The Texas Catholic 01.08.16

THE

Texas Catholic © 2016 The Texas Catholic

January 8, 2016

The official newspaper of the Diocese of Dallas

Prayers and comfort YOUTH

Leadership conference Thousands of college students gathered at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas for the 2016 Fellowship of Catholic University Students’ Leadership Summit.

By Cathy Harasta The Texas Catholic

VATICAN

Holy Year of Mercy

See Page 3.

Success fueled by faith Capital campaign surpasses its goal

See Page 2.

On the first day of the new year, Pope Francis opened the last holy door in Rome as part of the extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy.

Vol. 65, No. 10

BEN TORRES/Special Contributor

Bishop Kevin J. Farrell hugs Silvia Sigsbee after touring tornado destruction outside her home, right, on Jan. 3 in Garland.

The Sigsbees were one of many families who had their home devastated by a tornado that ripped through Garland in late December. For more coverage of this story, see Pages 8-9.

Parishioners in the Diocese of Dallas embraced the spirit and substance of the diocese’s “Our Faith...Our Future” capital campaign with such generosity and heart that pledges eclipsed the goal of $125 million before the solicitation period ended in December.

The campaign surpassed its goal in November when money pledged totaled more than $126.3 million, said Jim Urbanus, the diocese’s Director of Development.

Pledges reached $130,426,212 in early January, he said.

“I don’t think it’s too early to See DIOCESAN, Page 14

OBITUARY | MSGR. THOMAS W. WEINZAPFEL

Diocese’s longest-serving priest passes away

By Steve Landregan Special to The Texas Catholic

DIOCESE

Spirit of giving Bishop Kevin J. Farrell joined volunteers Dec. 19 at Santa Clara Regional Community Center for the Catholic Charities of Dallas Christmas gift distribution to needy families.

See Page 11.

NEXT EDITION

Catholic Schools Week A look at the programs and activities that Dallas Catholic Schools will feature while celebrating National Catholic Schools Week, Jan. 31-Feb. 6.

Msgr. Thomas W. Weinzapfel, the longest-serving priest of the Diocese of Dallas, died Jan. 1, of complications following surgery for a fall on Christmas Day. Two days earlier, on Dec. 23, he had been honored on the 70th anniversary of his ordination with a Mass and reception at St. Pius X Parish, where he had served for more than 40 years before his retirement in December 1996.

In a blog marking Mgsr. Weinzapfel’s passing, Bishop Kevin J. Farrell wrote, “While we mourn the loss of this good and faithful priest, we rejoice in a lifetime of service and love that touched and changed the lives of thousands.”

“He forged a vibrant parish from the cotton patches of Far East Dallas that spawned numerous daughter parishes and fostered

RON HEFLIN/Special Contributor

As Bishop Kevin J. Farrell looks on, family members place the pall on the casket during the funeral Mass for Msgr. Thomas W. Weinzapfel at St. Pius X Catholic Church on Jan. 6.

many vocations to the priesthood, the diaconate and religious life.”

On Jan. 5, hundreds gathered

at St. Pius X Catholic Church for a visitation and rosary. The church filled to capacity again on Jan. 6, as

dozens of his brother priests joined Bishop Farrell, Bishop-elect Greg Kelly and Cistercian Abbot Father Peter Verhalen to concelebrate the Mass of Christian Burial.

Bishop Farrell was the principal celebrant, but Msgr. Henry Petter, pastor of St. Ann Catholic Church in Coppell, talked about Msgr.

Weinzapfel’s interests as a pastor and a person who liked being part of a community and who liked to have fun.

At the start of his homily, he acknowledged the standing-roomonly crowd. “Wow, I think if the monsignor were here, he would like to take up a collection,” he said to a roar of laughter and looked back at the bishop. “Maybe we should.”

Often to laughter from the congregation, he told stories about Msgr. Weinzapfel’s deep faith, his commitment to his St. Pius See MONSIGNOR, Page 12

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VOCATIONS

The Texas Catholic

January 8, 2016

FELLOWSHIP OF CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Bishop Kevin J. Farrell Publisher Editor David Sedeño Managing Editor Michael Gresham Managing Editor Revista Católica Constanza Morales Business Manager Antonio Ramirez Jr. Staff Writer Cathy Harasta Staff Writer Seth Gonzales Photographer Jenna Teter Accounting Manager Leigh Harbour The oldest Catholic newspaper in Texas ©2016 The Texas Catholic THE TEXAS CATHOLIC (USPS 616620) ISSN: 0899-6296 is published biweekly, except for the months of June, July, August and December when it is published monthly by The Texas Catholic Publishing Co., 3725 Blackburn, P.O. Box 190347, Dallas, TX 75219. Subscription rates are $20 for one year, $35 for two years, $55 for three years. Periodical postage paid at Dallas, TX. Extra copies are $4.00 each; if mailed, add $1.00 per piece for handling and postage.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Texas Catholic, P.O. Box 190347, Dallas, TX 75219.

Thousands gather at Catholic leadership conference

By Jacqueline Burkepile Special to The Texas Catholic

St. Catherine of Siena once said, “If you are who you are meant to be, you will set the world on fire.”

Learning how to set the world ablaze with the Catholic faith is exactly what approximately 3,500 young people came to do at the 2016 Fellowship of Catholic University Students’ Leadership Summit from Jan. 1-5 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas.

Fellowship of Catholic University Students, a national outreach, sends missionaries to college campuses to nurture students in faith and friendship. Many students therefore become leaders within the mission, and are invited to attend the FOCUS Leadership Summit.

The format of the summit includes Adoration and Mass in the morning, followed by training classes on prayer, discipleship, and evangelization.

In the afternoon, students gather in small groups for “power sessions” to teach their fellow leaders what they learned in the morning classes. This afternoon exercise prepares students for evangelization when they return to their college campuses. The day then concludes with a keynote presentation by a guest speaker, followed by other prayer and fellowship activities.

This year, guest speakers included Sister Bethany Madonna of the Sisters of Life and FOCUS

JENNA TETER/The Texas Catholicr

University students receive communion during the celebration of Mass Jan. 4 at the FOCUS Leadership Summit at the Hilton Anatole Hotel.

Founder and CEO Curtis Martin.

There was also perpetual adoration and opportunities for confession throughout the conference.

Christina Sanchez, a FOCUS Missionary at the University of Texas at Austin, said students are equipped for evangelization and leadership after attending these summits because they are required to teach their peers during the Power Sessions. She added that she grows in her relationship with God even though the event targets college students.

“The Lord desires that I bear great fruit and that it be of joy. It’s

really simple, but it’s just a joy to continue to learn about my own discipleship with Jesus,” Sanchez said.

Students also provided testimonies as to how the conference bears fruit in their own lives.

Adam Sanchez, a FOCUS student leader and sophomore at Southern Methodist University, said seeing so many Catholics reminds him of the “vigor” within the Catholic Church. He said the summit showed him how to truly evangelize to his peers.

“I gained the ability to teach and show people the knowledge that

God equipped me with, and to lay that on the table and say, ‘This is what God has, and I want you to be able to follow him the same way that he’s led me,’ ” Sanchez said.

“I want to go forward and attempt to do that with younger students at SMU.” College junior Camille McCarty, who is also a FOCUS student leader attending SMU, appreciated learning about the different methods of prayer. She said she enjoyed meditation and contemplation using the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, as well as Lectio Divina, which is Latin for “Divine Reading.”

“I really enjoyed spending 10 minutes in meditation and contemplation, just mulling over the scriptures and letting them permeate everything in my heart: my emotions, my desires, my imagination, my will and my intellect,” she said.

McCarty said that her faith is a continuous battle, and does not merely grow over the course of a five-day conference. However, she said this experience assists in her faith journey. She also expressed her amazement when she spoke of the conference’s Mass, saying that it “was a little taste of heaven.”

“Seeing so many priests celebrating Mass all at once is probably the most powerful thing that I’ve ever seen. I was so mind-blown,” McCarty said. “Everyone in the room was silent and there was so much reverence for Jesus. It was absolutely incredible.”

TELEPHONE: 214-528-8792 FAX: 214-528-3411 WEB: www.texascatholic.com The Diocese of Dallas is comprised of 69 parishes and 5 quasi parishes in Dallas, Collin, Rockwall, Kaufman, Ellis, Navarro, Grayson, Hunt and Fannin counties.

Estimated Catholic population:1,236,944.

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JENNA TETER/The Texas Catholic

ZACHARY HARRIS/Special Contributor

University of North Florida students Lauren Vaccaro, at left, Christina Infante and Erika Olson sing hymns during a celebration of Mass on Jan. 4.

