The Catholic Church of Saint Mark sits on Kempsville Road in Virginia Beach, about a quarter mile south of Indian River Road and next to the Holloman-Brown Funeral Home. Established in 1978 as a mission of Bishop Walter F. Sullivan and grown from a handful of families gathering around a picnic table altar into a parish of more than 1,400 households, Saint Mark today is a full-service Roman Catholic community in the Diocese of Richmond. Its mission statement, framed in the lobby and repeated in nearly every ministry description, captures the parish in four lines: rooted in the Word, nourished by the sacraments, guided by the Holy Spirit, and united in the desire to serve those in need and build the Kingdom of God by imaging Jesus Christ.
From Garages and Backyards to a Sanctuary on Kempsville Road
Saint Mark began life as the Indian River Catholic Community on May 29, 1978, when Bishop Sullivan drew boundaries that identified 253 families already attending the Church of the Ascension on Princess Anne Road and St. Matthew's on Sandra Lane. There was no building, no land, no rectory. Father Joseph L. Clark was assigned as pastor but lived at Star of the Sea at the oceanfront. The first Masses were celebrated in a garage around a picnic table altar, then moved from backyard to backyard and into family rooms when the weather turned. By fall of that first year the parish had 54 families and a name. The evangelist St. Mark, writer of the shortest Gospel, was a natural progression from St. Matthew just to the west, and in the years that followed the neighboring parishes to the east took the names Luke and John. By October 1978 the new community had outgrown garages and was celebrating Mass at Brandon Junior High School on Sunday mornings and at Community United Methodist Church on Saturday evenings and holy days.
Through the early 1980s the parish continued to meet that way, packing and unpacking a collapsible altar, a portable sound system, linens, vessels, song books, coffee pots, and bulletins every week. Baptisms were celebrated in the cafeteria church. Religious education met in homes, the Rite of Christian Initiation met at the rectory, daily Mass was said in a sun porch, and the parish offices lived in a garage. In February 1981 the Diocese purchased 6.58 acres on Kempsville Road, and on November 6, 1983, the parish broke ground. Phase One, a 17,088-square-foot building that included a Great Hall for worship and fellowship, a chapel for daily Mass, offices, a kitchen area, and a nursery, was dedicated on October 6, 1984. The total cost was $1,047,883, but careful management and the generosity of parishioners meant only $450,000 had to be borrowed. A separate furnishing drive invited families to purchase a chair, a brick, contribute to the altar, or add to a general fund, with no memorial plaques and no visible acknowledgement of donors; the parish decided that the altar and the electric bill were both equally vital.
By 1988 the parish had 979 registered families and burned the mortgage at the parish picnic. A second phase, a permanent sanctuary, was already taking shape. Father Clark was transferred in 1990 and Father Daniel N. Klem arrived in June with instructions to get the building program moving again. There was more than $500,000 in the building fund. Education sessions on the liturgical requirements for a church built after Vatican II, a parish survey on design priorities, decisions about the placement of the tabernacle, and the choice of kneelers all preceded groundbreaking on September 22, 1991. The five windows in the new sanctuary tell the story of the Gospel of St. Mark. The reservation chapel windows depict the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. The sanctuary was dedicated on May 24, 1992, without a single pledge campaign, and a parish song, By Cross and Water Signed, composed by Del Ridge, was sung to mark the moment.
Father Klem was transferred in June 2002 and Father James C. Griffin arrived in July. The Food Pantry, which had begun modestly in a couple of cabinets, grew to operate three days a week. The parish developed a twinning relationship with Maison Fortune Orphanage in Hinche, Haiti, an initiative that had started with help purchasing the original campus. In the summer of 2007 a columbarium was constructed adjacent to the church and dedicated by Bishop Sullivan. Saint Mark joined CAST, the Chesapeake Area Shelter Team, an ecumenical group of churches providing overnight winter shelter and meals to the area homeless for a week each winter. Father Griffin was transferred in June 2015 and Father Anthony Mpungo was assigned that July. In July 2023 Father Anthony moved to Holy Spirit and Father Eric Baffour Asamoah became pastor. A native of Ghana, ordained on July 1, 2000, Father Eric previously served the Holy Trinity Cluster Parishes in far southwest Virginia and also sits on the Priest Advisory Committee for the Diocese of Richmond.
