St. John Bosco Catholic Church History
Woodstock, Virginia

St. John’s Catholic Church was erected on North Main Street in Woodstock in 1888, thanks to the many efforts and physical labor of Michael Geary and Patrick Reiley, two Irish railroad workers.  The two purchased the land together in February of 1888, and with the help of friends, the church was constructed.  The church was closed a number of years during the 1930s because there was only one Catholic family living in Woodstock.  When World War II began, and the Civilian Conservation Corps was established, St. John’s reopened and made its services available once again.  The local membership was small, but the students of the Massanutten Military Academy, tourists, vacationers, and members from surrounding towns enlarged the congregation.  Priests from Sacred Heart of Winchester and Reverend Phillip Weller of Catholic University served on weekends for Mass and conducted catechism lessons in the sacristy in the back of the Church. 

In 1958, the Bishop of Richmond saw a need for a resident priest, and through the Capuchin Friars of the Province of New Jersey, who had a seminary at Staunton (60 miles south), three brown clocked, bare-sandaled priests arrived in Woodstock – Reverend Father Leo, Father James, and Father John.  Thus started a mission in Woodstock.  Judge Frank Tavenner Sr’s home was on the market at that time, and it was purchased to serve as the Rectory that same year.  The Morrison Estate stood between the Church and the Rectory at that time.  Succeeding Father Leo was as follows:  Father Vincent Liuzzo (1964 – 1967), Associate Pastor Father Innocent Anores (1964 – 1966), Associate Pastor Father James (1966 – 1969), and in 1967, Father Salvator Ciullo. 

In 1968, Reverend Salvator Ciullo, pastor of St. John’s, saw a need for Sisters to assist with religious instructions, liturgy, and the needs of the Parish.  Over a hundred phone calls were made, and personal contacts, and at last, Mother Ida, Mother Superior of the Salesian Sisters answered the call.  Immediately, an effort was made, and the Hugh Morrison Estate was purchased to act as a Community Kindergarten, and CCD center.  Bake sales, rummage sales, suppers, dances, and local contributions were not enough for this fast growing movement.  Large contributions continued to come from Father Sal’s family and friends from New York and New Jersey.  His brother and two sisters also made weekly trips down to Woodstock in their station wagon laden with supplies to renovate all of the church buildings. 

Father Sal continued the expansion of St. John the Evangelist throughout the nine years he remained in Woodstock.  The average stay for a priest was about four years.  It was his desire to expand the already existing school, and after an appeal to the bishop, Father Sal received the funds to build.  Construction began in 1970 on the land behind the church, but Father Sal wished for more.  After consulting with his friends, the Hanleys, from New York, they agreed to fully fund the construction of a Function Hall adjacent to the new school.  The completed operation was finished in 1971, and it was appropriately named Hanley Hall. 

Father Sal’s last construction project was perhaps the most significant of all.  In the spring of 1972, the construction of a new church, close to four times the size of the existing one, was begun under his supervision.  Once again the Bishop donated limited funds for the venture, and Father Sal’s friends and family provided the rest.  Many parishioners assisted in the construction to keep costs to a minimum.  Mountain stones and pebbles from a local parishioner's farm were collected and used for the construction of the face of the church as well as the front walkways.  The new church was named St. John Bosco Catholic Church, after the Patron Saint of the Salesian Sisters who served in Woodstock.  A dedication ceremony was held on October 27, 1973, to whom many important dignitaries were invited.  Among those was President Nixon, and the famous psychic Jeane Dixon, unfortunately, neither could attend, but the festivities commenced nonetheless.  The next year, in 1974, Father Sal decided to ask the town government to change the name of Foundry Street to Capuchin Way, in honor of his Order of the priesthood.  When the case was taken before the town council, Father Sal was told that to do so would open a "Pandora's Box", resulting in a widespread call for street name changes.  Foundry Street kept its name.  