A group from the Alliance Defending Freedom leads a prayer circle before the final keynote session on Jan. 5 at the FOCUS Leadership Summit.

Archbishop Paul Coakley of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City concelebrates Mass during the FOCUS Leadership Summit.

Texas Catholic Publishing Co. Board of Directors Most Rev. Kevin J. Farrell Bishop of the Diocese of Dallas Publisher of The Texas Catholic Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel Vicar General Mary Edlund Chancellor Bill Keffler Chief Operating Officer Annette G. Taylor Communications Director David Sedeño Editor of The Texas Catholic

Sharing the spirit of Christmas Over the Christmas holidays, an unknown person or group decorated the graves of priests buried at Calvary Hill Cemetery. Decorations included wreaths and Christmas-themed ribbons.

BEN TORRES/Special Contributor

VATICAN

The Texas Catholic

January 8, 2016

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HOLY YEAR OF MERCY

God’s mercy frees people from despair, pope says

By Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — God’s ability to forgive “knows no limits” as his mercy frees people from bitterness and despair, Pope Francis said.

“The church’s forgiveness must be every bit as broad as that offered

by Jesus on the cross and by Mary at his feet. There is no other way,” he said after opening the Holy Door of the Basilica of St. Mary Major Jan. 1, the feast of Mary, Mother of God, and the World Day of Prayer for Peace.

On the first day of the new year, Pope Francis opened the last holy door in Rome as part of the extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy.

“The door we have opened is, in fact, a Door of Mercy,” he said in his homily, referring to the Roman basilica’s large bronze doors depicting Mary presenting her resurrected son, Jesus.

“Those who cross its threshold are called to enter into the merciful love of the father with complete trust and freedom from fear; they can leave this basilica knowing with certainty that Mary is ever at their side,” especially during times of trouble and sorrow, he said.

At the church dedicated to Mary

and on her feast day as Mother of God, the pope explained how Mary is the mother of mercy because she bore “the very face of divine mercy,” the son of God “made incarnate for our salvation.”

“Mary is an icon of how the church must offer forgiveness to those who seek it. The mother of forgiveness teaches the church that the forgiveness granted on Golgotha knows no limits. Neither the law with its quibbles, nor the wisdom of this world with its distinctions, can hold it back,” he said.

Mary offers the world Jesus, who in turn, offers that forgiveness which “renews life, enables us once more to do God’s will and fills us with true happiness,” the pope said.

“The power of forgiveness is the true antidote to the sadness caused by resentment and vengeance,” which do nothing but “trouble the mind and wound the heart, robbing it of rest and peace.”

After the Mass, the pope symbolically opened another door, this time the large iron gates in front of a smaller chapel housing a Marian icon he is particularly devoted to — the “Salus Populi Romani” (health of the Roman people).

A deacon told the congregation to

Pope makes secret stop at Nativity scene’s birthplace

By Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis made a surprise visit to the place where his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi, created the world’s first Nativity scene.

“He wanted to visit the sanctuary and places where St. Francis, on Christmas Eve in 1223, represented the first living Nativity in history,” Bishop Domenico Pompili of Rieti told ANSA, the Italian news agency.

The pope had nothing listed on his official schedule, and so he used the free day to visit the Franciscan shrine in Greccio, a town 60 miles northeast of Rome and 56 miles south of Assisi.

The bishop said he and the shrine’s prior were the only people informed ahead of time of the pope’s plans to make the Jan. 4 visit.

As the pope arrived in a blue Ford Focus accompanied by two plainclothes security guards, the shrine’s guardian said he was caught completely off guard. “I didn’t even have my habit on and I quickly went to the refectory to put it on. Then I opened the gate for the pope,” Franciscan Father Alfredo Silvestri told the Italian bishops’ TV2000.

The pope also made an unannounced stop at a local youth meeting organized by the diocese.

The pope told the some 150 young people that their bishop had told him it would be a good idea to

Catholic News Service

Pope Francis prays in front of a Nativity scene during a Jan. 4 surprise visit to the Franciscan shrine in Greccio, Italy.

pray at Greccio during the Christmas season.

In impromptu remarks, the pope told them to reflect on two important signs associated with Christ’s birth: the star of Bethlehem and the baby in a manger.

“The sky is full of stars, isn’t it?

But there is one that is special,” the star that inspired the Three Wise Men to leave everything behind and begin a journey into the unknown, he said.

The pope asked the young people to be on the lookout in their own lives for a “special star that calls us to do something greater, to strike out on a journey, to make a decision.”

Catholic News Service

Pope Francis prepares to open the Holy Door before celebrating Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome Jan. 1, 2016. The Holy Doors of Rome’s four major basilicas are now open.

pray together with the Holy Father and ask Mary “to take us by the hand and lead us to the Lord Jesus.” After the pope pushed open the gates, he brought up a small floral arrangement of white lilies to the altar and prayed in silence before the icon.

Earlier in the day, the pope

further marked the World Day of Peace in his noon Angelus address, when he said peace must not only be cultivated but also conquered in a spiritual fight being waged by war and indifference.

Christians are called at the beginning of the new year to open their

hearts and “reawaken the attention to one’s neighbor, to those who are closest,” he said.

“War is not the only enemy of peace, but also indifference, which makes us think only of ourselves and creates barriers, suspicions, fears and closures. These are the enemies of peace,” the pope said.

Recalling the church’s celebration of the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the pope asked for her intercession so that the faithful may imitate her in guarding and meditating on all that happens in their hearts.

Mary “preserves the joys and loosens the knots of our lives, taking them to the Lord,” he said.

The pope also celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in the morning to mark the Marian feast day.

God is present in human history, he said, despite signs and events that “tend to make us think instead that he is absent.”

In an Angelus address Jan. 3, the pope reminded visitors in St. Peter’s Square to keep a small book of the Gospels with them at all times and read at least one verse each day “in order to know Jesus better, to open our heart up wide to Jesus” and share him with others.

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DIOCESE

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January 10, 2016 The Baptism of the Lord Reading 1 Is 42:1-4, 6-7 Thus says the LORD: Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street, a bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching.

I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

Reading 2 Acts 10:34-38 Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered in the house of Cornelius, saying: “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.

You know the word that he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power.

He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”

Gospel Lk 3:15-16, 21-22 The people were filled with

January 8, 2016

MASS READINGS expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ.

John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming.

I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

to another, interpretation of tongues.

But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes.

January 17, 2016 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Is 62:1-5 For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines forth like the dawn and her victory like a burning torch.

Nations shall behold your vindication, and all the kings your glory; you shall be called by a new name pronounced by the mouth of the LORD. You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the LORD, a royal diadem held by your God. No more shall people call you “Forsaken, “ or your land “Desolate, “but you shall be called “My Delight, “and your land “Espoused.”

For the LORD delights in you and makes your land his spouse.

As a young man marries a virgin, your Builder shall marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride so shall your God rejoice in you.

Catholic News Service

Reading 2 1 Cor 12:4-11 Brothers and sisters: There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.

To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.

To one is given through the Spirit the

expression of wisdom; to another, the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another, faith by the same Spirit; to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit; to another, mighty deeds; to another, prophecy; to another, discernment of spirits; to another, varieties of tongues;

Gospel Jn 2:1-1 There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.

Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.

When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”

And Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me?

My hour has not yet come.”

His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons.

Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.”

So they filled them to the brim.

Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.”

So they took it.

And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from — although the servers who had drawn the water knew —, the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.”

Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.

A WORD TO ENKINDLE

The importance of keeping holy the Sabbath day

By Father John Bayer Special to The Texas Catholic

According to a recent survey, less than 40 percent of self-identifying Catholics in America go to Mass at least once a week – so far less than half of us enjoy our Sunday privilege to celebrate the Eucharist together (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2177-2183). How can we help ourselves rediscover the power of worshiping together, of expressing in communion our love for God above all things?

In the Ten Commandments, the commandment regarding the Sabbath comes in third place, which is before those against murder, adultery, theft and other such things (Ex 20:1-17; Dt 5:6-21). Is the Sabbath really such a high priority? Is its place on the list not a little exaggerated?

The order of the commandments affirms the love of God as the ultimate foundation for all morality and

well-being. The love of God is indeed the “greatest” commandment, Jesus says (Mt 22:34-40), and one reason for that is its central role in the coherence of our moral life. After all, with what strength will I keep any moral law if I do not love the Lawgiver himself? Or for how long will I treat my neighbor as a sister or a brother, if I refuse to acknowledge our common father – the one whose parentage allows me to look upon my most remote neighbor as a sibling? There is a close connection between the love of God and the love of neighbor; and it is the former which justifies the depth and intensity, if not the very possibility, of the latter. This insight is even present in the principles of our own democracy through the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights….” Above every consensus or court, it is the Creator

who grounds our dignity.