Several vocations have grown out of the parish community. Christopher Gaffrey, raised at Saint Mark, entered postulancy for the Franciscan Order in August 2001, professed solemn vows on September 13, 2009, and was ordained April 24, 2010. Michael Johnson and John Kren applied for the restored Permanent Diaconate program in 1998 and were ordained by Bishop Sullivan at St. Gregory the Great on March 22, 2003. Daniel Sorady was ordained at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in 2012 and assigned to St. Matthew. The parish is also home to active Third Order Carmelites and Franciscans.
Mass, Reconciliation, and the Eucharistic Heart of the Parish
Weekend Masses are celebrated on Saturday at 5:30 PM, on Sunday at 8:30 AM, and on Sunday at 10:30 AM. The 10:30 AM Sunday Mass is livestreamed. Daily Mass is offered on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 8:30 AM and on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is celebrated on the first and third Saturday of each month, beginning promptly at 4:00 PM with community prayer and an examination of conscience, followed by individual confession and absolution. Confessions are also available by appointment. Music for the three weekend liturgies is provided by the Music Ministry under Music Director Mark Smeland and Liturgical Musician Vikki Ignacio, with Thursday evening rehearsals and a brief rehearsal thirty minutes before each Mass.
The parish describes the Mass as the source and summit of Catholic life, celebrated reverently and beautifully, and the weekly bulletin carries a reflection on the upcoming Sunday's readings by Jerome Sabatowich. From the Eucharistic celebration, the parish teaches, the community goes out to love neighbor. The liturgy is supported by a wide range of lay liturgical ministers: altar servers (children who have received their First Communion), lectors, extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, ushers, and information ministers. The Art and Environment committee plans flowers, banners, and linens for each liturgical season. Volunteers launder and iron purificators, corporals, and other altar linens each week. Adult catechists prepare children for First Reconciliation and First Communion in a two-year process that begins with a required year of foundational faith formation.
The Seven Sacraments and Sacramental Preparation
Saint Mark celebrates all seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. Baptism is celebrated on scheduled weekends at all liturgies, with baptisms at every Mass on the first full weekend of each month except during Advent and Lent. Parents are expected to be registered, active members of the parish and to attend Baptism preparation classes, currently a combination of an online certificate program called Belonging and a subsequent in-person gathering. Godparents must be at least 16, confirmed Catholics who have received the Eucharist, not bound by canonical penalty, leading a life of faith befitting the role, and not a parent of the child. A Godparent Attestation Form documents these qualifications.
First Reconciliation and First Communion are normally prepared in second grade, with parents and the formation team discerning readiness together. The parish emphasizes a two-year process: a foundational pre-sacramental year followed by a focused year including parent sessions, at-home activities, retreats, and special gatherings. Confirmation preparation is offered for teens in tenth grade and above who are participating in Teen Formation or attending a Catholic high school, and for adults through Nicole Brimer in the Religious Formation Office. Confirmation sponsor requirements mirror those for Baptism godparents, and a Sponsor Attestation Form is required. Marriage preparation requires at least six months' notice, a meeting with the pastor before any date is set, diocesan marriage preparation that includes an initial meeting, a personal inventory, a marriage retreat (Unveiled, Engaged Encounter, or Catolica Matrimonial Preparacion en linea), a prenuptial investigation, and liturgical planning. Holy Orders and vocations to religious life are addressed by referral to the Diocese of Richmond, the Permanent Diaconate, the Little Sisters of the Poor, the Poor Clares, the Trappistines, the Dominican Sisters, and the Sisters of Bon Secour. Anointing of the Sick is available for any baptized Catholic preparing for surgery or facing serious illness, and the parish encourages parishioners to call the office if you know of someone who cannot attend Mass and desires a visit or anointing.
