During the late 17th century, the few Catholic settlers in northern Virginia, living near Aquia Creek, were attended by Reverend John Carroll and other Jesuit missionaries from Maryland.

After the American Revolution, Pope Pius VI in 1784 erected the Prefecture Apostolic of the United States, encompassing the entire territory of the new nation.

[7] In 1950, nuns from the Sacred Heart Order established a girls' college in Arlington that later became Marymount University.

In 1983, Pope John Paul II appointed Welsh as bishop of the Diocese of Allentown.

[12] Loverde reinstated the permanent diaconate program, and allowed seminarians to study at Blessed John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts, the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, and the Catholic University of America.

He also supported religious orders coming into the diocese, such as the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist and the Cloistered Dominicans.

[16] In August 2017, Reverend William Aitcheson admitted to having been a member of the Ku Klux Klan while in college in the 1970s.

Aitcheson announced that he would temporarily step down from his post at St. Leo the Great Catholic Parish in Fairfax, Virginia.

Burbidge released a statement referring to Aitcheson's past as "sad and deeply troubling" while hoping that his conversion of heart would inspire others.

[20] Also in January 2022, Burbidge restricted use of the Tridentine Latin Mass in the diocese, in accordance with the apostolic letter Traditionis custodes issued by Pope Francis in July 2021.

The diocese claimed that the project was unlawfully removing access to the church and school through the alley.

[26] Also in May 2022, Burbidge announced that he would ban then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from receiving communion in the diocese due to her support of abortion rights for women.

In September 1992, Joseph T. O'Brien Jr told the Washington Post that he had also been sexually molested by Reinecke around 1969.

[29] In February 2019, Burbidge released a list of sixteen diocesan priests who had been credibly accused of sexual abuse.

[30][31] In March 2020, Reverend Scott Asalone was arrested on charges of sexually abusing Washington D.C. Councilman David Grosso when he was 14 years old.

[34] Antonio Pérez-Alcalá, a leader of a Catholic youth organization in McLean, was arrested in November 2021 on charges of sexually assaulting minors.

He allegedly molested a child under age 13 while serving at Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly in 2000.

[41] The Diocese of Arlington coordinates and supports a range of charitable activities focused on assistance to the vulnerable, fund-raising and education.