By Michael Gresham
The Texas Catholic
MCKINNEY — Sherman. Bonham. Ennis. Dallas. San Antonio. Oklahoma City. Mexico.
People came from all over on July 13 to help Father Fred Caldwell celebrate his birthday at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Parish. At 90, Father Caldwell is the oldest living diocesan priest for the Diocese of Dallas.
Javier Castillo made a more than 900-mile trek from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, to Collin County for the party. Castillo wanted to help celebrate a man who helped and mentored him decades ago when he first arrived in the United States.
“He was like a father to me when I first came here. I had no family here, so he and his wife took me in and helped me find work,” said Castillo, who at the time was attending Masses at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Denison. “I just wanted to be here for his birthday.”
Wearing a sombrero and a t-shirt that proclaimed, “I make 90 look good,” Father Caldwell hugged, laughed, danced, sang, and prayed with a crowded room of people who all said the retired priest had impacted their lives.
“My father has touched so many lives over 40 years, so it doesn’t surprise me so many have come to help him celebrate,” said his daughter Melissa Engle. “He has always had such a humble heart and just loves people so much. Everyone is just drawn to him.”
Her sister, Kari Caldwell, agreed.
“He cares. He listens,” she said. “My father truly cares about all the people in his life. He wants to help them. He’s always helping people.”
Carla LaCroix, a longtime parishioner of St. Cecilia Catholic Parish, first met Father Caldwell after moving to Dallas from New Orleans in 1979. She recalled meeting him as a member of the parish’s choir.
“From the moment he walked in, there was such joy. It just surrounded him where he went,” said LaCroix, who added that Father Caldwell’s ministries and his homilies impacted so many people at the parish. “He was truly special to us.”
Patricia Slovak, a parishioner at St. John Nepomucene Catholic Church, called Father Caldwell a “godsend” to the Ennis parish because of his involvement that extended beyond the church walls to include ministry with the Hispanic community and trips to the public school to eat lunch with students.
“He was just such a great priest for our parish,” said Slovak, who recalled how the priest had ministered to her and her family when her husband took ill and eventually died in 1998. “We all knew it was just a matter of time, but he was there for us. He even planned a fishing trip in the pond behind our house for them. My husband really liked him.”
Viviana Cruz first came to know Father Caldwell as a small child, attending Masses at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Sherman, St. Patrick Catholic Church in Denison, and her hometown parish of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Bonham. Now an adult and married, Cruz attended the birthday celebration with her children.
“Father Caldwell can just relate with anybody. I feel like he’s been there and done that so when he gives advice, it comes from the heart,” she said. “He loves God like nobody else, and I think that shines through his spirit.”
‘Father Fred’
Born July 10, 1934, in Wilburton, Okla., Father Caldwell was the fifth child of Harold Fredrick and Anna Segna Caldwell. He attended Eastern Oklahoma Junior College in his hometown before heading to Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, Okla., where he discovered he had a knack for languages, easily mastering Spanish and earning a teaching degree. He taught in Oklahoma, Colorado, and Texas.
He and his wife, Shirley, married in December 1960 and would have two daughters, Kari and Melissa.
It was while working as a Spanish professor at Grayson College in Denison, Texas, that Father Caldwell first became active with the Hispanic community in the area, offering ministry opportunities and support to those within the community. Due to the growing Hispanic population in the Sherman area, he worked with the priest at St. Mary’s Catholic Church to create a Spanish ministry for the parish.
“Over the years, he helped many people from Mexico, El Salvador, and other areas learn English, apply for green cards, and get jobs,” Engle said, adding that his experience with that ministry led him to discern becoming a permanent deacon and his wife into the Catholic faith.
Brought up as a Southern Baptist, Shirley felt called to convert to Catholicism while going through the diaconate formation classes with her husband. She would become a Catholic in 1990, two years before her death. She died in 1992, the same year her husband was ordained as a permanent deacon for the Diocese of Dallas.
Prior to Shirley’s death, the couple had discussed Father Caldwell retiring from teaching and becoming a priest. In August 1993, he answered that call, entering Sacred Heart Catholic Seminary in Hale’s Corner, Wisc., and being ordained a priest for the Diocese of Dallas in 1995 at the age of 61.
Affectionately known as “Father Fred,” Father Caldwell’s ministry led him to several parish communities where he made countless connections and impacted many lives. He began by serving with Father Tim Gollob, who served as pastor of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Dallas for more than 50 years. Father Caldwell served as a parochial vicar for St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Dallas and pastor of St. John Nepomucene Catholic Church in Ennis. He spent more than six years serving the community of St. Ann Catholic Church in Coppell alongside his friend and brother priest, Msgr. Leon Deusman.
Father Caldwell retired from active priesthood in 2005, but never slowed down his service to the Church. He has celebrated Masses in Spanish and English wherever there is a need, frequenting parishes near his home in Melissa, including Van Alstyne, McKinney, and Bonham. Even today, at 90, he consistently celebrates a Spanish Mass at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Bonham, assisting its pastor Father Delfin Condori. He also leads weekly Bible studies and prayer meetings as well as produces a podcast, “Soul Survivors.”
“If this is what happens when I turn 90, I can’t wait to see what happens at 100,” Father Caldwell joked, adding that he felt “privileged and honored” to have all the people from the various parishes travel to help celebrate his birthday. “It’s just marvelous to see everyone.”
Cutline for featured image: Father Fred Caldwell, far right, a retired priest of the Diocese of Dallas, sings along with musicians during a celebration for his 90th birthday at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Parish in McKinney. Father Caldwell is the oldest living diocesan priest. Find more images from the celebration in the photo gallery at TexasCatholic.com. (Michael Gresham/The Texas Catholic)