But the love of God offers more than moral strength and coherence.

In Ezekiel, when God complains about Israel’s infidelity he makes a noteworthy distinction between the “statutes” and the “sabbaths” he gave to his chosen people (20:1112). The statues are laws which Israel did not observe; the sabbaths, on the other hand, are a “sign” which Israel desecrated (20:11-17).

The observance of statutes – laws – is an expression of obedience. But the keeping of sabbaths – signs – is an expression of a personal relationship: “I also gave them my sabbaths to be a sign between me and them, to show that it was I, the Lord, who made them holy” (20:12).

Going to Mass on Sunday is about much more than observing the law of God. We “keep holy the Sabbath day” (Dt 5:12) by engaging its “sign character” – that is, by entering freely into the personal love of God as the foundation of our lives.

There is something powerful here.

Through the Sabbath, I sacrifice time, work and profit for the sake of cultivating a personal relationship with God through the friendly activities of leisure and contemplation. It is not enough to roll out of bed and drag myself to church, though that is important! For the Sabbath is not kept by an impersonal legalism; it is truly kept only insofar as it is a sign – an expression of our loving dependence upon God. On the Sabbath, we have a chance to rekindle the freedom of our hearts, to relativize all external pressures, passions and ambitions and enter into the deepest reality of our humanity, which is our friendship with the author of all. For we might have careers, families and other responsibilities – but before all else we are children of God, and from within this relationship we live and perform all other activities.

The Sabbath is powerful! Keeping it aligns us with our deepest identity. It brings us peace and

wisdom, because it cuts under all pressures, putting everything in its proper place and therefore basing our lives upon the surest foundation – the goodness of God. In the Sabbath I come to understand all that I do, all that I am, as springing from this deepest and most liberating relationship, from the love of God which demands nothing from us but to be what he created us to be: children united in love with their common father. Is there any other way to close or begin the week? Is there anything more precious for our activity than this Sabbath rest?

If we would but develop a taste for this peace, we would long for every Sunday.

Father John Bayer, O.Cist., is a theologian and monk at the Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Dallas in Irving. His column will appear occasionally in The Texas Catholic.

DIOCESE

The Texas Catholic

January 8, 2016

CELEBRATING 125 YEARS

Women religious have key role in diocese

By Steve Landregan Special to The Texas Catholic

They came to serve.

The year was 1869. Dallas was still a mission station, served on horseback from St. Paul in Collin County, when after an arduous journey from New Orleans by river boat, railroad and stagecoach, six Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul arrived in Jefferson, Texas, to establish the first Catholic school and first Catholic hospital in what would become the Diocese of Dallas.

The sisters in their blue habits and starched white cornets were the vanguard of thousands of women religious bringing their charisms to the church of North Texas.

Their stories are told in They Came to Serve: A History of Women Religious in the Diocese of Dallas, written by Sister Mary Brian Bole, SSND. The history is the third in a series of eBooks produced by the Diocese of Dallas Archives as part on the 125th Anniversary of the Diocese of Dallas. The eBook may be viewed and downloaded from the diocesan website www.cathdal.org/ womenreligious Ursuline nuns were the first women religious in Texas, invited to Galveston in 1847 by Bishop Jean

Marie Odin, CM, the first Bishop of Galveston. The Ursulines, who were also the first women religious in what is now the United States, came to Dallas in 1874 and established the city’s first Catholic school, Ursuline Academy.

That same year, the Sisters of St. Mary Namur, a Belgian community who came to Waco in 1873, opened Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Academy in Corsicana, the first of 10 schools opened in the diocese by the community.

All were financed by the sisters themselves, a truly remarkable achievement. Their academies in Sherman, Denison and Fort Worth opened before the erection of the Diocese of Dallas in 1890.

In 1872, in Clarksville, the Sisters of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus opened a school and in 1880 the Sisters of the Holy Cross established a school in Marshall.

Sister Mary Brian poses the question, given that these pioneer women “coming to Texas faced border wars with Mexico, the Civil War, yellow fever, cholera epidemics, tornadoes, Indian attacks, scalding heat and brackish water,” what in the world would make them come? The answer provided the title of the book —They came to serve.

They came to bring the compassion and mercy of Jesus to a new land—a parade of women who had consecrated themselves to bring Christ to classrooms, hospitals, parishes, dioceses and monasteries in imitation of Christ who came to serve not be served. And they are still coming, sisters and nuns from 63 different congregations and communities: Teachers, nurses, counsellors, catechists and contemplatives from Europe, Asia, Central and South America.

“They Came to Serve” is filled with stories of the struggles, the victories and the setbacks of these often heroic women. It is a fitting tribute to the women who shaped the church in North Texas and continue to do so.

Diocesan Time Capsule 50 Years Ago Bishop Thomas K. Gorman revealed the architectural plans for the new Holy Trinity Seminary to be constructed on the University of Dallas Campus. The seminary, a $1.25 million dollar complex, is scheduled for completion by the fall of 1966. Centered on the chapel, which will seat 220 persons, the building includes two dormitory wings. Each dormitory wing will have two floors with single rooms for seminarians and faculty rooms on each floor.

25 Years Ago Groundbreaking ceremonies were held Jan. 6, 1996 for the new Our Lady of the Lake Church building in Rockwall. When completed, the 35,000 sq. ft. structure will include the church, 13 classrooms, a kitchen, nursery, library and parish hall. The cost is estimated at $2.11 million dollars. The first phase of construction will include finishing of the church portion.

Completion of the second phase is pending sale of the present church building.

10 Years Ago Ursuline Academy alumna, Melinda French Gates, wife of Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, made a gift of $5 million dollars to the Catholic girls’ school through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The funds will be used to construct the French Family Science, Math and Technology Center.

They Came To Serve School Sister of Notre Dame Mary Brian Bole, author of They Came to Serve, has held administrative and teaching positions at a number of educational institutions in Texas and Japan. She has also served on the staff of the Diocese of Dallas. Sister Mary Brian holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Dallas and a Master of Arts from Northern Illinois University.

Excerpts taken from The Texas Catholic and compiled by Steve Landregan, diocesan historian and former editor of The Texas Catholic. Landregan can be reached by email at slandregan@ cathdal.org.

The Texas Catholic www.TexasCatholic.com • www.TexasCatholicYouth.com

Support the mission of Catholic Charities of Dallas and have a great time!

“Oh What a Night!”

January 23, 2016 | 6:00 p.m.

Chaired by The Founding Members of the Angels of Charity with Jere W. Thompson as Honorary Chair 18th Annual

Bishop’s Gala BENEFITING

Catholic Charities of Dallas

Buy tickets online: www.ccdallas.org/gala Don’t forget your winner’s choice raffle: Our raffle winner will have the choice of three trips! Buy one ticket for $50 or three raffle tickets for $100!

Ticket & Underwriting information available online at www.ccdallas.org/gala or call 214.520.6590 ext. 1105.

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Featuring

Frankie Valli

AND THE FOUR SEASONS

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POPE FRANCIS

January 8, 2016 FAITH

Singing does good for the soul Leaving a legacy of love, service to God

By Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Singing is good for one’s soul and, as St. Augustine says, Christian life is not a sad path but a joyous one that is done “singing and walking,” Pope Francis said.

“Remember this: Sing and walk,” the pope said Dec. 31 to 6,000 young choristers, their families, friends and choirmasters from 18 countries.

“And in this way, your soul will enjoy more the joy of the gospel.”

The young choir members took part in the Dec. 28-Jan. 1 International Congress of Pueri Cantores in Rome. They held concerts at several churches in Rome and were scheduled to sing in St. Peter’s Basilica on New Year’s Day. The pope took questions from several young choir members, choosing to address the youth off-the-cuff.

A young girl asked the pope what he thought about their music and if he liked to sing.

“I would much rather like to hear you all sing today,” the pope said.

“But if I sang, I would sound like a donkey because I do not know how to sing. I don’t even know how to speak well.”

Recalling his childhood, the pope said his mother would sit him and his siblings in front of the radio to listen to operas and explain the meaning of what was sung, so they learned to appreciate music.

“As a child, I learned the pleasure of listening to singing, but I could never sing,” he said. “Also my

By Father Timothy Gollob Special to The Texas Catholic

Catholic News Service

Pope Francis arrives to lead a special audience with the International Congress of Pueri Cantores in Paul VI hall at the Vatican Dec. 31.

grandfather, who was a carpenter, would always sing while he worked.

And the pleasure of listening to someone sing I have had since I was little child.”

Singing, he continued, educates the soul and does well for the soul.

