St. Bede Catholic Church, Williamsburg, VA

Saint Bede Catholic Church in Williamsburg, Virginia, started out as a Catholic College Chapel in 1932, soon becoming a regular parish. Now it is a huge parish with a lot of property and a large church. It's just outside the historic part of town and is far enough back from the road that our GPS thought we'd have to walk in.

View from the parking lot of the parish buildings

Cool bell tower

Courtyard

The top of the sanctuary peeking over the other buildings

 The nave is church-in-the-round style, which is not my favorite. The shape and extra aisles did accommodate the large crowd (a sign said the church seats about 1500). It's tastefully done.

Nave

The baptismal font is multi-functional, serving as a holy water font in addition to allowing baptism by pouring or immersion.

Baptismal font

The spacious vestibule has some fine art dedicated to the Venerable Bede. A set of paintings chronicles his life. A reredos in the old style, so common in England, shows several popular English saints and saints popular in England (but from other countries). 

St. Bede and scenes from his life

Bede as a boy coming to Jarrow Abbey

The plight of the Angles in Bede's day

Reredos

St. Thomas More and St. Francis of Assissi

I love how Thomas More has a ax like the one with which he was beheaded during King Henry VIII's reign.

The courtyard does have a rather dramatic statue of Jesus.

Jesus ready for action