St. Joseph breaks ground on a multipurpose building

Bishop Mulvey and Father Romeo Salinas (to bishop’s left) join parish leaders in breaking ground for new multi-purpose building that will house parish hall, religious education classrooms and parish offices. Alfredo Cardenas, South Texas Catholic

As its golden anniversary as a faith community dawns on St. Joseph Parish in Kingsville, it is readying itself for the next half century of service to the church.

On July 20, the parish broke ground on a half million-dollar multi-purpose building that will serve as parish hall, religious education building and parish offices.

Before joining a host of parish community leaders in breaking ground for the new facility, Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey reminded those in attendance that Pope Francis continually asks us to simplify the complexity of our faith life. “Our faith is in Jesus Christ; He is the cornerstone of our faith. Lets keep that in mind as we dig into the dirt today,” Bishop Mulvey said.

The bishop thanked Father Romeo Salinas for his leadership as pastor of St. Joseph. “He had the vision with you and to listen to you in your needs, and then help you bring it to fruition,” Bishop Mulvey said.

Father Salinas said the project was four and half years in the making, beginning in 2008 when the old parish hall was razed due to infestation. Since then the parish has operated without a parish hall and religious education classes have been held on the second floor of the old convent. The facility is so small that classes are held in shifts in order to accommodate the 200 children enrolled in religious education.

The struggle with facilities has been part of parish life at St. Joseph since the beginning. The idea for building a church in the northeast corner of Kingsville came about in 1962 when St. Martin Parish was looking to meet the needs of Catholics in Kingsville. It received permission from Bishop Mariano S. Garriga to borrow $20,000 to build a chapel in the area.

The new chapel was established in June 1963 and blessed on Oct. 20, 1963. The following year, Father Julian R. Johnson, OMI reported to Bishop Garriga that one Mass was offered at the chapel of St. Joseph weekly.

Late in 1968, Father John McGrath, OMI, wrote to Bishop Thomas J. Drury that St. Joseph was in need of a large parish hall and had the opportunity to secure a surplus building from Naval Air Station Kingsville. Four months later, on March 3, 1969, Bishop Drury approved for the “H-shaped wooden barracks” to be moved to St. Joseph. The diocese’s Home Mission Fund gave St. Joseph $5,000, $3,000 for relocation of the barracks building and $2,000 for remodeling.

Ten years later, the parish hall’s roof needed repairs and Bishop Drury approved a request from Father John Diehl, OMI to spend $6,797 on the roof. St. Joseph, a mission of St. Martin, had grown to include 348 families. This prompted Bishop Drury to elevate it to a parish, effective Dec. 15, 1979.

The Navy barracks continued to serve as a parish hall, but were constantly in need of repairs. In 1982, St. Joseph’s new pastor, Father Felipe Matias, OMI, reported to the bishop that the Mutualistas and others had offered to renovate the parish hall, “no strings attached.”

In 2004 the parish commissioned an engineering study to determine how to best remodel the parish hall. The study concluded that it was not economically feasible to salvage the barracks. The old barracks continued to serve as a parish hall until 2008 when the parish was forced to tear them down for health and safety reasons.

Sylvia Molina, parish secretary and grants writer, said that St. Joseph began a capitol campaign in 2008 and with the help of the John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation the project was becoming a reality. The parish will also use proceeds from the diocese’s “Legacy of Faith-Future of Hope” campaign to complete the project.

The parish is a “close knit community, very supportive of parish needs,” Molina said. Father Salinas echoed her assessment, saying the parish is “real faithful and hard working.”

One parishioner is Jose Gravely, whose construction company will build the 4,500 square-foot project at a cost of $567,000. Gravely hopes to complete the construction, weather permitting, in four to five months. David Brown, with Ferrel/Brown and Associates, is the architect for the project.
  “We will be able to have classes for CCD, marriage preparation classes, baptismal classes and Bible study,” Father Salinas said. The facility will also serve as a meeting place for men and women groups in the parish, as well as other ministries, he said.