By Michael Gresham
The Texas Catholic

RICHARDSON — History was made Nov. 15 for St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church as the McKinney parish received its first grant award from The Catholic Foundation.

The timing couldn’t have been better, as the award will directly impact the parish’s future by funding expansions aimed at providing for a growing faith formation program that is bursting at its seams and serving more than 700 children.

“Instead of makeshift spaces, we will now have six high quality classrooms with white-boards and new tables and chairs,” said Joseph Walker, business manager for St. Michael the Archangel. “The improved lighting and room design will greatly enhance the learning experience of our students as well as assisting our teachers to organize and keep discipline.”

The McKinney parish was one of 20 entities on hand at the parish center for St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church on Nov. 15 as The Catholic Foundation awarded $1.1 million to Dallas-area Catholic schools and churches, plus community organizations, during its 2024 fall grant ceremony.

Funded by The Catholic Foundation’s unrestricted philanthropy fund and funds established by individuals and families to carry out their charitable goals, the grants support a diverse mix of projects that include playground and classroom renovations, security enhancements and fencing, sanctuary lighting, a baptismal font, a work study shuttle bus, plus kitchen, roof, and window replacements.

“The community impact influenced by our grant recipients touches lives young and old,” Matt Kramer, president and CEO of The Catholic Foundation, said. “These fall grants help local Catholic churches to be even more comfortable places for people to encounter Jesus, inspire area Catholic school students to grow in their knowledge and faith, and assist nonprofits and their clients to find hope and experience mercy through the important services offered.”

Twice per year, The Catholic Foundation distributes community grants to local Catholic churches and schools and nonprofit organizations. Grant requests are reviewed by the The Catholic Foundation’s Board of Trustees’ Distribution Committee, followed by documented site visits by trustees through which the recipients and funding amounts are determined.

For St. Michael the Archangel, the fall grant will help fund a new education building for its burgeoning faith formation programs. The new building will provide the parish with six formal classrooms and a large meeting room. These rooms will be dedicated to faith formation while freeing space for the other parish-based organizations.

“This is incredible progress for our parish and especially our youth,” said Walker, who has served as St. Michael’s business manager for the past five years. “We have been extremely pressed for space. We literally have had only two actual classrooms, based in a temporary building constructed in 1978.”

Walker explained that each of these rooms only houses about 20 students. The rest of the parish’s classrooms come via temporary partitions utilizing the parish’s main office, old church, and old narthex.

“All our classes were overcrowded, and often students were forced to sit on the floor,” Walker said. “These conditions are far from creating an ideal learning environment, but they were the best we could do.”

Walker said the situation has been made more challenging by the fact that St. Michael the Archangel has many active parish-based organizations that also compete for this limited space.

“Every nook and cranny is booked virtually every night with many good groups shut out,” he said.

The parish’s last physical expansion was the construction of its sanctuary in 2007. Walker said the parish is blessed with strong Mass attendance and active volunteers but continues to face financial challenges.

“It has been hard on many of our parishioners to watch the surrounding parishes build new and beautiful sanctuaries and parish centers while we struggled to just get some new classrooms,” he said.

The parish was on the cusp of beginning its expansion project in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, delaying progress and doubling costs.

“Our community never stopped working towards this goal, nor did they stop sending their children for formation, despite the challenging conditions,” Walker said. “We believe this project, so long in coming, will rejuvenate our community and assure them that our future is bright.”

The Catholic Foundation has, over time, provided more than $300 million in grants to religious, charitable, and educational organizations, with $219 million being distributed in the past 10 years alone. In 2023, The Catholic Foundation awarded 2,700 grants totaling $21 million, impacting 880 organizations.

Other 2024 fall grant recipients included:

• Bloom Pregnancy Help Center, marketing support
• Community Health Clinic-Catholic Charities of Dallas, medical director
• Gospel of Life – St. Adelaide Dwelling, with funding from the Harper Senior Citizen Fund, R. Cardis & Grace DeLee Stubbs Fund and the Louise Buhrer Endowment Fund, renovations
• Holy Cross Catholic Church, technology and security
• Ignatian Spirituality Institute, curriculum development
• James L. Collins Catholic School, renovations for school gym
• Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas, school entrance
• Juan Diego & Friends, evangelization lab
• Montserrat Jesuit Retreat House, guest room renovations
• Sacred Heart of Jesus Chinese Parish, HVAC replacement
• San Juan Diego Catholic Church, HVAC replacement
• Society of St. Vincent De Paul of North Texas, new staff position
• St. Ann Catholic Church, parking lot
• St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Parish, window replacement
• St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, HVAC replacement
• St. Joseph’s Residence with funding from the Victoria & Leon Gulczynski Memorial Fund, HVAC
• St. Jude Catholic Parish, technology upgrade
• St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store of Dallas, donation truck
• White Rose Women’s Center, restroom renovation

Cutline for featured image: The Catholic Foundation awarded $1.1 million to 20 Dallas-area Catholic schools and parishes, as well as community organizations, during its 2024 fall grant ceremony, held Nov. 15 in the parish center at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Richardson. (MICHAEL GRESHAM/The Texas Catholic)