Beloved Pastor Retires from St. Luke Catholic Church

After 19 years of devoted service, Fr. Martin McGuill retired from St. Luke Catholic Church at the end of June, and Fr. David Martin joined the parish.

A native of Texas, McGuill graduated from St. John’s seminary in San Antonio in 1956 and was ordained in 1964 in Corpus Christi. McGuill attended Assumption Seminary in San Antonio; received his divinity degree at St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee; a master’s in religious education at Loyola University in Chicago; a master’s in church administration and a licentiate in canon law from Catholic University in Washington, D.C.; and a doctorate in canon law, magna cum laude, from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas (the Angelicum) in Rome.

“I will miss him. He was a wonderful pastor. We’re both from Texas and we had a connection there…It used to be the length of time for a pastor here was 10 years… He was here the longest, nineteen years,” said Mary Connery,  a St. Luke parishioner.

McGuill’s career spanned several decades, beginning with the position of chaplain of the Corpus Christi State Supported Living Center of the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services.  After his incardination in the Arlington Diocese, McGuill served as an adjutant judicial vicar and as a judge of the interdiocesan tribunal in Baltimore.

After six years as pastor of St. Rita Parish in Alexandria, McGuill joined St. Luke in 1992. Fr. McGuill made a lasting impression on many:

Caitlin Bootsma, Interim Director of Communications, Catholic Diocese of Arlington: “Rev. Martin McGuill had actively served others in his priestly vocation for almost fifty years when he retired in June 2011. He was appointed pastor of Saint Luke in 1992 and since then has led a parish community with over 4,600 members; the community celebrated the parish’s this past May."

 Paul Skevington, St. Luke Minister of Music and Liturgy: “Fr. McGuill will be remembered for the building up and strengthening of the many different ministries and organizations within Saint Luke Parish. His personable pastoral sense was most cherished by anyone who met with him one on one.

"I am most grateful for his strong support of the music programs, including the purchase of the Saint Luke Pipe Organ, the support of the Festival Choir, and the establishment and expansion of the Music in McLean Concert Series.

 Although retired from St. Luke, McGuill still remains active and is currently the U.S. Air Force Catholic chaplain at Arlington National Cemetery.

 Fr. David Martin, a Massachusetts native, is a graduate of St. Joseph’s Catholic Central in Pittsfield, he entered the Stigmatine novitiate.

After receiving a bachelor’s in philosophy from Catholic University in Washington, D.C., in 1969, he returned to Massachusetts to study for his master’s in divinity at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton. He was ordained a Stigmatine priest in 1973.

Martin held positions in many churches around the country. He was assigned to All Saints Parish in Manassas and then Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Milford, Mass. He then was a community superior at the Espousal Conference Center in Waltham, Mass until he moved to Mountain View, CA where he served as Stigmatine novice director and professed students director at St. Joseph’s College Seminary.

During his time in California, Father Martin continued his education and received a  master’s in counseling from Santa Clara University and applied spirituality from the University of San Francisco.

In 1991, Father Martin was incardinated into the Arlington Diocese and had numerous assignments: “St. Mary Parish, Fredericksburg, 1987-88; St. John the Evangelist, Warrenton, 1988-89; St. Anthony of Padua, Falls Church, 1989-93; Church of the Nativity, Burke, 1993-95; St. John Parish, Orange, from 1995 until the parish combined with St. Mark in Gordonsville in 2002 to form St. Isidore the Farmer Parish. He then was appointed administrator of St. Jude Mission in 2003 when it was established and was made pastor when the mission was elevated to a parish in 2007."

Martin said of his new position at St. Luke, “I like the people very much – dynamic, outgoing and welcoming…I plan to build on the foundation of how it began with Bishop Flaherty to work on continuing to bring the people together in the ongoing forming of faith community.”

In addition to the new pastor, there are two other key roles that have been filled this year: the principal and the Faith Formation Director. Skevington said, “I am looking forward to working with the new pastor, Fr. David Martin, as well as the new principal of the school, Mr. Mark Cosenza, and the new Faith Formation Director, Ms. Joyce Franklin. We are fortunate to have a strong team taking on the leadership role here at Saint Luke.”