidge granted permission to reserve the Blessed Sacrament permanently on the second floor of Chelsea's lower-school building, and the chapel was built in under five weeks — funded by more than fifty parishioners of St. John the Baptist and St. Peter's who wanted to preserve the Latin Mass. The altar, pulpit, altar rail, and Stations of the Cross were crafted by Vincent Surmount in solid elder and heart pine. The chapel's namesake relic that of St. Edmund Campion — was obtained in place of a relic of More himself.
- Chapel opened effective September 8, 2022
- Construction completed in under five weeks
- Funded by 50+ parishioners of St. John the Baptist and St. Peter's
- Built with permission of Bishop Michael Burbidge, Diocese of Arlington
Chelsea Academy & School Life
St. Thomas More Chapel is at the spiritual center of Chelsea Academy, the Shenandoah Valley's K-12 Catholic liberal-arts school and the only one in the Diocese of Arlington to hold canonical status (granted December 2020 by Bishop Burbidge). The chapel is named after the school's patron saint. Students and faculty open each day in prayer at morning convocation, attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass every Monday in the chapel with the Chelsea Schola singing, and have confession and adoration available afterward. The school calendar follows the liturgical year, with extra devotions in Advent and Lent and feasts of saints like St. Thomas More and St. Cecilia observed as special celebrations.
- Whole-school Mass every Monday, celebrated by Fr. Daniel Gee
- Chelsea Schola sings at every school Mass
- Weekly confession and adoration for students
- Canonical status granted December 2020 by Bishop Michael Burbidge
The Parish Connection: St. John the Baptist
The chapel belongs ecclesially to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church at 120 West Main Street, Front Royal — a historic parish whose original 1884 church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and contributes to the Front Royal Historical District. The chapel is a satellite worship space for the Traditional Latin Mass community, not an independent parish; it is operated under the pastor of St. John the Baptist, Rev. Daniel Gee.
- Parish address: 120 West Main Street, Front Royal, VA 22630
- Parish phone: 540-635-3780; Fax: 540-635-2683
- Parish office hours: Monday–Friday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM (closed 12:00–1:00 PM for Mass and lunch)
- Sunday Vespers & Benediction: 3:30 p.m. in the parish church on the 1st and 3rd Sundays
Visiting & Location
The chapel sits on the second floor of the lower-school building at Chelsea Academy, 1190 Progress Drive, Front Royal, Virginia. Christendom College notes the chapel is approximately 1.5 miles from its campus, while the parent parish (St. John the Baptist) is about four miles away. Visitors are encouraged to support the local parish community as well.
- Address: 1190 Progress Drive, Front Royal, VA
- 1.5 miles from Christendom College
- Part of the Arlington Latin Mass Society TLM network in the Diocese of Arlington
Craftsmanship & Sacred Furnishings
The chapel's wooden furnishings reflect a single craftsman's vision and devotion. Vincent Surmount, a local parishioner, designed and built the altar, pulpit, altar rail, and the Stations of the Cross using a combination of solid elder and heart pine — woods chosen for their durability and warmth. A relic of St. Edmund Campion is enshrined in the chapel, connecting the new worship space to the English Catholic recusant tradition that produced St. Thomas More himself.
- Wood: solid elder and heart pine
- Maker: Vincent Surmount (parishioner)
- Relic: St. Edmund Campion (Elizabethan martyr)
Future Plans
Both John DeJak and Fr. Gee have publicly stated that they intend to expand the chapel with balconies, increasing seating capacity for the hundreds who attend the two Sunday Latin Masses as well as for Chelsea's whole-school Masses. Those expansion plans remain in development.
- Planned addition of balconies to enlarge seating
- Aim: accommodate larger Sunday TLM crowds and school Masses