Our Mission
IN THE WORDS OF SACRED SCRIPTURE
Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age. Mt 28:19-20
At Precious Blood Parish, we striven to live out the mission of the Church by proclaiming the Gospel (evangelize), to educate and form in our faith (catechize), and to celebrate the Paschal Mystery (through the Liturgy). As we fulfill this core mission, our growth in faith is also evident in the ways we serve others in the community around us
The History of Precious Blood
The first Catholic services in Culpeper were held in 1868. In 1879, the church site was purchased from the Kirkman sisters by Fr. Patrick Donahue of S.t John's Parish in Warrenton. The church cornerstone was laid in 1880. From 1880 to 1946, Precious Blood served as a mission of Warrenton, Manassas and Charlottesville.
From the earliest years, Missionhurst priests served the parish, beginning with Fr. Maurice du Castillon in 1946, Fr. Andrew Taillieu from 1947-1954, Fr. John Jansen in 1954, and Fr. Maurice du Castillon from 1955-1979.
Mass was celebrated once or twice a month until 1946, when the Precious Blood Church became an independent parish serving Culpeper, Madison and Rappahannock Counties, with mission churches in Orange and Gordonsville. Land was purchased for the rectory, and the Terrace Motel property served as CCD facilities.
In 1979, Fr. Leo Zonneveld, C.I.C.M, became pastor. He helped the parish begin a building program of three phases: 1) the Parish Hall/CCD facility 2) the new church, )3 the new adjoining rectory. The parish hall was completed in 1981 and the church in 1983. The rectory building and office was completed in 1991. By 1991 the church had purchased all of the properties on the block.
Precious Blood Preschool opened in 1981 in the new Parish Hall CCD facility. In 1997, the parish became home to Epiphany Catholic School, an inter-parish school serving Culpeper, Orange, Madison and Rappahannock Counties. It was the first Catholic School in the 4-county area.
In 2000, with a growing Hispanic population, the Spanish Mass was added at 4:00 on Sunday.
The Annex property was purchased in 2006 to provide for expansion for church and school, as well as increased parking. Additional parking was added as remaining homes on the church block were taken down.
The Parish celebrated its 50th anniversary on November 15, 1996 with a special Mass, pizza party and children's celebration. The booklet, "Precious Blood, the Catholic Presence in Culpeper" written by Ginny Ferlazzo, was published and given to each parish family.
In 1999, the Arlington Diocese purchased two acres of land of Rt. 299 for the future expansion of Epiphany School and possibly a new church site of the future. But in the summer of 2015, Epiphany was instead able to relocate to St. Luke's School, purchased by the Diocese in February. The new school had its own 22 acres with Preschool-8th grade facility, gym, library, playgrounds, and athletic fields.
Fr. Leo Zonneveld retired to Missionhurst in June of 2012 after serving 3 years as pastor. F.r Ansemle Malonda, also of Missionhurst, was his replacement and served for four years. Thus ended the Misionhurst presence at Precious Blood.
In 2016, the Diocese installed Fr. Kevin Walsh as Pastor and Fr. Mark Moretti as Parochial Vicar. Fr. Kevin, an expert linguist and Biblical scholar, has been instrumental in expanding the services to Hispanic families and has fostered the growth of our multicultural parish. Fr. Augustin Tran replaced F.r Moretti as Parochial Vicar in 2018 and served until 2020. In 2023 Fr. Joseph Vu was installed as the new Parochial Vicar.