“St. Augustine says a beautiful phrase, and everyone should learn it. Speaking on Christian life, on the joy of Christian life, he says: ‘Sing and walk.’ Christian life is a path, but it is not a sad path, it is a joyous path, and this is why one must sing.”

The next question, asked by another young girl, took a more personal turn. “How are you so good?

Do you ever get angry?” she asked.

She also asked the pope if he had any

resolutions for the coming new year.

The pope remembered Jesus’ response to the young rich man who addressed him as “good master,” saying that “only God is good.”

“We all have the wound of original sin that brings us to not be good all the time, but always remember, only God is good. And if you want to find goodness, go to God. There you will find all goodness, all love, all mercy,” he said.

He laughingly admitted, however, that while he does get angry, “I do not bite.”

“Anger is poisonous, it poisons the soul,” he warned. “To become angry doesn’t only hurt others, it hurts you.

It is a sickness.”

With a bumper crop of priests I entered St. Pius X Catholic Church in solemn procession the morning of Jan. 6 to participate in the funeral prayers for Msgr.

Thomas Weinzapfel. As we passed the front portal, I noticed the motto “Love One Another.”

This phrase was taken from the sign-off message of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen at the end of his radio talks, and it had been adopted

by Msgr. Vincent J. Wolf as a reminder over the altar when he was pastor of St. Pius X. Msgr.

Tom had continued this tradition for his parishioners during his 40-plus years as the shepherd of that flock.

After a very thoughtful reading of the Hebrew scriptures reminding us that there is a time for everything under the sun, the whole church responded with the refrain, “To you, O Lord, I lift my soul!”

My memory immediately focused on Msgr. Tom’s love of flying. He and his brother, Father Joe, were busy pilots. They sometimes flew over restricted air space and caused the military to scramble intercepts. Monsignor also liked to take his fellow priests up for a ride.

One day he offered this opportunity to me. In the middle of the flight,

he put on the automatic controls and took a nap. My nervous job was to move the plane in a large square pattern until he awakened!

Msgr. Henry Petter gave us an accurate description of the deceased in his sermon. Msgr. Tom was a person who had an opinion on many subjects and was not afraid to voice those opinions. He gave excellent advice to the bishop on how to run the diocese, and he kept everyone at dinner gatherings involved in agreeing or disagreeing with what he was thinking.

At the time for the consecration of the Mass, all the visiting priests were ushered up in back of the main altar. From that vantage point, I was able to see the magnificent stained glass window on the east wall of the church.

In its glorious colors I was able to make out an ancient symbol of Christ crucified. It was a pelican who was piercing its breast so that two small chicks could be fed drops of precious blood. Below the birds were fish swimming in a sea of saving crosses.

Msgr. Tom followed that saving example for 70 years as a loving, human, boisterous priest, urging us all to “Love One Another.”

Father Timothy Gollob is the pastor of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Oak Cliff.

FROM THE BISHOP

In this new year, overcome indifference and win peace

By Bishop Kevin J. Farrell Publisher of The Texas Catholic

Marking the World Day of Peace on Jan. 1, Pope Francis calls on individuals and nations to win peace by overcoming indifference. “Indifference,” the Holy Father explains, “leads to self-absorption and a lack of commitment. It thus contributes to the absence of peace with God, with our neighbor and with the environment.”

In the spirit of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, of which peace is the sign, the Pope challenged each of us to recognize how overcoming indifference in our own lives can work to improve the world around us, in our families, in our communities, our places of employment and our environment.

Indifference takes many forms, the Pontiff observed, beginning with indifference to

God which leads us to believe that we are the source and creator of ourselves, our lives and our society.

Feeling selfBishop sufficient we do not Farrell seek a substitute for God but are satisfied to do completely without him, owing nothing to anyone but ourselves and being only interested in our own rights and self-gratification. Indifference to God leads to indifference to our neighbor and to the environment.

Indifference to our neighbor can be the result of our living mechanically and without engagement, despite being well informed on current events through newspapers and television news; we focus completely on our work or profession, even our family to the extent that we numb ourselves to

the needs of others. In the words of Pope Francis, “Sadly, it must be said that today’s information explosion does not of itself lead to an increased concern for other people’s problems, which demands openness and a sense of solidarity. Indeed, the information glut can numb people’s sensibilities and to some degree downplay the gravity of the problems [of others].”

I cannot think of a better example of indifference to our neighbor than the depersonalization of the thousands of refugees from the Middle East and Central America, who are seen by so many not as desperate human beings seeking refuge from war and terror but as a problem to be solved and dispensed with.

Indifference, the Pope added, “and lack of commitment constitute a grave dereliction of the duty whereby each of us must

work in accordance with our abilities and our role in society for the promotion of the common good, and in particular for peace, which is one of mankind’s most precious goods.” Commitment to the common good seems lost in a society where independence rather than interdependence is the desired goal of so many.

Institutional indifference is driven by the pursuit of profits and hedonism that reduces people to commodities robbing them of their dignity, fundamental rights and even their freedom.

Governmental indifference is the by-product of the voice of the marginalized being drowned out by the influence of powerful commercial interests and blind partisanship.

In his letter, the Holy Father calls upon civil society in the spirit of the Jubilee Year of Mercy to “make specific and courageous gestures of concern

for their most vulnerable members such as prisoners, migrants, the unemployed and the infirm.” Further he appeals “to national leaders for concrete gestures in favor of our brothers and sisters who suffer from the lack of labor, land and lodging,” by creating dignified jobs to combat the social plague of unemployment which takes such a heavy toll on people’s sense of dignity and hope.

In his message for peace Pope Francis reminds us that the opposite of mercy is indifference and that the globalization of indifference is as great a deterrent to peace as the piecemeal wars being fought.

Bishop Kevin J. Farrell is the seventh bishop of Dallas. Read his blog at bishopkevinfarrell.org/blog.

NATION DIOCESE / DIOCESE

The Texas Catholic

January 8, 2016

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MARCH FOR LIFE

Event changes venues, but strengthens its message

By Catholic News Service WASHINGTON—The annual March for Life will convene in a new location in the nation’s capital for the traditional midday rally on Jan. 22.

Because of the ongoing refurbishment of the National Mall and strict new regulations that require temporary flooring to protect the grass, the rally has been moved from the West Front of the Capitol to the Washington Monument grounds.

“We were lucky to get that. It’s going to cost us $70,000, and it’s not something we budgeted for,” said Jeanne Monahan-Mancini, president of March for Life. “It’s the most economical wide-open space we could afford.”

Other than the venue, the event, which draws busloads of Catholic parishioners and parochial school and college students, is expected to remain much the same.

Held since 1974, the march marks the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, which legalized abortion.

“Pro-Life is Pro-Woman” is this year’s theme.

“We know that abortion takes the life of one and wounds the life of another, so we always try to empha-

size ... that there’s always hope and healing for anyone who’s made that sad decision, and it’s very important in terms of our messaging,” MonahanMancini told Catholic News Service.

It’s also intended as a way to blunt critics, “because of the (presidential) election and a lot of the rhetoric about the false ‘war on women,’” MonahanMancini added.

Retired Baltimore Ravens football player Matt Birk is the headline speaker at the rally and that evening’s Rose Dinner.

Other march-related activities include a Mass opening the overnight National Prayer Vigil for Life at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Jan. 21 and a Mass on Jan. 22 at the Basilica; a Mass and interdenominational prayer service at Constitution Hall prior to the march; and two similar events, Youth Rally and Mass for Life, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Washington at the Verizon Center and the D.C. Armory.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback will be honored at the Constitution Hall event for being the first governor to sign the Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act. The legislation is under review in a state appeals court.

Two recent events loom over this

PRO-LIFE

Kramer to lead pro-life organization Special to The Texas Catholic Kris Kramer, who has served as co-tournament director of the Bishop Farrell Invitational Golf Tournament, has been named executive director of the Catholic Pro-Life Committee of North Texas, replacing founding Executive Director Karen Garnett.

“I am humbled by this opportunity and excited about the journey ahead, promoting respect for life throughout North Texas and beyond,” Kramer said. “Today, these efforts are more critical than ever in the face of mounting threats to life from conception until natural death. I look forward to joining the wonderful CPLC staff and many devoted supporters, as together we work to save lives and transform hearts.”

Kramer’s work with the golf tournament helped raise more than $2 million in tuition assistance for families most in need in the Diocese of Dallas. In her new role, Kramer is expected to

build on the twodecade foundation of respect life ministry in the diocese under the leadership of Garnett, who will Kramer continue to work as an ambassador of the pro-life mission.