Some interesting facts about the new church are:  "Stained Glass Windows"  The beautiful stained glass windows depicting the apostles were made in Munich, Germany in 1884 by the famous craftsman, Franz Mier.  They were a gift from the old St. Joseph's Church in Richmond, VA, which was a predominantly African-American church at one time.  St. Joseph's which was being renovated, presented the gift to St. John Bosco shortly after construction began, but due to their architectural design, they had to be reglazed.  Mrs. Betsie Pryor and Mrs. Carrie Johnson, members of the old St. Joseph's Church attended the dedication of St. John Bosco Catholic Church.  "Bell Tower"  The rustic structure was constructed under the guidance and direction of Antonio Aquino, Chris Fowler and Edward O'Hagan.  The bell was removed from the old church building, where it had been placed eight years earlier by Father Sal's brothers and sisters.  Father Sal's sister, Josie, acquired the bell from the Pro Cathedral of Newark, New Jersey.  The chimes, carillon, and music tapes were all generous gifts of the Ciullo family.  "Cupola"   This dome-shaped tower is just one of the many gifts that Mrs. Ann Nipe gave to the church throughout the years.  It is the only one of its kind in this part of the country.  "Altar"  Beneath the white marble altar rests a box containing memorabilia commemorating the occasion of its dedication.  Included is a history of the church until that time, pertinent news items of the day, such as Richard Nixon and Watergate, brand new silver coins and a dollar bill from 1973.  Within the altar itself, as in all Catholic altars, lies a relic from the body of the church's Patron Saint, St. John Bosco.  The labor of placing the 3,000 pound Bottocino marble in place went on into the early morning hours.  It was not until 2:30 AM that the workers were ready to place and seal the box under the altar.  "Stone Entrance"   Built of native sandstone, this unique design was the result of lots of sweat and toil of many local parishioners.  The stone was hauled from a farm eight miles out of Woodstock, and laid in place by stonemason James Powell.  "Statues"  The various statues around the Church were put in place as a result of Father Sal's decorative tendencies.  All were imported from Italy, and many parishioners remember his frequent trips to Norfolk, VA to retrieve the statues from the ships that carried them from Italy.  "Toll Booth?"  Then there's this small eight by ten building behind the St. John Bosco Catholic Outreach House.  Looks like a small storage shed but some say it was once on Main Street (Route 11) and served as a toll booth for travelers making their way through town.  Not much else is known but it would be interesting to know some dates and other pertinent information about it.    

In 1976, Father Sal left the parish to become Parochial Vicar at St. James Parish in Falls Church, Virginia.  Father Salvator Ciullo died on July 25, 2004 while visiting family in Italy.  He was 73.  His replacement at St. John Bosco was Father Cyril Karlowicz who served the needs of the parish for four years.    Father Cyril Karlowicz passed away on October 21, 1980 in Winchester Memorial Hospital, following several weeks of cancer illness, he was 37 years old.  He was loved by all parishioners and especially by the children.  In recent years, the little white-boarded St. Johns was converted to a meeting hall and is now used by the Cyril Karlowicz Council 9002, Knights of Columbus.

Between 1973 and 1990, no major changes in St. John Bosco occurred, but a beautiful mission chapel, Our Lady of the Shenandoah, was built in 1975 and dedicated in April 1976 at Bryce Mountain Resort in Basye, Virginia, and now graces the southwestern corner of Shenandoah County.  The old church, St. John the Evangelist, was rededicated in 1989 as St. John the Evangelist Hall, and in 1990, the rear parking lot was expanded.  The lot on the corner of North and Main streets was acquired by the church from Mr. Orrin French that same year, serving as a new rectory, and a finish to the expansion of the church on the block between North and Foundry streets.  The old rectory was then converted to a CCD center for high school students.

After Father Karlowicz passed away, Reverend Father Sylvester Catallo came to Woodstock and resided from 1980 until 1988. In the continuing quest for new Knights of Columbus councils, Robert Neary, the State Deputy in 1984-85, appointed Don Kehoe of Burke, Virginia, to serve as the chairman of the New Council Development of the Knights of Columbus of Virginia.  Father Sylvester Catallo, pastor of St. John Bosco Catholic Church invited Don to make a presentation to the parish from the pulpit at a Sunday Mass in January 1985 to describe the activities of the Knights of Columbus and the requirements for membership.  Following Mr. Kehoe's visit, Ed Marinak, the District Deputy from Valley Council in Winchester and his Warden, Cris O'Henry visited the parish to ascertain if there was sufficient interest among the men of the parish to proceed with the administrative paperwork for the establishment of a new K of C Council.  Much to the pleasure and delight of the pastor, a goodly number of men expressed their desire to join the K of C.  The Knights of Columbus Council #9002 was officially chartered by the Supreme Council on April 16, 1985.  Another important early decision was to select a name for Council #9002.  Our council draws its spirit from the memory of our dear former pastor, Father Cyril Karlowicz, who, while serving as our spiritual leader at St John Bosco, succumbed to cancer at the age of 37 on October 21, 1980.  When the Council #9002 was organized just five years after his untimely death, the Knights unanimously voted to honor his memory by naming #9002 the Father Cyril Karlowicz Council.  (Taken from "The First Decade", the tenth anniversary celebration of the Father Cyril Karlowicz Council 9002)     

In 1988, Father Bob Calabrese was asked to come to St. John Bosco Catholic Church.  When asked why did he come to Woodstock? “A pastor usually has two three-year terms,“ explained Calabrese.  “Father Sylvester’s term was up,” said the priest of the only Catholic Church in Shenandoah County, “and they asked me if I would come to Woodstock.”  He agreed that he might have been somewhat different in his dress attire.  “Externally I may be different.”  But the difference was external only.  “I’m a friar in and out of my habit.  I never shed my identity.”  Father Bob delivered his last sermon at St. John Bosco Catholic Church on Wednesday, June 20, 1990.  He accepted an administrative position with the Provincial House in Hoboken, New Jersey.  He left the parish in the hands of his former classmate, the Reverend Martin Schratz.     

