Even before its church building was erected, its school established, and its congregation multiplied from hundreds of parishioners to thousands, St. Joseph Catholic Parish had already distinguished itself as a spiritual home where all are welcome — regardless of age, ability, or nationality. This year, the Richardson parish marks 50 years of bringing the people in its pews, in all their diversity, closer to each other and closer to Christ.
St. Joseph Catholic Church in Richardson
RICHARDSON — El sábado 6 de junio se reunieron 400 personas para celebrar el quincuagésimo aniversario de la parroquia San José en Richardson, una comunidad formada por familias multiculturales y una de las más diversas de la Diócesis de Dallas.
La historia de la parroquia comenzó el 2 de junio de 1976, cuando más de 200 personas se reunieron en la escuela primaria Springridge para la primera reunión parroquial al no contar con instalaciones propias. Cuatro días después se celebraron las primeras Misas. En 1978 se inauguró el Centro Parroquial, en 1986 se dedicó el santuario y en 2002 se abrio la escuela parroquial, consolidando su misión educativa.
The Catholic Pro-Life Community has elected former Project Gabriel director Patty Sherrod as its Father Edward Robinson, O.P., Pro-Life Person of the Year.
The Diocese of Dallas’ Community of Disciples initiative is reshaping how parishes understand belonging, disability, and the shared life of the Church. Rooted in the belief that every person is created in the image and likeness of God, the initiative works to form parish communities where people with disabilities are not only welcomed but recognized as “fully indispensable” members of the Body of Christ, said Alison Wire, associate director for the diocesan office for Persons with Disabilities.
At first, Jaden Britton’s parents had one goal: to get their son baptized; and even that seemingly simple objective sometimes felt unobtainable. At the time when his parents began their pursuit, the young boy with autism could not read, could not write, and often struggled to sit still — all qualities that made typical faith formation classes difficult. Nonetheless, on Jan. 17, through the grace of God and the efforts of Jaden, his parents, and the staff of St. Joseph Catholic Parish in Richardson, the 12 year old celebrated not only his baptism but his first Communion and confirmation too.
As the first communicants of St. Joseph Catholic Church traverse the aisles of the sanctuary to receive the Blessed Sacrament for the first time, their faces often glow with the joy of the sacramental moment. Christie McGee, who as the Richardson parish’s director of children and family ministry has witnessed this heartening scene many times, said that the faces of the communicant’s parents also radiate jubilance in that moment — but all too often, the parents remain a step removed from the sacrament itself.
Over the past year, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Plano has seen significant — and unprecedented — growth in the parish’s Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. The growth has been “sudden,” according to Director of Faith Formation Bruce Baumann, who said that the program had essentially tripled its number of participants from the year before.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church welcomed nearly 300 women into its Parish Hall Feb. 22 for the 25th Annual Women’s Retreat.
One never knows what might spark inspiration. Leftover paint. A worldwide pandemic. A leap of faith. For Allison Hsu, a parishioner at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Richardson, all three of those things played a role in inspiring her to illustrate a recently published children’s book, “The Gospel of Matthew for Little Ones.”