Becoming Catholic and Coming Home
For adults considering Catholicism, Saint Mark runs an OCIA process for those 17 and older, beginning with a meeting with Father Eric. The four periods of the journey - Inquiry, Catechumenate, Purification and Enlightenment, and Mystagogy - are marked by three major rites celebrated with the wider parish community. OCIA sessions are held three times a month on Mondays at 7:15 PM. The 2026 Elect, listed by the parish, are Greg Robinson, Yamila Rodriguez, Addison Vazquez, Aime Perez, Brandy Henneberger, Amber Robbins, Elsie Watkins, and Jayton Ainsworth. The Order of Christian Initiation adapted for children and teens is also available for those age seven and older who are unbaptized, baptized in another Christian tradition, or baptized Catholic without appropriate catechesis.
For returning Catholics, the parish directs them to the wider Catholic welcome of the Church, reminding them that the Church misses them and hopes they will choose to come home. Registration as a member of Saint Mark is straightforward. New parishioners may register at the Parish Office weekdays during regular hours, or after Sunday Mass at the Welcome Desk in the commons. The staff will take a family photograph for the Welcome New Parishioners display, review the registration form, provide temporary donation envelopes, and offer a booklet of ministries with contact phone numbers. A registration form is available for download in advance.
Forming Faith from Childhood Through Adulthood
The Religious Formation Program at Saint Mark serves students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Children's Formation for grades K through 5 meets on Sunday afternoons from 12:30 to 1:30 PM. Teen Formation for grades 6 through 12 meets on Sunday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. A parish youth group, MARKed Generation, meets on the fourth Saturday of each month after the 5:30 PM Mass, inviting confirmed teens to take on leadership roles as Youth Leaders. The sacramental preparation fee for First Reconciliation and First Communion is $80 per child; for Confirmation it is $100; the general faith formation fee is $55 per child with a $165 cap for families with more than three children enrolled. No child is turned away for financial hardship; families are encouraged to speak with Nicole Brimer directly.
Vacation Bible School is held each July for children from Pre-K through elementary grades, bringing Scripture to life through music, crafts, games, storytelling, and community. Adult faith formation centers on Small Faith Groups that gather throughout the year for study, prayer, and fellowship. The Men of St. Joseph, open to adult men of all ages, meets on Thursday mornings at 6:00 AM in the Great Hall to discuss the Lectionary readings for the upcoming weekend's Mass. The Women's Book Club gathers every other month for about ninety minutes in the Saint Mark Library; recent selections include Mark Sullivan's Beneath a Scarlet Sky. Wisdom Seekers, the parish's seniors' group, meets on the second Friday of each month in the Great Hall for pot luck luncheons, restaurant lunches, guest speakers, and field trips, with all ages welcome. Children ages 4 through first grade are invited to Children's Liturgy during portions of the 8:30 and 10:30 AM Sunday Masses, when they are dismissed with a teacher and parent helpers to the small chapel for an age-appropriate lesson on the day's readings.
For families at home, the parish provides a subscription to FORMED, often described as the Catholic faith on demand, with unlimited access to Catholic e-books, talks, and videos, accessible after signing up at formed.org and selecting Catholic Church of Saint Mark. The parish also curates links to the New American Bible Online, the USCCB Daily Lectionary Readings, Busted Halo for young adults, Children's Ministry Magazine, the Loyola Press Sacraments Center, the Religion Teacher, the Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation at the University of Dayton, 3-Minute Retreats, Jesuit Daily Prayer, Pray As You Go, the Laudate Catholic App, the Apostleship of Prayer, Catholic Relief Services, Habitat for Humanity, Heifer Project, SERRV, Between Sundays, Catholic Mom, Common Sense Media, the Family Resource Center at Loyola Press, and For Your Marriage. All adults age 18 and older who work with children or youth must complete VIRTUS Protecting God's Children training, and a diocesan background check is renewed annually.