In addition to her work on the tournament, Kramer also has served as board chair of Angels of Charity of the Catholic Charities of Dallas, along with serving with the Dallas Holocaust Museum and chairing the Hope for Humanity Dinner. She also has served on the board of the Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas, as well as the St. Ann (Coppell) Financial Council and currently serves on the board of the Dallas Legatus chapter.

She and her husband, Matthew, the chief executive officer of The Catholic Foundation, have two sons, and one granddaughter.

Their firstborn, Louis, died at the age of 2.

CLERGY ASSIGNMENTS n Father James Anthony Curiel, O.C.D., assigned as Parochial Vicar of St. Mary of Carmel Parish, Dallas, effective December 16, 2015.

Catholic News Service

March for Life participants make their way up Constitution Avenue to the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington in January 2015.

year’s march. Last summer, an antiabortion organization in California, the Center for Medical Progress, released a series of secretly recorded videos that it claimed show representatives from Planned Parenthood clinics discussing the use of aborted infant parts for profit. In November,

a gunman opened fire at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic, killing three and wounding nine. The suspect, Robert Dear, was reported as telling police, “No more baby parts,” in an apparent reference to the videos.

The videos are the subject of litigation in U.S. District Court, Northern

District of California, where a judge will decide whether the videos should be permanently suppressed because they violate California laws about secret recordings and also contributed to clinic arsons. Excerpts of the videos remain available on YouTube.

Nationally, support for legalized abortion remains strong. An Associated Press poll taken shortly after the Colorado incident showed support at its highest level in two years.

The poll found that 58 percent of the respondents thought abortion should be legal in most or all cases.

That’s an increase from 51 percent who said so at the beginning of 2015.

The poll showed equal support among both Democrats and Republicans.

“I don’t think that poll is fair,” Monahan-Mancini said. “And I don’t think it’s reflective of the average American and what they think.”

Reversing the landmark Supreme Court decision remains the long-term goal of the march. But organizers told CNS they prefer to focus on changing the nationwide conversation.

“I think we have a much loftier goal, and that’s to change the hearts and minds of Americans—that no woman, in her right mind, would ever choose abortion,” MonahanMancini said.

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The Texas Catholic

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January 8, 2016

DIOC

Finding faith ami

Catholic diocese, groups help communiti

By Seth Gonzales The Texas Catholic

Nearly three weeks after violent tornadoes swept through North Texas, killing 11 people, hundreds of families, including numerous Catholic ones, are still trying to pick up the pieces that once were their lives.

As Rowlett and Garland officials continue to help clear debris and insurance adjusters continue to meet with families to process claims, numerous Catholic organizations also have been doing what they can to help in the efforts.

The storm damage prompted Bishop Kevin J. Farrell to ask all churches in the Diocese of Dallas to take up a special collection the weekend of Jan. 2-3 to assist families in need. Other agencies such as Catholic Charities of Dallas, St. Vincent de Paul, the Knights of Columbus as well as the parishes of Sacred Heart of Rowlett, St. Michael the Archangel and Good Shepherd in Garland and St. Pius X and Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas also stepped in to help.

An army of volunteers

At St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Garland, parish ministries have been working overtime to help their own families who were affected by the tornado. The parish knows of 17 registered families whose current addresses show they live in the affected areas. Parish manager John Sharp said St. Michael has been able to reach some of them, but not all.

He said the parish’s Knights of Columbus and St. Vincent De Paul chapters have led the aid effort and are being pro-active in trying to reach and help all of the families. The Knights of Columbus have led the “manpower” effort, sending members to physically remove debris and help families collect their belongings. The parish’s St. Vincent De Paul chapter has led the donation effort and the parish’s food pantry has also gotten involved and distributed meals.

“When these things happen, you have a tremendous influx of people wanting to help, ourselves included,” said Sharp, a former college campus police officer who was a volunteer responder in the aftermath of the 2011 tornado in Joplin, Mo. “We’ve just been flooded with food and materials, but one of the biggest assistance we’re going to need is financial assistance for these people because a lot of them are spending house payment money and utility money on survival.”

Sharp said donations have come in to the church from all over the country, including from a family in Washington, Ill. that was directly affected by a 2013 tornado that hit their city.

“They were helped so much by their local churches that they decided they

Above, emergency crew workers survey damage in Garland Dec. 29 after a tornado swept through the area. The evening of Dec. 26 brought the worst of the severe weather when multiple tornadoes touched down around Dallas, leading to at least 11 fatalities and dozens of injuries.

At right, Shawn Kral searches through a room for personal belongings after a tornado hit on Dec. 26 leaving homes on Oceanport Drive and surrounding streets in ruins in Garland. Kral, a Catholic, had her son Jacob Kral confirmed by Msgr.

Thomas Weinzapfel 23 years ago.

BEN TORRES/Special Contributor

Damage after an EF4 tornado hit on Dec. 26 leaving homes on Oceanport Drive and surr

wanted to help,” Sharp said. “So they sent a donation.”

Sharp said the parish collected over $2,000 during the diocesanwide special collection at all Masses on Jan. 3.

Parishioner Ronnie Waldie has been helping the parish’s St. Vincent De Paul chapter distribute assistance to families. He said in some cases, parishioners and close friends of those affected have moved so quickly to help that they’ve beaten St. Vincent De Paul to the punch.

But echoing Sharp’s sentiment, Waldie said the biggest need for families right now is money, which in some cases will be used to pay bills or even cover insurance deductibles that are hampering families from making repairs to their homes.

“That’s where the monetary donations are really going to help out, is dealing with the size of bills we normally don’t have to look at,” Waldie said. “Normally, if a family has a $600 rent and they only have $400, we’ll help cover the remaining $200. Now, for one family, their deductible is $5,000, so that’s what the monetary need is for; bills that are out of the ordinary and far larger than we

normally see.”

Bill Brandon, director for the Knights of Columbus Council No. 11862 at St. Michael the Archangel, said representatives from every council in North Texas, as well as other councils around the United States and as far away as Mexico, responded to assist with disaster recovery operations.

“Many arrived in the storm impacted areas with no more than gloves, boots, simple tools and a willingness to do whatever it takes to clear debris and fallen trees,” Brandon said.

“The first principle of the Knights of Columbus is charity, and this disaster has brought forth a great manifestation of that principle from the Knights and their families.”

In addition to helping clear debris and tarp roofs, Brandon said Knights of Columbus members are answering phones and handing out supplies for victims at the Garland-Rowlett Disaster Recovery Center and other locations. They continue to collect food and clothing donations. Knights have also been donating funds to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, American Red Cross and other aid organizations.

“We also have been very active in

RON HEFLIN/Special Contributor

Ruben Porras holds his daughter Camila Natalie Porras, 2, before the funeral service for his wife Petra Ruiz Porras, who died as a result of the Dec. 26 tornado that swept through Garland, at St. Cecilia Catholic Church on Jan. 2.

helping people affected by the storms relocate themselves and their possessions,” Brandon said.

Brandon said he had been impressed

with the volunteer response following the storm.

“It’s something that crosses all faiths and organizations,” said

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January 8, 2016

idst the wreckage

9

ies impacted by deadly December storms the strong one who kept her family together. She thanked people for their support and said that extended family and friends are working to maintain a semblance of order not only for her husband, but for the couple’s young children.

Comfort and prayers

Above, Matthew Ancelin of the Knights of Columbus Council No. 13520 at All Saints Catholic Church picks up debris in Garland on Dec. 31.

At left, Jake Haynes, a member of the Knights of Columbus from St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Forney, helps pick up bricks from a house hit by tornado in Garland on Dec.31.

ZACHARY HARRIS/Special Contributor

BEN TORRES/Special Contributor

rounding streets in ruins on Dec. 29 in Garland.

Coming together to help

ZACHARY HARRIS/Special Contributor

Lana and Harry Morris pray for tornado victims during a special prayer service at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Rowlett on Dec. 30.

Brandon, noting that Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and a variety of faith and community groups all have been active in aiding those in need. “It’s

just people coming together to do whatever is needed whenever it is needed to help. No questions asked.

That’s just great to see.”

Leaders of Catholic Charities of Dallas, Inc., and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s Diocesan Council of Dallas, Inc., said their organizations collaborated in planning to assist in long-term recovery efforts.

“We’re planning in conjunction with St. Vincent de Paul our relief effort, and we’ll be providing food from our warehouse and pantries,” said Joe Brogdon, the interim CEO of Catholic Charities of Dallas. “We’ll be helping with case management of long-term needs such as housing and helping to replace furniture.”

Brogdon and Michael Pazzaglini, the executive director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s Diocesan Council of Dallas, said that they were receiving updates from Nikki Beneke, president of Dallas County Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD).

