"We try to get people to live their faith despite the popular culture,” Msgr. Leonard Pivonka, JCD, pastor at St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Alice said. “God is the one who is victorious for those who love and serve him.”
In his 12 years at St. Elizabeth, Msgr. Pivonka has introduced many practices and ministries that seek to build up the faith. He is very pleased with Pope Benedict XVI’s proclamation of the Year of Faith, which Msgr. Pivonka sees as another incentive for Catholics to grow in faith.
The faith community at St. Elizabeth has maintained and nourished their faith for nearly a century. The Catholic faith came to Alice with its very founding. When the town was established, the nearby community of Collins literally picked up and moved to the new location. As early as 1885, Father Pedro Bard of San Diego had raised a sufficient amount of subscriptions to start a church in Collins. Father Bard moved the Sacred Heart Church at Collins to Alice in 1889.
Sacred Heart and Father Bard, helped periodically by other priests, continued to convey the faith in Alice until 1918 when St. Elizabeth was built. Sacred Heart was badly damaged by the hurricane of 1916 and moved to a new location and shortly thereafter George Walt Sr. and his wife informed Bishop Paul Nussbaum, C.P. that there was interest in the community for a new parish. The bishop said that if they could raise the needed funds he would support the project.
On April 14, 1918, Bishop Nussbaum returned to Alice to consecrate the new parish, named St. Elizabeth in honor of a large contributor’s request that it be named after his deceased wife and mother of his 10 children. The bishop selected Father Thomas J. Connally, a recently arrived priest from the Diocese of Alton in Illinois, to serve as the new church’s pastor and made it a mission of Sacred Heart, which was also placed under Father Connally’s care.
The original church was located at Reynolds and Second Streets but was moved when the current church was built in 1940 at its present location. Msgr. Pivonka said the same architect that did the Corpus Christi Cathedral also designed the church and it has many similar features, albeit at a smaller scale.
During Msgr. Pivonka’s tenure, which began in 2000, the church has undergone a number of refurbishments, including to the exterior brick and the roofing. The statuary and other artwork and vessels used in celebration of the liturgy have been restored and regilded. Several other buildings, such as the St. Anne House used for religious education and the St. Jude Center have also been remodeled. Plans are being developed to expand the parish hall to twice its current capacity.
The physical campus is not the only aspect of the parish that Msgr. Pivonka has sought to renew. His focus has also been directed at developing the faithful’s “Catholic identity.”
“We try to present the Catholic faith in its fullness,” Msgr. Pivonka said.
Mass at St. Elizabeth for example, is preceded by praying the Angelus and the St. Michael’s Prayer before the opening procession. At the conclusion of Communion, Msgr. Pivonka often leads the congregation in the Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus while the deacon cleanses the sacred vessels after the distribution of Communion.
Holy Communion is quite distinct at St. Elizabeth, it being the only parish in the diocese offering intinction, which is the administration of the sacrament of Communion by dipping the body of Christ in the blood of Christ and giving both together to the communicant. Msgr. Pivonka introduced this practice after observing it on a visit to his parents’ parish of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Frenstat in the Diocese of Austin and thought it was a nice and simple way to receive both species.
The pastor also introduced the ACTS retreats believing they would be a positive spiritual influence in his community. Starting with 13 men in its first men’s retreat, ACTS is in its fifth year for both men and women and has grown to become a community retreat with parishioners from its sister parishes in Alice–St. Joseph and Our Lady of Guadalupe–participating.
In addition to the ACTS retreat, faith education for adults includes an RCIA program, as well as an active Knights of Columbus council, a thriving Catholic Daughters of the Americas circle and the Altar and Rosary Society. The parish also recently added a Eucharistic Adoration chapel that is available to all parishioners at anytime but with scheduled adorations each First Friday of the month.
St. Elizabeth also has an active youth ministry with newly ordained Deacon Ernest Gutierrez in charge of the Life Teen group that numbers 40 high school-age youth. The altar servers number more than 70 and some 200 public school students participate in religious education classes.
The parish also provides formation through St. Elizabeth School, which operates classes from K3-sixth grades and has an enrollment of 185 students. The school opened in 1949 and was initially staffed by the School Sisters of Notre Dame but now is run by lay educators.
Faith formation also involves works of mercy, and the parish–together with Our Lady of Guadalupe, operates a Works of Mercy storehouse in downtown Alice that provides food, clothing and financial assistance to the needy. The generosity of parishioners is also evident with the success of their recent Legacy of Faith~Future of Hope campaign in which St. Elizabeth met 260 percent of their goal.
This faith-filled community has also nurtured seven vocations to the clergy and consecrated life. Sister Rose Ann Bacak, SSND, took her first vows in 1959, two years after graduating from William Adams High School in Alice and six years after graduating from St. Elizabeth School. Ten years later her fraternal sister, Barbara Joan Bacak, also took her first vows with the School Sisters of Notre Dame.
In 1985, Bishop Rene Gracida ordained the first priest from St. Elizabeth, Father Robert Dunn who is now pastor at Most Precious Blood Parish in Corpus Christi. In June 2011, Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey ordained Father John Chavarria, a second priestly vocation from St. Elizabeth. Father Chavarria is assigned to St. Gertrude in Kingsville.
In addition to Deacon Gutierrez who was ordained November 2012, St. Elizabeth has given the diocese two other permanent deacons; Deacon Alan Borse, now retired, and Deacon Jim Carlisle, who serves at St. Elizabeth.
“Living the faith is a gradual thing and patience is required,” Msgr. Pivonka said.