The Parish Nursery
Saint Mark's Parish Nursery is offered free of charge to both parish members and guests during the 8:30 and 10:30 AM Sunday Masses. There is no nursery during the Saturday 5:30 PM Vigil Mass. The nursery welcomes children from infancy through preschool, providing a safe and caring space where the youngest members of the parish can begin to experience the love of Christ within the community of faith. Children still in diapers should bring a labeled diaper bag with a change of clothes, socks, and diapers, along with a non-spill sippy cup. Food from home and personal toys are not brought into the nursery. Two adults must always be present; if not, the nursery closes for that service. All staff have completed VIRTUS training and a thorough background check. Nursery Supervisor Renee McCroskey and Assistant Kathleen Seddon run the program; the parish welcomes donations of hand sanitizer, Lysol, Clorox hard surface spray, and Kleenex, along with gently used toys.
Justice and Peace: Feeding, Sheltering, and Standing with the Vulnerable
The Justice and Peace committee organizes the parish's outreach and advocacy, guided by the Church's Catholic Social Teaching and the Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching. The Food Pantry is the parish's most visible ministry. Open on Wednesdays from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, the pantry distributes bags of groceries collected from parishioners and purchased from local grocery and food establishments. In a recent year the Food Pantry served 3,244 adults, 2,033 children, 1,576 families, and 1,841 food bags, along with 3,000 snack bags. The list of needed items includes Cheerios, canned green beans, grape jelly, macaroni and cheese, instant mashed potatoes, spaghetti noodles and sauce, peanut butter, canned peas, chicken ramen, canned tuna, white rice, and $10 grocery gift cards.
CAST, the Chesapeake Area Shelter Team, brings an ecumenical group of area churches together to provide overnight winter shelter and meals to the homeless for a week at a time; Saint Mark has hosted its week for eleven years and each rotation requires about 270 volunteers. The Snack Bag / PIN Ministry assembles bags of granola bars, fruit cups, treats, and pop-top soups and stews for the homeless served by PIN Ministry. PLARN, a Thursday morning gathering in the Great Hall from 9:30 to 11:00 AM, turns unwanted plastic bags into bedding for the homeless through PIN. Migrant Ministry partners with more than twenty other Catholic parishes on both sides of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to collect toiletries, clothing, bedding, backpacks, school supplies, and religious items for migrant workers. Prison Ministry centers on monthly visits, usually on the fourth Tuesday, to Deerfield Correctional Facility for Mass and conversation with the Catholic inmate community, along with card-writing for Easter and Christmas.
Respect Life runs advocacy and awareness throughout the year with a special focus during May, including a Baby Bottle Drive supporting Hope4Life, a baby shower for Hope4Life and Catholic Charities, visits to the elderly at Chesapeake Place, reflections from Prison Ministry volunteers, and advocacy materials. Advocacy raises awareness of human trafficking through bulletin announcements, a bulletin board in the Great Hall, World Day of Prayer for Human Trafficking on February 8, and resources from On-Watch, US Sisters against Trafficking, and the Polaris Project. Collection Ministries focus on a specific need each season: hygiene items for PIN from January through February, migrant collections from March through August, baby items from May through October, school supplies from July through August, and winter items from September through October. Holiday Baskets provide gift cards at Thanksgiving and Christmas to about 110 to 125 families served by Catholic Charities, Samaritan House, the Department of Human Services, Refugee Resettlement, and Jewish Family Services, with the recent Christmas drive distributing 704 food and gift cards plus over 350 toys. The Christmas Giving Tree collects gift cards, toys, and requested items for those same partner agencies. Twice a year the Justice and Peace committee joins with the Knights of Columbus to host Red Cross blood drives tied to the feasts of St. Valentine on February 14 and St. Januarius on September 19; the parish is a Red Cross Premier Partner.
Saint Mark's relationship with Maison Fortune Orphanage in Hinche, Haiti, has continued for decades, with the parish working to revitalize its twinning bond after a period of reduced contact. Knights of Columbus Council 10515, while not a formal parish ministry, supports the pumpkin patch, Christmas trees, and special projects for the pastor.