In 1990, Reverend Martin Schratz came to St. John Bosco Catholic Church from a large 600 family parish in Passaic, New Jersey.  With nine Catholic Churches nearby, he had less territory to cover there than here.  “People out here make you feel welcome to the valley – it’s a good feeling.  I love it.  It’s God’s country,” he was quoted as saying. 

In June of 1992, Father Schratz, and the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin decided to pull out of the parish of St. John Bosco Catholic Church and turn the parish over to the diocesan priests from the Arlington Diocese.  Upon learning of his leaving, he remarked, “It’s been a very special experience.  As beautiful as the Shenandoah Valley is, the people here are even more beautiful.  This is a real faith community – the people here have to work for it.  Some of them live 45 minutes to an hour from the church.” 

Father Schratz’s successor to the St. John Bosco Catholic Church was Father Joseph J. Loftus.  He was formerly the pastor of Our Lady of the Valley in Luray, Virginia.  He was ordained in 1956 and incardinated in the Arlington Diocese in 1982.  Since coming to the diocese, he had served as the assistant director of counseling at Arlington Hospital, was assigned to St. Louis, St. Mary, and St. Lawrence Parishes in Alexandria, the Cathedral of St Thomas More and St. Agnes Parish in Arlington, and Sacred Heart Parish, Manassas, and Our Lady of the Valley in Luray.  He served the parish of St. John Bosco from 1992 until August of 1996, when he resigned because of health reasons. 

On September 1, 1996, Father Robert Ruskamp was chosen to lead the parish by the Bishop of the Arlington Diocese.  He had been in the church as an Associate Pastor since June of 1996, and when Father Loftus resigned, his opportunity blossomed.  His goal from the beginning was to enhance the social life and to promote a sense of community within the church.  His love of the youth of the parish led him to organize a youth group and a weekly Bible study for adults.  He was a lover of harp playing and performed for the parishioners of the church on many occasions.  Its sound brought him a calming and spiritual uplifting.  He was also a lover of motorcycling and was once asked how he reconciled his harmonious harp playing with his motorcycle riding, he responded that he didn’t see a problem since he didn’t do both at the same time.  During Father Ruskamp’s tenure, Brother Knight Charles Barone, designed and constructed the Saint John Bosco stained glass window which the Council 9002 paid for and donated to the church.  The design and preparation of the two foot by four foot window was priced at $2,200.00 with an installation cost estimated at $400.00.  The members of the council were asked to contribute $40.00 each to cover the cost of the project.  It was anticipated that some members would not be able to give that amount and that others would donate substantially more than the assessment.  As anticipated, there was an outpouring of interest and the total needed funds were met.  The preliminary wall work and the installation of the window was in large part the work of Brother Knight Chuck Hachrel and his son, Charles Jr.  The dedication of the window was celebrated with the added color and dignity by Sir Knight members of the Father O. Hickman Forth Degree Assembly of Winchester on the feast day of Saint John Bosco, January 31, 1998, at the 9:00 AM Mass.  One member of the Council described the event by paraphrasing Winston Churchill:  "If this council should last for 1000 years, folks will still say, this was her finest hour."  The following year, Charles Barone also was asked by the Father Cyril Karlowicz Council to design a memorial and have it dedicated as the Pro-Life Monument memorializing unborn children.  Charles Barone recommended stonemasons Henry and Sam Sager of Mt. Olive, VA, to do the work which took about a week.  On January 23, 1999, in front of the Saint John Bosco Catholic Church, the memorial was dedicated.    Past Grand Knight Pat O'Meara was quoted as stating about the monument, "we want to reinforce...that abortion is not a viable answer to pregnancy".   Father Ruskamp served the parish until June of 2000, when he was reassigned to St. Agnes Parish in Arlington.  He has since been assigned as Chaplain of Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia in June of 2002.   

