The Recovering Choir Director

From the Virginian-Pilot, a story about the indult parishes of the Diocese of Richmond.

Common sense would suggest it’s only an ever-dwindling band of nostalgic, silver-haired Catholics who come to St. Benedict Chapel to hear the Rev. Damian A. Abbaticchio lead services in the dead language of Latin.

Yet Sunday mornings find youthful faces throughout the church. A steady trickle of newcomers in their 20s, 30s and early 40s has boosted St. Benedict’s membership to about 200, leading it to add a second Sunday service and expand its building. The chapel had about 80 members when it was founded in 1992.