Parish Life: Fellowship that Holds the Parish Together
Parish Life is the parish's fellowship arm, meeting on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:00 PM in the Conference Room. The committee plans and supports the St. Mark Parish Picnic and Harvest Festival, the Father's Ordination Anniversary, Lenten Soup Suppers, the Easter Egg Hunt, the Easter Vigil Reception, and a long list of gatherings including Trunk or Treat, the young adults' group, the Mom's Group, the Easter Vigil and Lessons and Carols receptions, and visits by Bishop Knestout for events like Father Eric's installation and the Bishop's Appeal dinner. Samaritan Meals provides meals two to three times a week to parishioners recovering from surgery or childbirth, scheduled for two weeks unless circumstances require longer. Funeral Receptions are organized in the Great Hall, with Heavenly Chefs providing the food. Sunday Hospitality serves coffee and donuts after the 8:30 and 10:30 AM Masses and always welcomes additional helpers.
The Music Ministry
The Music Ministry supports all three weekend liturgies, as well as funerals, weddings, and special liturgies. Music is selected in consultation with a liturgical committee that weighs the readings, the pastor's thematic emphasis, and the ability and availability of the musicians. Rehearsals are on Thursday evenings at 7:00 PM and thirty minutes before each Mass. Choir members, cantors, and instrumentalists enrich the worship experience, and other unseen volunteers care for linens, decorate, tend plants, and clean.
Governance and Staff
Saint Mark is led by Pastor Father Eric Baffour Asamoah, with Deacon John J. Kren serving as Acting Pastoral Associate. Deacon John and his wife Chris joined the parish in 1983, and Deacon John holds degrees from Marist College, Old Dominion, and St. Leo Universities. He is also Director of the Permanent Diaconate for the Diocese of Richmond. Mary-Rachelle Paguiligan is the bookkeeper, Sherry Smeland the parish secretary, Brian Gridley the I.T. and facilities coordinator, and Thomas Smith the custodian. In the Religious Formation Office, Fe Guzman serves as Director of Religious Education and Nicole Brimer as Coordinator of Religious Formation. Mark Smeland and Vikki Ignacio lead music, and Renee McCroskey and Kathleen Seddon run the nursery.
The Parish Pastoral Council, an advisory body to the pastor, draws at-large members and the chairs of the four standing committees (Religious Formation, Parish Life, Justice and Peace, and Liturgy) and meets regularly under the chairmanship of Michael King, with Ann Marie Diana as vice chair, Steve Schlossberg as secretary, Connie Cofield as the Faith and Prayer coordinator, and Ricky Andrade and David Fritsch as at-large members. The Finance Council, chaired by William McMican with members Donald Spamer, Tino Damiano, Ellen Silvela, Janet Waltz, Father Eric, David Fritsch as parish council representative, and Mary-Rachelle Paguiligan reporting to parish council meetings, oversees the parish budget and reviews monthly financial statements. The council members are appointed by the pastor.
Visiting and Practical Information
Saint Mark is located at 1505 Kempsville Road in Virginia Beach, Virginia, about a quarter mile south of Indian River Road, next to the Holloman-Brown Funeral Home. The parish office can be reached at (757) 479-1010, with a fax at (757) 479-9453. The Religious Formation Office is reached at (757) 479-9897. Office hours are Monday through Thursday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM and Sunday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM (the Religious Formation Office also opens Sunday until 2:00 PM). The columbarium, dedicated by Bishop Sullivan in 2007, is available to parishioners through the Parish Office. Online giving is available through ParishSoft, and Flocknote keeps parishioners up to date with parish news. The Sunday 10:30 AM Mass is livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube, with a weekly online Worship Aid available online.
Parishioners share their time and talent in roles across the community: as gardeners who weed and mulch the grounds, as members of the Eagle Scout-sponsored meditation path project, as bakers and servers at the many receptions and suppers, as catechists and OCIA sponsors, as readers of the sick, and as drivers and chaperones on the annual trips to Maison Fortune. The parish's invocation of St. Francis, Preach the gospel at all times; use words when necessary, threads through the work of every ministry and is offered as the parish council's standing invitation to anyone considering how they might be called to serve.