On June 28, 2000, Father William Aitcheson was assigned as Administrator of St. John Bosco Catholic Church.  Father Aitcheson had previously been serving with other priests, in both St. Patrick Parish in Chancellorsville, and St. Matthew Mission in Spotsylvania.  Father Aitcheson had lived near the Chancellorsville battlefield west of Fredericksburg, and his love of the Civil War era was right at hand.  He had on display in the rectory a wealth of original Civil War memorabilia, which he had collected since his youth.  Father Aitcheson served as Administrator of St. John Bosco Catholic Church until Bishop Paul S. Loverde appointed him as Pastor on January 5, 2002.  The parish is also served by Deacon Gene deLadurantye who has been with the church for many years.  Missionaries of the Holy Apostles Father Joseph Salazar who had been living and serving at the parish since 1999 while writing a book, was appointed as Administrator of Our Lady of the Shenandoah Mission on June 25, 2003, he replaced Father Clarence Trinkle, who retired.  Father Salazar ministered to the local Hispanic community by celebrating the weekly Spanish Mass at St. John Bosco Catholic Church, as well as his duties as administrator at the mission church.  In February of 2004, Father Salazar was recalled to the "Mother House" in New Jersey and the Bishop of Arlington filled the position of Administrator with Father Edmund Carroll.  Father Carroll was ordained to the priesthood on May 25, 1957.  He studied theology at St. Francis Seminary and was an instructor in Latin there and at St. Francis College.  He has served as the Associate Pastor of St. Paul's Church in Scranton, Pennsylvania.  He also was the Pastor of St. Joseph Church in Herndon, Virginia, before being elected Minister Provincial, Chairman of the Board of Trustees in Loretta, Pennsylvania and Steubenville, Ohio, from 1996 to 2004.  In February of 2004, the Bishop of Arlington, Paul S. Loverde, appointed Father Carroll as Administrator of Our Lady of the Shenandoah Mission, in Basye, Virginia.  On July 31, 2004, Father Edmund Carroll died while serving Our Blessed Lord.  He was 74.  The administrator of the mission is now Father Paul Richardson.  Father Aitcheson, Pastor of St. John Bosco Catholic Church, took a medical leave during the summer of 2005 and in October was reassigned as the Parochial Vicar in the St John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Warrenton, Virginia.  Father Wilhelm Ettner, who was assigned by the Bishop as Temporary Administrator of St. John Bosco Catholic Church during Father Aitcheson's leave, was then  appointed as Administrator of the church when Father Aitcheson was reassigned.  In November of 2005, the Bishop appointed Reverend Jose Humberto Jovel as the Parochial Vicar who  daily aided the Hispanic community and celebrated the Spanish Mass on Sundays, he has since returned to his native country.  In February of 2007, the Reverend Francisco Rivera joined with the church, In Residence, and is also working with the Hispanic community and celebrating the Sunday noon Mass.  Effective June 11, 2007, the Most Reverend Paul S. Loverde, Bishop of Arlington announced that Father Wilhelm Ettner was appointed as Pastor of St. John Bosco Catholic Church where he had been serving as Administrator.  

On September 22nd, 2008, Bishop Loverde celebrated the 10:30AM Mass at St. John Bosco Catholic Church to bless our renovations to the church.

After months of work and generous donation of time and labor, parishioners of St. John Bosco Church in Woodstock recently celebrated the completion of a renovation project at the church. The major facelift, the first since the church was built in 1974, was funded by the Rooted in Faith-Forward in Hope capital campaign.  Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde blessed the renovation, which included new air conditioning and sound systems and the donation of a new organ.  (info:  The organ was donated by parishioner Dan Burner in memory of his deceased wife.)

Father Wilhelm Ettner, pastor, assembled a committee in the fall of 2007, to consider what might be done to improve the sanctuary to focus more strongly on the Eucharist.  The budget was small, but ideas were huge-nothing but the best for the Lord.  The whole community got into the act.  A sanctuary lamp and tabernacle were donated.  Niches were built for statues of Mary and Joseph.  A local contractor and his crew installed drywall and insulation over the cinder block walls, and put down a hardwood floor in the sanctuary-donating all the labor.  The Knights of Columbus rounded up volunteers who removed the old pews and cut them up to be sold.  Individuals and families sponsored new pews, chairs and sanctuary furniture.  A local flooring contractor installed new tile, carpet and doormats.  A stained glass window, placed over the new tabernacle, was commissioned in memory of Dr. Edward "Ted" Mulligan, a longtime parishioner of St. John Bosco and a local general practice doctor who died two years ago.  The design was created by Caroline Clifford Spinelli (formerly of SJB) and fabricated by parishioner Jim Hensen of Artisen Stained Glass of Woodstock. 

In the fall of 2008, Father Francisco, In Residence, also returned to his native country, and was replaced by Father Zacarias Martinez in October of 2008.  

This history is a compilation of  writings by Matt Rhodes, and Eunice Taylor, and ongoing writings by David Fairbank.
July 11, 2009