St. Francis of Assisi      
Catholic Church - Grapevine, Texas
             
 

861 Wildwood Lane, Grapevine, Texas  76051 - (817) 481-2685 - Fax (817) 488-3169 

 
             
   

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Grapevine in the 1940's was mostly farmland.  Main Street was where people shopped and Catholics were a minority.  By the late 1940's, the desire for a local Catholic Church inspired 25 families to get together for an organizational meeting.  Mass was celebrated in various homes while they worked toward building a church. The Catholic Extension Society donated a $5,000.00 gift  and another $5,000.00 was collected from fund raisers and a pledge drive was started.   The parish was ready to build.

In 1949, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church became a reality .  The first Mass was said in July 1949 with vestments, candlesticks, pews, and an altar donated from churches of the Dallas diocese of which Grapevine and all of north Texas were part.  There was one Sunday Mass at 9am.  The parish served Grapevine, Colleyville, Southlake, Coppell, Roanoke, and  Lewisville.  This first mission church accommodated 250 people.  It was rough in the beginning and from 1951 to 1961, there were 11 different priests. When Fr. Baltasar Szarka arrived in 1961 the parishioners were not really optimistic about how long he was going to stay. 
Fr. B., as he came to be known, stayed 36 years before he retired.

The original church was never considered permanent, but it served the St. Francis community for 37 years.  In that time the parish grew.  Ft. Worth became a separate diocese which included Grapevine.  St. Francis celebrated 4 weekend masses.  In the mid 1970’s Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport opened and many major companies, including American Airlines, the Boy Scouts of America relocated their headquarters to the Metroplex.  Many of these newcomers were Catholics, and by the early 1980's, the church was literally bursting at the seams.

In 1983, a 9.2 acre site was purchased and a building fund begun. Soon, a new building was under construction. It was an ambitious project for the 450 registered families, but the need was great.   Between 1980 and 1985, the parish doubled in size.  The old mission church was demolished when the new church was constructed in 1985. 
In March 1985, the $1.5 M project was completed- a 30,000 sq. ft. facility including classrooms, Parish Hall, meeting room, offices, 80 seat chapel, and a church seating 600.  The church was dedicated by Bishop Delaney before 1,000 parishioners and guests.  The 25 founding families presented the keys to the Bishop. The St. Francis community soon outgrew the 1985 church.  In February 1999, an exciting Catch the Spirit Capital campaign was started to raise funds for building the new Family Life Center and renovating the current church to increase seat capacity. 
 
The ground breaking for the Family Life Center was in April, 1999.  The family life center, a 26,000 sq. foot building with 11 classrooms, 2 child care rooms, a multi-purpose room and full kitchen, was dedicated on October 4, 2000 with a Mass con-celebrated by Fr. Ken, Fr. Hoa Ngyuen, and Msgr. Joe Schumacher, diocesan Vicar General.  Renovation of the church building - followed this dedication.  Mass was celebrated in the Family Life Center during the time the church was renovated.  On October 6th, 2001 in conjunction with the feast of St. Francis, the completion of our church facility was celebrated with Bishop Delaney, Fr. Ken, Our Deacons and visiting priests, during 5:30 p.m. Mass.  Immediately following, the parish joined in and Italian Dinner.  This was definitely an occasion to celebrate!!

The Church and administration facility is a 39,000 sq. feet building with church seating for over 1,100, 10 classrooms, meeting room, conference room  meeting room, conference room, office space, and a Parish Hall.  Stained glass windows from the original mission church were used in the parish hall to bring forward our past.

Fr. Baltasar Szarka, affectionately called Fr. B, was our for pastor and native of Hungary.  He was ordained in France in 1949.  In 1952, Fr. B joined other Cistercians from Hungary who settled in Wisconsin.  The group moved to Irving in 1956, and Fr. B began his ministry at St. Francis in 1961.

He was a wonderful listener and loved children.  He was a loving pastor to the growing community at St. Francis.  Fr. B retired as pastor in August of 1997 die to failing health and was honored with a special mass and reception.  Fr. B died on April1, 2000.  Fr. B left us with a legacy of love of the Eucharist and sense of community.
 

Fr. Ken Robinson, our recent pastor, was born in Austria, the second of four children in an Air Force family.  His father served several assignments in Europe before returning to the Texas.  

Fr. Ken was raised in a Protestant tradition, but as a teenager entered Catholic Church.  Fr. Ken has a rich educational and work background. He has a BA in Secondary Education with specialization in History, English, and Microbiology and a Masters Degree in History.  Before entering seminary, he worked as a teacher and as a medical technologist.  He completed his Masters of Divinity degree at Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio.  He was ordained a priest on May 16, 1992 at his home parish of, St. Rita in Fort Worth.
 
Fr. Ken served as associate pastor at St. Michael Church in Bedford and later pastor of St. George  Church in Fort Worth before being named pastor of St. Francis in August 1997.  Fr. Ken was assigned pastor of Sacred Heart in Muenster, TX effective January 1, 2007.

Fr. Anh Tran, our current pastor was born and baptized in Saigon, Viet Nam in 1963.  As a teenager he moved with his parents and siblings to Fort Worth, Texas in 1975.  He became a citizen of the United States of America in 1992.

He attended St. Rita Catholic School and Eastern Hills High School in East Fort Worth.  He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Conception seminary College in Missouri in 1985; a Master of Divinity from St. Mary's Seminary in Houston, 1990; and Licentiate in Canon Law from Catholic University of America, 1996.  Fr. Anh also has sufficient knowledge of Spanish to celebrate Mass and hear confession.

Fr. Anh was ordained by Bishop Joseph Delaney at St. Matthew Church, Arlington, May 26, 1990; and Immaculate Conception Church, Denton, 1992.  In 1996 Fr. Anh was appointed pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Breckenridge, Texas with its four Mission Churches in Shackelford, Throckmorton and Palo Pinot counties.  At that time Fr. Anh was also appointed to serve in the Marriage Tribunal for the Archdiocese of San Antonio; position he is currently serving as Defender of the Bond.

In 1999  Fr. Anh was appointed Diocesan Director for Vocations and has served in that position until December 2006.  Bishop Kevin Vann appointed Fr. Anh pastor of St Francis of Assisi church and as Vicar Forane for the Northeast Deanery effective May1, 2007.

 

     
             
 

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