What is the history of the design of the Incarnation Worship Center?

In the mid 1970’s Bishop Sullivan separated Holy Comforter, which was located both downtown and at Branchlands. Town meetings were held so the parishioners could have a say in how to design the new church. Fr. Frank Kacmarcik [1920 -2004], a well known liturgical consultant, visited our parish and educated us about changes in church liturgy, as described in some of the documents of Vatican II. We went through an extensive consideration of various models of church using a book by Father Avery Dulles, SJ as a guide. We also consulted the guidelines for church architecture which were published by the conference of Catholic Bishops.

Charlottesville’s population was growing with many people moving here from other states. This small southern town had to find a way to adapt to many changes and It became important for the newcomers to feel welcome.

After many meetings we came to the strong belief that we are a community gathered around a table celebrating the Word and the Eucharist. We wanted an architecture that emphasized our gathering around the table. This is what we have now. It has served us well. [courtesy of Herb Ely]

For others who were here at the beginning of our Parish wish to provide their experience with the beginning of Church of the Incarnation, please send a paragraph or two to Deacon Mark (markd@incarnationparish.org) and we will continue to educate others on our rich Parish history.

Capital Campaign Update (February 7, 2026)

We have received $3,139,902 in total pledges from 345 families (31%) and $1,530,942 in cash contributions, including payments on pledges, one-time donations, second collections at the Spanish Masses, and fundraising by the Filipino community. 

If you have not yet pledged, please prayerfully consider to do so.  You may pledge a one-time gift, or spread your gift over 3 or 5 years.  If you have pledged but have not started contributions on your pledge, please do so by sending a check, stopping by the Office, or making a payment on the Donate page allocating the donation to the Capital Campaign. We also accept direct dispersements from retirement accounts and bequeaths.

Remember, to obtain final approval from the Diocese for the renovation project, we need to collect $3,500,000 in pledges and have $1,750,000 in cash for the $5,000,000 renovation to the Church.  Please help us to reach those goals so that we may begin readying our spiritual home for the next 50 years.  

Thank you!

Update from Msgr. Keeney’s January meeting with the Diocesan Building and Renovations Committee [BARC]

Monsignor recently presented to BARC the current status of the Capital Campaign for renovation of the Church. BARC approved the use of part of the cash raised so far to begin the design work, which will enable us to get a more firm estimate of the total cost of the project. BARC also asked us to consider if we could substantially increase the capacity of the Church from the current 480 seats to a capacity large enough to combine the 2 English Masses on Sunday morning into 1 English Mass, and combine the 2 Spanish Masses on Sunday morning into 1 Spanish Mass, in anticipation of a further shortage of priests in the future. Based on current Mass attendance on Sunday mornings, the capacity would need to be increased to almost 900 seats (the current plan is to increase capacity to 600+ seats). To enable further growth in the Parish in the coming years, we’d need to consider a Church building that could hold 1100-1200 people, more than doubling the size of the existing capacity.

To achieve this, BARC asked us to consider to options: 1) completely demolishing the existing Church and building a brand new Church or 2) updating the planned renovation to accommodate this larger capacity. At the current rough cost estimate, both expansion options would add another $3-5 million to the cost of the project, which we would need to raise ourselves. Considering the fragile state of the HVAC system in the Church, we would not be able to continue the Capital Campaign for the additional year or two to collect the additional funds. Msgr. Keeney will return to BARC with the additional cost estimates for both expansion options to show our due diligence. We intend to continue with our current renovation plan. [NOTE: the Feasibility Study conducted in 2024 defined that we could likely only raise $3,500,000 to support the Church renovation effort.]

Building Update

Engineers have recently determined that the footings for the current bell tower wall are insufficient to support the new roof structure and would need to be replaced. The cost of this replacement would be nearly the same as extending the roofline across the Nave (Worship Space) and the new Narthex. This single roofline would make a more uniform looking structure and the entry wall for the new Narthex would incorporate the bells. Additionally, a bell tower would be built outside the current Narthex along side the wall of the Guadalupe Chapel (formerly known as the Daily Mass Chapel) to balance the structure. Artistic renderings of this new design are provided below. A porte-cochère is added to the front of the new Narthex to allow cars to drive up for drop-offs / pick-ups and also for funeral processions. The parking area would be expanded to adapt for this partial use of the current parking lot.

 Capital Campaign FAQs