St. Thomas More Cathedral

Arlington, Virginia

St. Thomas More Cathedral

Renovation

When the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, was established in 1974, the parish church of St. Thomas More was designated as its cathedral. The 50th anniversary celebration of the founding provided the motivation to renew the aging structure. In conversations between the client and the architect, a challenge emerged: could the old church be transformed into one more fitting for its stature as the mother church of the Diocese, one drawn from the heritage of traditional sacred architecture?

O’Brien & Keane responded with a design for the complete replacement of the principal facades and roof, enlarged windows, and the replacement of nearly all existing interior finishes. Additionally, the design called for the reorganization and renovation of the sanctuary, new liturgical furnishings, and the removal of non-contributing and distracting features. 

Built in 1960, the aging structure was truly of its time. Although cruciform in plan, this church was sparsely detailed and lacked the richness of architectural expression and artistic craft that is the institution’s inherited legacy. 

Informed by the architecture of the time of St. Thomas More, a man of Tudor England and martyred under the rule of Henry VIII, precedents from that era and later revivals guided the design. Notably, the stonework and mixed masonry, oriel windows, tracery, and buttresses found in the work of James Gamble Rogers in the early 20th Century served as inspiration for the new architectural language. 

The new vocabulary extends to the interior, as seen in the nave and transept end walls, the oriel windows, and the wood screen wall, inspired by rood screens of the Perpendicular Gothic period. This latter device serves as the backdrop for the sanctuary and relocated tabernacle and eliminates the visual distraction of the choir located in a loft above and behind the sanctuary without compromising acoustics.