“The Society of St. Vincent de Paul typically gets involved in long-term recovery after the firstresponder organizations, such as the Red Cross, are there to help immediately after the event,” Pazzaglini said. “We’ll help those who don’t have insurance and are looking for a

place to live. We’re starting to see people who need help paying their hotel bills. That’s what we’re gearing up to do.”

He said that in addition to Garland and Rowlett, areas in Lancaster, Italy and Waxahachie that suffered damages have indicated needs for help.

A time to mourn

On Jan. 2, more than 200 people gathered at St. Cecilia Catholic Church for a funeral Mass for Petra Porras, who was killed Dec. 26 when the vehicle she was driving on Interstate 30 in Garland was struck by the massive storm, sending the vehicle over the railing to the road below.

The mother of four had been returning home from a hair salon after getting her hair done, a Christmas present from her husband, Ruben. As the storm was approaching, Porras was on the phone with her husband and when the storm hit, the screen went black. Family members quickly traveled to the area to see if they could help, but were told that Petra Porras had not survived.

Just prior to the funeral Mass, Martina Ruiz described her sister as

On Jan. 3, Bishop Farrell toured parts of eastern Dallas County damaged by the storms.

One of the hardest hit areas in Rowlett was a seven-block neighborhood just south of Highway 66 near the city’s water tower. A drive down Catamaran Road still revealed devastation. Roofs were caved in if not completely ripped off homes. Walls had caved into homes. Homes with a second story were reduced to a fragment of a single story. Many fences were gone. Trees were uprooted and snapped.

Residents and volunteers were slowly moving about and collecting debris and setting it in their front yard for removal. Some were trying to find anything worth salvaging.

Bishop Farrell met with Hector Gajardo, his wife, Perla, and their children, Sebastian, a student at Austin College in Sherman; Matilda, a freshman at Ursuline Academy of Dallas; and Isabel, a seventh-grader at St. Pius X Catholic School.

The family had had limited time to rummage through the debris of the home they had lived in for 15 years to collect clothes and some valuables before police ushered them away, fearing the integrity of the nearby water tower. The family had hid underneath the stairs of their home as the tornado passed over the area.

The family has been living in a hotel in Richardson and driving rental cars because theirs were totaled. The younger students received uniforms from Parker Uniforms and their school supplies will need replacing.

Despite the damage, Perla Gajardo told Bishop Farrell that they were fortunate to escape the storm with their lives.

The bishop said a prayer with the family.

“We certainly don’t understand this terrible tragedy,” he said. “But we know Lord that you will help us and always guide us and walk with us. And that together as a community we will come together as a testimony of your goodness and our willingness to listen and follow your word.”

As the storm passed over the area, Hector Gajardo was watching the storm on his computer and heard the sirens going off. He looked out the window and saw lightning and debris flying.

“We just went under the stairs and we feel a big pressure inside the See AFTER, Page 10

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After the storm: Catholics come to aid of those in need (Continued from Page 9) house,” he said. “All the windows started breaking and then the tornado lifted our house up then set it back down.”

He said an engineer has to determine if the structure can be repaired or will have to be rebuilt. He said the first few days after the storm were traumatic, but that praying with the bishop made the family feel stronger.

“I know everything will get back to the way it was. We just need to keep praying and keep working. I think everything is going to be OK.”

Scenes of devastation

In Garland, a drive down Bobtown Road just south of Hwy 66 revealed total losses to many of the homes.

Roofs had been ripped off, blue tarps placed on the few that could be repaired. Walls were destroyed.

Traffic has been heavy with volunteers and residents going in and out trying to clean up the damage.

Bishop Farrell also met with the Sigsbee family, Bill, his wife Sylvia; son, Christopher, a sophomore student-athlete at Bishop Lynch High School, and daughter, Andrea.

When Bishop Farrell arrived at their home on Lakeway Drive, vol-

SETH GONZALES/The Texas Catholic

Catholic News Service

Bishop Kevin J. Farrell joins, from left, Perla and Hector Gajardo in prayer during the bishop’s visit to their tornado-damaged neighborhood on Jan. 3. The family’s home was destroyed by a tornado that hit Rowlett on Dec. 26.

Bypassers survey the badly damaged Landmark at the Lake Village West apartment complex in Garland on Dec. 28, after a tornado swept through the area on Dec. 26.

unteers from the Men’s Club at St. Pius X Catholic Church were helping the family sift through what was left of the house.

The roof was torn off and walls were missing. The garage had been reduced to a concrete slab. Sylvia told the bishop their story.

“The insurance process is very overwhelming. That’s what gets us all,” she said. “You find comfort in people coming to help you, but then after a week you realize, ‘Oh my God, I really don’t have a house.

I’m living in a hotel.’

“We need you to pray that we make the right decisions,” she said.

“I’m a realtor and buying a house in general is very stressful. I was telling my husband that it’s weird because on a normal, daily basis I’m finding people a home. Now I’m on the other end.”

The Men’s Club at St. Pius X, where the Sigsbees are parishioners, and Bishop Lynch community have been helping the family since the storm, removing debris, and bringing meals to their house and hotel in Richardson. Men’s Club members even physically removed a wall

Ten minutes before the tornado hit, Bill Sigsbee’s mother called and warned them to take cover. Five minutes later, the sirens go off and the couple and their daughter go to a bathroom with pillows and blankets.

Their son was not at home at the time.

“Within 45 seconds, it hit,” Sigsbee said. “It was like a train going through the middle of the living room. There was a whistling sound with glass shattering and the electricity went out. Sylvia shone her phone in the bathroom and leaves even came up from under the door.

“Everyone in the bathroom was praying,” Sigsbee said.

After the bishop prayed with the family, Sylvia Sigsbee asked the bishop to pray for everyone affected by the storm so that they could go through the process of rebuilding their lives.

that had been sitting on the family’s cars - one of them was totaled, the other is still drivable.

“God has a plan for us,” Bill Sigsbee said. “We’ve got to look deeper and see what the message is and figure out what he wants us to do.

The lesson for me is just love. Every day. Because you don’t know when it’s going to be your last day. The outpouring of love we’re receiving from the Catholic community makes us want to love more.”

The Texas Catholic Executive Editor David Sedeño, Managing Editor Michael Gresham and reporter Cathy Harasta contributed to this story.

BEN TORRES/Special Contributor

From left, Edyson Igbokwuwe, sister Ig Odueze, Hannah London and her mother Sara London, walk Oceanport Drive in Garland offering victims and volunteers coffee and snacks on Dec. 29. Ig Odueze and her brother Edyson are parishioners of St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Garland.

BEN TORRES/Special Contributor

Bianca Valdivia, 11, oversees the damage on Dec. 29 in Garland after an EF4 tornado destroyed her family’s house on Dec. 26.

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In the spirit of giving Bishop Kevin J. Farrell, right, greets a woman as she stops in line to receive her bags of Christmas gifts during the annual Catholic Charities distribution to families in need for Christmas on Dec. 19 at Santa Clara Regional Community Center.

Volunteers quickly deliver gift bags outside so that they can be given to families in need during a Catholic Charities event donating toys to families for Christmas on Dec. 19 at Santa Clara Regional Community Center.

Above: Young volunteers stand ready to deliver gift bags to cars as they pull up outside the Santa Clara Regional Community Center during a Catholic Charities event donating toys to families for Christmas on Dec. 19.

At right: Bishop Kevin J. Farrell has his photo taken with a group of young volunteers from Christ The King Catholic School, who helped gather the bags of gifts.

Photos by Lance Murray / Special to The Texas Catholic

Seminarian Christmas Dinner

Above: Bishop Kevin J. Farrell welcomes seminarians to the annual Seminarian Christmas Dinner Dec. 22 at All Saints Catholic Church.

At right: Dallas seminarians Stephen Ingram, left, and Garrett Bockman stand in front of a Christmas tree with Father Tony Lackland at the Seminarian Christmas Dinner Dec. 22 at All Saints Catholic Church.

JENNA TETER/The Texas Catholic

‘Unto us a child is born’

Above: Bishop Kevin J. Farrell blesses the Nativity scene during the Christmas Eve Mass at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe on Dec. 24.

At left: From left, Martha Gomez, Maranda Gomez and Joe Gomez pray before the Christmas Eve Mass at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe on Dec. 24.

RON HEFLIN/Special Contributor

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January 8, 2016

BEN TORRES/Special Contributor

Bishop Kevin J. Farrell helps Msgr. Thomas W. Weinzapfel celebrate the 70th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood during a special Mass at St. Pius X Catholic Church on Dec. 23.

JENNA TETER/The Texas Catholic

Friends and parishioners pay their last respects to Msgr. Thomas W. Weinzapfel Jan. 5 during a visitation and Rosary at St. Pius X Catholic Church.

