St. Pius X History Page

History
1990 to 2003

Priest/Deacon/Ordination History Picture Archive Founding Members

Reflections on our Parish Community

In 1994 the Library/Media Center was completed. This building contains state of the art computers, library, and a video production center to serve the whole community. Encompassing approximately 6,000 sq. feet including the covered walkway, this facility serves both the school and the parish.

At the school in 1995, Carol Newman replaced Ron Accomando as principal in mid- year.

1996 was a year of tumultuous change for the parish. Martha Jo Kerr, who served as president of the Ladies Society in 1956 and accepted the job as parish secretary that same year, passed away. Cindy Pierotti transferred from the school office to replace Martha Jo as parish secretary.

Even with the passing of Martha Jo, her son Neely Kerr carried on her spirit as Office Manager. He began working for St. Pius in 1974.

The local Vietnamese Catholic community, many of them members of St. Pius X since 1975, had the opportunity to establish their own parish with the permission of the Bishop. Their enthusiasm, coupled with financial support from the parishioners led to the purchase Reinhardt Bible Church on Garland Road which was renamed St. Peter’s Vietnamese Catholic Community.

Our Principal Carol Newman was only able to stay with us for a very short time and her position was assumed by Peggy Szeljack, C.V. in 1996. Finally, Monsignor Tom Weinzapfel retired in 1996 after serving the people of St. Pius X for 40 years. His accomplishments have been extraordinary. Monsignor Tom has gone on to travel the world as well as to serve the neighboring parishes and missions he helped establish.

Father Ramon Alvarez arrived in January of 1997 as pastor and with him came Father Michael Forge. The parish was very fortunate to have two dynamic and energetic priests to guide the church after so many years of faithful service given to St. Pius X by Monsignor Tom. Father Ramon initiated the replacement of the old church roof with a beautiful copper model that enhances the beauty of an already stunning church. Inside the church the altar flooring was also replaced. Under Fr. Ramon's direction, the Pastoral Council developed the first master plan for the parish.

Fr. Alvarez

Change is always in the air. In 1997 Bill and Jeanne Jakubowski moved on to the diocesan youth ministry and Catriona Wilke, a graduate of Notre Dame University, joined the staff at SPX to lead the youth. Catriona was joined by assistant director Consuelo (Chelo) Garcia.

The mid-1990’s saw the growth of the Hispanic community both in our parish and the surrounding neighborhood. Many of the new parishioners are first generation immigrants so a Spanish Mass was added to the Sunday schedule in 1997. Over 400 people attended that very first Mass celebrated in Spanish.

Due to the obsolescence of the 1954 'Master Plan', Fr. Ramon formed a committee in 1998 composed of Matt Nevitt, Bill Armstrong and Len Ruby to study the facility requirements of the parish. This Master Plan Committee hired Hendricks and Brantner, an architect firm to draw up plans for future development of the property. This master plan replaced the 1954 version but was never implemented. This second master plan was replaced in 2003.

Advancement in programs also included advancement in technology. The first-ever St. Pius X School Advisory Board set out to develop a technology strategy. A technology committee produced both short and long-term objectives and obtained a substantial technology grant from the Catholic Foundation to help implement the plan. In addition to acquiring much needed hardware, the school came online, was networked, and was the beneficiary of new and updated software and training.

Betty Jennings, who served the parish in several capacities and completed more than 25 years as school secretary, retired in 1999. Her husband, Bill, was equally active and was the first Parish Center Manager.

Bob Edmondson created the St. Pius X web site. The amount of work to create the site is enormous and the parish is deeply indebted to Bob. John Farrell assumed the duties of SPX Webmaster from Bob in the year 2000.

In mid 1999 both Fr. Ramon and Fr. Forge were reassigned. Fr. Ramon became the rector of the Cathedral and Fr. Michael was appointed Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Dallas.

Once again the parish was very fortunate in the choice of pastors as a home grown priest was selected. Msgr. Larry Pichard graduated from St. Pius X School and now he is the leader. Msgr. Larry came to St. Pius X in a pastor swap with the cathedral where he spent many years as the leader and builder of that community. Concurrent with the appointment of Msgr. Larry was the arrival of newly ordained priest Fr. Cliff Garner.

The enrollment of the school continued to grow in the early 1990’s and St. Pius was the only “tuition-free” school in the Diocese. However, contributions to the church did not keep up with the new growth and the church’s ability to subsidize the school at the previous rate was endangered. The painful decision to charge tuition was made in 1999 for the spring 2001 school term. The school continues to receive a large subsidy but much needed fiscal stability for both the school and the church resulted.

Another anchor of the parish, Leola Flake completed 32 years of service to the parish as the priest's housekeeper before passing away in the year 2000. As a parish we have always been blessed with many dedicated individuals such as Leola, Msgr. Tom, Betty Jennings, Martha Jo Kerr, Betty Beam - Church Sacristan for many, many years, and Mary Robertson who served as school Librarian as well as Altar Coordinator for decades.

Three staff members were hired in 2000. Kassie Andries succeeded Virginia Hemmi as director of the CCD program. The program has grown by leaps and bounds and also required a Spanish director. In July, Josie Pacheco filled the new position of Spanish CCD director. John Farrell became the first chief financial officer for the parish.

