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. Catholics were a minority. However, by the late 1940's, the desire for a local Catholic Church inspired 25 Catholic families to get together for an organizational meeting. Mass was celebrated in various homes while they worked toward building a church. With a $5,000 gift from the Catholic Extension Society and $5,000.00 collected from fund raisers and a pledge drive, the parish was ready to build.
In
1949, their dreams of a Catholic Church became a reality and St.
Francis celebrated its first mass. The parish served
Grapevine, Colleyville, Southlake, Coppell, Roanoke, and Lewisville. This
first mission church accommodated 250
people. The first Mass was said in July 1949 with vestments,
candlesticks, pews, and 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.
It was rough in the beginning. 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 diocese separate whish 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. Soon Between 1980 and 1985, the parish doubled in size,
with increasing growth evident. The old mission church was
demolished when the new church was constructed in 1985.
In March 1985,
the $1.5 M 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. A
30K sq. ft. facility, complete with classrooms, Parish Hall, a meeting
room, offices, a chapel to seat 80, and a church that would seat 600. The
new church was dedicated by Bishop Delaney and 10 priests and deacons
before 1000 parishioners and guests. The
original 25 founding families attended, presenting the keys of the
church to the Bishop.
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.
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 effectiveMay1, 2007.
Fr. Thu Nguyen, our Parochial Vicar (Associate Pastor) was born in
Viet Nam and has been living in the United States since 1975. He is the
youngest member in his family with 3 brothers and 2 sisters. A
Graduate from Rockport-Fulton High School and received a bachelor degree
in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington, he
then entered the Assumption Seminary in San Antonio and completed his
study at the Oblate School of Theology. Fr. Thu was ordained in
1992 in the Diocese of Victoria, Texas.
Fr.
Thu served as Parochial Vicar at St. Philip the Apostle in EL Campo,
then as pastor at Holy Cross in Yorktown with two missions, St. Ann and
San Luis. He then returned to St. Philip the Apostle in El Campo
as pastor. Fr. Thu took a leave of absence from the Diocese of
Victoria and in 2007 was assigned as parochial vicar at St. George
Catholic Church in Fort Worth.
Fr. Thu has lived most of his life and is a familiar face in the Fort
Worth and Dallas area. He is seminarian classmate of Fr. Ken
Robinson and was ordained a week before Fr. Ken. In his 15 years
of priesthood, Fr. Thu has dedicated himself to many ministries of the
church.