Celebrating a legacy of faith and service

By Bishop Kevin J. Farrell

Monsignor recalled for his counsel (Continued from Page 1) community, his love of counseling and advising people, especially youth, and how he loved to play and win at golf, how he enjoyed taking passengers on his plane and how he used his bicycle to help feed his flock, while being fed at the same time.

He recalled Dec. 23 when Bishop Farrell and numerous other priests concelebrated a Mass observing Msgr. Weinzapfel’s 70th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.

“He said at that time that ‘the next time that we all gather here together, I will be carried into this church.’And really just two weeks later, that is exactly what has happened,” he said.

Msgr. Weinzapfel fell on Christmas Day and broke his hip. He underwent surgery days later, but never regained consciousness. He died Jan. 1.

Msgr. Petter said that just before

the surgery Msgr. Weinzapfel had told Father Michael Guadagnoli, the current pastor at St. Pius, that he was ready to go.

“He was ready to go not because he thought he was sinless… but because he knew he had a savior and that is what he preached when he stood before us so often,” he said.

Msgr. Petter relayed that in 1963, when he was 17, his family moved from the central Texas community of Abbott to Dallas and the St. Pius parish. He was at the minor seminary in San Antonio at the time and joked that Msgr. Weinzapfel stilled claimed him as one of his vocation recruits.

He said that Msgr. Weinzapfel also was a giving man, sharing his knowledge to help students academically and giving to families in the parish and throughout the diocese and becoming very involved with his flock, but treating everyone equally.

“He used to ride his bicycle

around the neighborhood and he would use his nose around dinner time,” he said. “He didn’t have very good ears, but he had a good nose and he could smell good food and when he felt like it was a good place to stop, he would knock on the door and invite himself to dinner.”

When Msgr. Weinzapfel gathered with his brother priests, parishioners or anyone he met, he was known to ask piercing questions in a way to show that he was offering advice and counsel, Msgr. Petter said.

“He really tried to tell the bishop how to run this diocese,” he said to more laughter. “I think he might be telling Jesus Christ right now….”

Born Aug. 1, 1921, in Scotland, Texas, Msgr. Weinzapfel grew up in Muenster, where his family moved when he was a small child. Mentored and encouraged by Father (later See MSGR., Page 13

Publisher of The Texas Catholic

It is with a heavy heart that I mark the passing of Msgr.

Thomas W. Weinzapfel, the longest-serving priest of the Diocese of Dallas.

Msgr. Weinzapfel died Jan. 1 complications following surgery for a fall on Christmas Day. Two days earlier, on Dec. 23, I had the privilege of joining hundreds of his friends, colleagues and former parishioners at a Mass and reception at St. Pius X Catholic Church to celebrate the 70th anniversary of his ordination. Father Tom, as he was affectionately called, served as pastor of St. Pius for more than 40 years before his retirement in December 1996.

A native son of our diocese, Monsignor was born in Scotland, Texas, but grew up in Muenster where his family moved when he was a small child. Mentored and encouraged by Father (later Bishop) Augustine Danglmayr,

and supported by his family, he entered St. John Seminary in San Antonio in 1939 and was ordained Dec. 23, 1945 by Bishop Joseph Patrick Lynch.

After pastoral assignments in Texarkana, Dallas and Valley View, Msgr. Weinzapfel was largely responsible for the successful revival of The Texas Catholic newspaper in 1954, visiting every parish in the diocese to win support of the publication.

While we mourn the loss of this good and faithful servant, we rejoice in a lifetime of service and love that touched and changed the lives of thousands.

Please join me in prayers of thanksgiving for Msgr.

Weinzapfel and prayers of comfort for his family and all those who loved this great priest.

Bishop Kevin J. Farrell is the seventh bishop of Dallas. Read his blog at bishopkevinfarrell.org/blog.

JENNA TETER/The Texas Catholic

RON HEFLIN/Special Contributor

JENNA TETER/The Texas Catholic

Diocesan priests and St. Pius X Catholic School students stand outside St. Pius X Catholic Church as pallbearers carry the casket of Msgr.

Thomas W. Weinzapfel to a hearse following his funeral Mass Jan. 6.

The Knights of Columbus Color Guard stands in honor as the casket of Msgr. Thomas W. Weinzapfel is rolled out of the church following a funeral Mass at St. Pius X Catholic Church on Jan. 6.

Parishioners recite the Lord’s Prayer during the funeral Mass for Msgr.

Thomas W. Weinzapfel at St. Pius X Catholic Church on Jan. 6.

DIOCESE

The Texas Catholic

January 8, 2016

13

A priest who never truly retired nor faded away

By Steve Landregan Special to The Texas Catholic

Father Tom never really left St. Pius X when he retired after more than 40 years as pastor— he just moved over. He bought a home nearby and became a parishioner, participating in the Over 55 Club, having lunch at the Spiritual Life Center, serving as sort of a super chaplain for Bishop Lynch High School.

He had many other interests.

Flying, or piloting, rather, was certainly high among them.

He and Father Jim Tucek flew to Mexico in a light plane. He was also a biker, but at St. Pius he downsized to a moped. He kept trim and fit and attributed his good health to the salutary properties of grapefruit.

Because he helped relaunch

The Texas Catholic, the diocesan newspaper held a special place in his life and its staff members were special friends for whom he loved playing Santa Claus at Christmas.

The St. Pius X rectory was always a welcoming place for other priests, the tired and the retired. His table was always blessed with good food and good conversation. After dinner would find him presiding over numerous television sets showing all the local stations, all silent save the one he deemed most interesting.

Loss of his hearing was a burden in his later years and he and friends similarly blessed would share shouted conversations with everyone else within earshot. He played a mean game of tennis and only reluctantly surrendered time on

the courts and bike riding. In spite of the limitations of age, Father Tom never withdrew, continuing to participate actively in the parish and the community.

Forever the pastor, he was a willing listener and counselor, ready with advice, encouragement and, if needed, fraternal correction. Make no mistake about it—he ran a tight ship and there was never any doubt as to who was the captain.

He loved his God, he loved His church and he loved His people.

Steve Landregan is the historian for the Diocese of Dallas, a former editor of The Texas Catholic and a longtime colleague and friend of Msgr. Thomas W. Weinzapfel.

BEN TORRES/Special Contributor

Msgr. Thomas Weinzapfel waits for his turn to enter a procession at the start of a Mass celebrating his 70th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood on Dec. 23 at St. Pius X Catholic Church.

Msgr. Thomas W. Weinzapfel (Continued from Page 12) Bishop) Augustine Danglmayr, and supported by his family, he entered St. John Seminary in San Antonio in 1939 and was ordained Dec. 23, 1945

by Bishop Joseph Patrick Lynch.

Following ordination he served as parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Texarkana and St. Edward Catholic Church in Dallas before being named pastor of St. John Parish in Valley View. Beginning in 1952, he was recruited by the newly installed Bishop Thomas K. Gorman, to assist in the revival of The Texas Catholic newspaper. During that period he visited every parish in the diocese seeking support for the restored journal.

In May 1956, he was named pastor of St. Pius X Catholic Church in the Dallas-Garland-Mesquite area of eastern Dallas County. In an interview shortly before his death he recalled, “When I came to St. Pius X I found a bunch of young people right out of the military and college with new homes, new mortgages and new babies who wanted a parish community and a school and I said, ‘let’s do it.”

Msgr. Weinzapfel’s heritage at St.

Pius X is more than brick and mortar (though there was a lot of that) it is a Christian Community motivated by the motto “Love one another.” (John 13:34) that has sponsored missionary outreach to Mexico, welcomed and provided housing and support for refugees from the Vietnamese war, and given birth to half a dozen daughter congregations.

After the funeral Mass, interment followed in the Priests’ Circle at Calvary Hill Cemetery.

Msgr. Weinzapfel was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Julia, two brothers, Ensign Robert Weinzapfel and Rev. Joseph Weinzapfel and sisters Agnes Hellman and Dora Jackson. Survivors include sisters Juanita Bright of Medford, Ore.; and Mary Birden of Denton; a brother and sister-in-law, Henry and Janie Weinzapfel, of Muenster, as well as 29 nieces and nephews and numerous great nieces and nephews.

Video coverage Find a video of Msgr. Thomas W. Weinzapfel’s funeral Mass at TexasCatholic.com.

ZACHARY HARRIS/Special Contributor

Bishop Kevin J. Farrell speaks at the interment site of Msgr. Thomas W. Weinzapfel at Calvary Hill Cemetery following the funeral Mass Jan. 6.

JENNA TETER/The Texas Catholic

Bishop Kevin J. Farrell swings a censer over the casket of Msgr. Thomas W. Weinzapfel during a funeral Mass held at St. Pius X Catholic Church on Jan. 6. Msgr. Weinzapfel, the Diocese of Dallas’ longest serving priest, died Jan. 1.