Once again St. Pius leads with candidates for deacon. Parishioners Patrick Roffino, Dave Obergfell and Ed Leyden were accepted into the permanent diaconate formation program.

2001 began on a very sad note. An employee was found to have sexually abused several of our parish children. Having already begun to implement the diocesan Safe Environment Program in 1999, a concerted effort toward child advocacy was acknowledged with the hiring of Mary Schaar as Director of Safe Environment. The healing process of our community was sped along as many parishioners stepped forward to cooperate with the many requirements of this awareness program. All employees, clergy and volunteers that work with children, youth and vulnerable adults have been trained and screened.

In the spring of 2001, Lydia Montgomergy, long time manager of the Religious Goods Store, retired and Daion Christenson stepped in as manager.

As the summer of 2001 came to an end, so did the tenure of Catriona Wilke as Youth Director. Catriona moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas Law School. Rachel Lorenz who had been very active in the Youth Ministry replaced Catriona as coordinator.

After 2 years as an assistant in the Youth Ministry, Consuelo (Chelo) Garcia in early 2002 left to pursue her education. Samantha Patterson (Sam) stepped in to the vacancy left by Chelo.

In 2002 we greeted a new school principal. Rob Whitworth came to St. Pius X from Ganado, Texas. Rob is a graduate of the University of Dallas, liked the area when he was at the university and chose to return with his family to participate in educating Catholic students.

Rob Whitworth

Priest reassignments are a way of life in every parish and 2002 is no different. In June of 2002, Fr. Mar Ortiz, a native of the Philippines came to us from New Jersey but was only able to stay with us until the end of August of that year. Fr. Cliff Garner who arrived in 1999 left St. Pius X in July of 2002. Deacon Juan Ibarra expanded his role at St. Pius X at the beginning of August. Deacon Ibarra assists the pastor.

In 2002, the St. Pius X community was blessed with good news when the Bishop announced the establishment of a new mission in Mesquite called “Divine Mercy”. Led by Fr. Ernie Torres of St. Augustine, many of our dear parishioners left St. Pius to become founding members of the very first Catholic Church in the city of Mesquite. This continues a tradition of new churches either being created or having a strong association with St. Pius. St. Michael, Sacred Heart, Our Lady of the Lake, St. Peter, St. Thomas and Divine Mercy all have significant heritage with St. Pius X. St. Pius X of course is the offspring of St. Bernard parish.

Amid the normal changes, we have significantly upgraded facilities. The school installed a new tile floor in the hall, new lighting in the hallways and classrooms, new ceilings and half of the school received new windows. These are just some of the more noticeable changes. Many others have taken place, such as the refurbishment of the gym.

Fr. O'Brien who became a priest in residence in 1988 passed away on August 29 of 2002.

Fr. Don Zeiler joined St. Pius X Parish in September of 2002. This is a homecoming of sorts since seminarian Don Zeiler served an internship here at St. Pius X as part of his formation. Once again we have been blessed with incredible good fortune in having such a wonderful person in our service.

Finally in 2002, our school varsity football team won the Dallas Parochial League (DPL) championship. The eighth graders on this Tiger football team won DPL championships in 3 of their 4 years of participation.

On the facilities front 2003 was a mixture of additions, renovations and looking forward. During the summer, the largest project was the replacement of the remainder of the school windows. But just as significant to the students was the renovation of the junior high girls and gym boy's restrooms. As school was beginning for the year, the old convent building was being removed in anticipation of new construction.

In 2003 Monsignor Pichard re-commissioned a Master Plan Committee to once again address the needs of the parish for the long term. This committee of Len Ruby, Bill Armstrong and Cindy Dewan hired Droese Raney Architects and together they reviewed the current plan and with input from many individuals and groups, they created a new plan. Four phases were envisioned. Phase I encompassed improvement of the church for handicapped access. Phase II addressed cafeteria and youth organization needs with a new building to accommodate a kitchen, cafeteria/reception hall, scout room, youth facility, teacher's lounge and conference room. Phase III included a new priest residence. Phase IV would be a redevelopment of the land west of the church and would include a new day care facility.

Phase I of the plan was begun and almost completed in the fourth quarter of 2003.This represented the second major change to the church since it was built. The first major change was the copper roof added in 1997. Handicapped access significantly improved with ramps from the parking lot to the plaza area, ramps to the front porch of the church and additional restricted parking.

Not all of the renewal programs are for the physical plant. In June of 2003, Bishops Grahmann and Galante asked all parishes of the Diocese to engage in the work of the new evangelization called for by Pope John Paul II by participating in Renew 2000. Renew is a tangible pastoral plan for parishes that takes place over a three year period. By offering materials, both in English and Spanish, that are rich in spiritual and catechetical content, this program develops a solid and long-lasting foundation for the establishment of small Christian communities. The St. Pius community responded wholeheartedly to this plan when over 500 people signed up for groups conducted in English and over 300 participated in the Spanish program. Many friendships have formed and our parish is strengthened as we become part of the reconciled and renewed world as envisioned by Pope John Paul II.

Another change in the parish is in the backroom operations. In 2003 George Montgomery retired as Director of Counters to be replaced by Lelon Beckham. Since the beginning of parishioner money counters in 1954, there have only been 4 directors prior to Lelon. They are: Russell Spetter 1954-1958; Carl Wilkinson 1958-1969; Paul Klement 1969-1970 and George Montgomery 1970-2003.