JENNA TETER/The Texas Catholic

RON HEFLIN/Special Contributor

Floral arrangements and photographs of Msgr. Thomas W. Weinzapfel are displayed at St. Pius X Catholic Church during his visitation and Rosary Jan. 5.

A woman prays at the foot of the casket of Msgr. Thomas W. Weinzapfel at St. Pius X Catholic Church on Jan. 6, prior to the start of the funeral Mass.

14 The Texas Catholic

DIOCESE

January 8, 2016

Diocesan capital campaign pledges surpass goals (Continued from Page 1)

JENNA TETER/The Texas Catholic

Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Roger Staubach talks about the importance of a Catholic education during an announcement of the 125th anniversary of the Diocese of Dallas and the coinciding “Our Faith...Our Future” capital campaign in September 2014 at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

pronounce the campaign a success, as it’s the largest capital campaign at a Catholic diocese or archdiocese in the Southwest,” he said. “It can give everybody, as a Catholic, a chance to say, ‘Wow.’ It says we’re a vibrant, robust, growing community that will continue to grow.”

Urbanus said that more than $41 million had been collected for the campaign, which benefits Catholic schools; parishes; the cathedral; Holy Trinity Seminary, and Catholic Charities of Dallas.

He said that more than $7 million has been distributed to parishes, schools, and other Catholic entities from the campaign, which began in January 2013 and is the first diocesan-wide capital campaign in the Diocese of Dallas’ 125-year history.

“It suggests, number one, that the people of the Diocese of Dallas are very, very generous in many ways,” Bishop Kevin J. Farrell said. “This city has a great reputation for being a very philanthropic community. My heart and my gratitude go out to all the people of Dallas for their support.

Our feasibility study told us we could raise $100 million, and we believed we could raise $125 million.

“This is a gift that will keep on giving for the next 125 years.”

The bishop said he was profoundly grateful for the hard work of the volunteer leadership committee’s executive group that included Norma and Harry Longwell; Lydia and Dan Novakov, and Mary and Rich Templeton.

Bill Keffler, chief operating officer of the Diocese of Dallas, called the campaign “one of the largest and most ambitious fundraising initiatives by any Catholic diocese in the country, which is quite a statement for the campaign vision established by Bishop Farrell.”

Keffler said that the campaign underscored diocesan-wide dedication.

“The surpassing of our $125 million capital campaign goal is a tremendous tribute to the generosity of our Catholic community and the admirable commitment of our many parish campaign volunteers,” he said.

Urbanus said that parishes held

ZACHARY HARRIS/Special Contributor

Crews at work during construction at St. Philip & St. Augustine Catholic Academy in July 2015. A portion of the construction work for the new Diocese of Dallas academy was funded by the “Our Faith...Our Future” Capital Campaign.

their “Our Faith...Our Future” campaigns during five “blocks,” or time spans, each of which lasted about six months.

He said that 45 of the 76 parishes that participated in the campaign exceeded their pledge goal.

“Thirty percent of what a parish raises in money collected is returned to the parish,” Urbanus said. “A parish that exceeds its target in collected money has access to 70 percent of that money.”

He said that Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Garland set a pledge goal of $1.2 million and raised $3,342,683—279 percent of the goal.

Ed Schaffler, who leads the campaign’s distribution committee, said that oversight is a priority.

“We’re a quality-control point, making sure that the funds were being used in the ways for which they were raised,” said Schaffler, who, with his wife, Jane, serves on the “Our Faith...Our Future” campaign’s Leadership Committee.

“It’s an important check and balance.

“I am very impressed with the fact that our diocese has been able to galvanize the people of the diocese to support these causes. It’s very rewarding to see all that is happening.

We have Bishop Farrell’s leadership to thank.”

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JENNA TETER/The Texas Catholic

Parishioners walk past an awning constructed with the use of capital campaign funds at Mary Immaculate Catholic Church in Farmers Branch.

Msgr. Larry Pichard, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Frisco, said that he appreciated his parishioners’ generosity.

“They really rose to the occasion,” Msgr. Pichard said. “It was an offering to the Lord and to the diocese.

I was worrying about making our goal because we struggled during the advance gift stage. People really stepped up to the plate and hit a home run.

“We’re very pleased and proud of our people.”

By Dec. 29, St. Francis of Assisi had raised $3,768,450 in pledges and $392,845 in payments—189 percent of the parish’s pledge goal of $1,995,000, Urbanus said.

Msgr. Pichard said that when his parish requests its disbursement from the campaign, the funds will go toward reducing the $7 million debt for the new church.

Frisco’s explosive growth has produced a need for the parish to build additional classrooms for the 2,500 children and youth in faith formation, Msgr. Pichard said.

“We need more classrooms and meeting places for our hugely expanding parishioner base,” he said.

“We have 7,000 people at Mass on a weekend. We can’t start building the other buildings until we pay off the church.”

The importance of participating in the capital campaign hit home with St. Francis of Assisi parishioners Marie and Ray Jacko.

Marie Jacko said that she liked the small-meeting setting in which she and her husband learned about the “Our Faith...Our Future” campaign.

“It was presented in a way without a lot of pressure,” she said. “We were told to go home, think about it and pray about it. One of the things that I particularly liked was that a certain percentage of the money was coming back to the parish. We love our church. We’re interested in where the money goes.

“There are needs at St. Francis, with so many ministries, as there are so many more Catholics here than when we moved from Pittsburgh in 1996.”

DIOCESE

The Texas Catholic

January 8, 2016

15

Maybe faith, hope and charity should be resolutions for 2016

By David Sedeño The Texas Catholic

While many people were preparing to close out 2015 in their own special way, Dec. 31 found my wife and me traveling to Louisiana for the funeral of a dear friend’s mother.

As we headed east on Interstate 20 early that morning, the dark that once was night began surrendering to the light of a new day. With fog rising from the creeks and valleys among the tall pines, the sun rose majestically in the horizon, creating an amazing panoramic landscape that can be better appreciated in the country and attributed rightfully to God’s hand.

And perhaps it was that clash of a breathtaking sight with the sound from the radio that jarred me to focus on the DJ’s voice, instead. He was reading from what he called the Top 5 New Year’s resolutions for 2016.

Among them were to lose weight, get more organized, eat better, get on an exercise program, and save more

and spend less. He didn’t attribute the magazine, website or organization that authored the survey, but in this continued era of self-awareness, self-worth, and selfies, it didn’t really matter.

I commented to my wife that despite the sad news of sectarian violence around the globe and internet rhetoric that continues to fuel political and social polarization here, surely among social media platforms, there must be a list that included being more faithful, kinder, more charitable and more tolerant among the top New Year’s resolutions.

We discussed this for a few miles, admitting that we ourselves struggle and hope to do better in the new year with those virtues that we often hear mentioned as Christ-like in homilies at Mass or have seen through the acts of others, young and old.

As the morning hours passed, we traded wide, divided interstates for a smaller U.S. highway and eventually for a two-lane state highway leading into Cajun country.

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members of the Altar Society who helped care for the church; he talked about her kindness that he saw displayed to others. And in those virtues, it was apparent that he saw hope.

After the Mass and burial rites and a few minutes gathered in her home, we headed back to Texas.

And as 2015 began winding down, out in the country and behind those tall pines, manmade fireworks lit up the sky off of Interstate 20, signaling that a new year was fast approaching.

Yet seeing this, I no longer was jarred by the New Year’s resolutions I had heard earlier in the day.

Instead, I focused on my friend’s mother and her life and how her life exemplified her name—Mary Hope Landreneau—and that in 2016, despite everything else going on around the world, hope should be our middle name, too.

David Sedeño is the executive editor of The Texas Catholic.

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She died peacefully early on Dec. 29.

At her funeral Mass at St. Ann Catholic Church, Father Alphonse Thainese, who had anointed her days before her passing, talked about the virtues that he saw in this woman: faith, hope, and charity. He told about how he would see her in solitude and prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament during Eucharistic Adoration; how she was among the loyal

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In Memoriam

Msgr. Thomas W. Weinzapfel

BEN TORRES/Special to The Texas Catholic

Msgr. Thomas Weinzapfel, center, concelebrates a Mass honoring his 70th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood with Bishop Kevin J. Farrell and Father Michael Guadagnoli, pastor of St. Pius X Catholic Church.

The Texas Catholic wishes to express sincere condolences to the Weinzapfel family and to especially thank Msgr. Weinzapfel for his 70 years of faithful service and continued friendship and support of The Texas Catholic and its mission of evangelization to the Catholic community.