Texas Gulf Coast Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 9, No. 43, Ed. 1 Friday, March 21, 1975 Page: 1 of 6
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Alice Parochial School
Marks Silver Annniversary
The Crzuc\fix\on
fnoim the Bishop's Desk...
ST. ELIZABETH’S SCHOOL FACULTY
Front row, Mrs. B.M. Carroll, Mrs. Joe Eicher, Sister Mary Anselm Till, Mrs. John
Dworaczyk, and Sister Julia Strubhart, principal. Back row: Miss Claudia Lowe, Mrs.
Kenneth Cobb, Mrs. Gordon Wasson, and Msgr. G.J. O’Doherty, pastor.
As we enter the last phase of our Lenten
devotions our thoughts turn instinctively
towards Our Blessed Lord whom we con-
template more fully in the sufferings and
death which He endured for us. The church
ceremonies which usher in Holy Week on this
coming Palm Sunday give us a vivid picture
of the fickleness of Igiman beings. The
miracle-worker was i®their midst. They
chased after him from one side of Palestine to
the other, from one shore of Lake Genesereth
to the other and all because there was
something that He alone could do for them. -
He was able in His own name to heal all kinds
of maladies. They witnessed the giving of
sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, walk to
the lame, yes, and even life restored to the
dead.
Now as He approached the city of
Jerusalem from the north, on that early
spring morning, they went out to meet Him in
great numbers. They seated Him on the back
of a little donkey; they placed olive branches
on the path over which He was to^ead and in
one chorus they sang “Hosanna to the Son of
David-Blessed is He who comes in the name
of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.”
But the strains of their song of jubilation
had hardly faded away, when they turned
against Him in fury. They allowed themselves
to be swayed by a crafty group who insisted
that He was deserving of death because He
had identified Himself with Yahweh and that
was blasphemy. Ignored, now, were His
words and His acts of kindness and of mercy.
And so it was that the drama of the Cross
began on that never-to-be-forgotten week in
the city of Jerusalem. During the early days
of that first Holy Week, the f torm clouds
began to gather around the person of the
Savior. Several meetings were held behind
closed doors. As far as the Sanhedrin was
concerned, Jesus became a threat to their
activities and they decided to do away with
him. The Sanhedrin was a 72 man
organization consisting of Pharisees, Sad-
ducees, Scribes. Priests and Elders. They
remembered that Jesus had identified
Himself with Yahweh and that was
blasphemy-a crime that called for the death
penalty.
But the Sanhedrin had no power to impose
the death penalty and it was fox this reason
that they sent Jesus to the court of the Homan
Governor who, at that time was Pontius
Pilate.
Now to tell Pilate that blasphemy was their
charge against their victim would only result
in ridicule and amusement, for Pilate had no
use for what he claimed was their fanatical
and superstitious practices. They knew this
only too well, hence it was that they changed
their charge from one of blasphemy to one
that claimed the accused of having incited the
people against the rule and yoke of Rome; of
telling the people to refuse to pay tithes to
Caesar; and making of Himself another
Caesar - another King.
When Pilate, who was a shrewd man and
who quickly saw through their pack of lies,
indicated that he could find no fault with
Christ, they shouted back that if he released
Jesus he was no friend of Caesar’s. And so it
was — Pilate feared a bad report that might
be dispatched to Rome and that could mean
his own dismissal as Governor. He finally
gave in to them and condemned Jesus to
death on the Cross.
What followed is unbelievable — the
scourging at the Pillar-the dirty red cloak
thrown over His wounds — the crown of
thorns pressed into His head-the blindfolding-
the spitting into His face and much more.
But worst of all was the abandonment
which He experienced when not one of His
apostles stood near to help Him — not one
except Peter who was in the courtyard and
who with a curse and a denial swore that he
‘never knew the man.’
Now we follow Him on the Via Dolorosa
which brings Him to the Hill of Calvary where
they crucified Him; where He hung on the
Cross for three long hours and where He
finally died that you and I might live.
St. Elizabeth's Parish in Alice celebrated
the silver anniversary of the opening of its
parochial school last Sunday. Bishop Thomas
J. Drury offered the Mass of Thanksgiving
and preached the homily. After the Mass,the
parishioners celebrated the anniversary with
an old-fashioned barbecue dinner.
The building for St. Elizabeth’s School was
terminated on March 16, 25 years ago. At this
time, Monsignor Edward J. Miller, now
pastor of St. Patrick’s Church in Corpus
Christi, was in charge of St. Elizabeth’s
Parish. The Notre Dame Sisters arrived in
Alice the following summer for the opening of
school in September.
At the present, St. Elizabeth’s School has an
enrollment of 144 children in grades K-5. Its
initial enrollment was 175 students in grades
1-8.
St. Elizabeth’s School makes use of the
latest educational aid:; and programs to
enable it to offer its students the best
education possible. The school is equipped
with cable television for the Channel 9
educational programs. It also runs a bilingual
program, a physical education program, and
other educational programs and activities
required by the Texas Education Agency.
The educational goals at St. Elizabeth's
School are to “Help students develop in their
totality by promoting the spiritual and moral
growth, intellectual development, emotional
and social maturity, and pysical well
being.”
In order to accomplish these goals, the staff
at St. Elizabeth’s School strives to:
—Creat an atmosphere of Christian
Community where there is openness and trust
among pastor, teachers, parents, and
students.
—Offer persona] experiences in Christian
living through liturgy, Sacramental life,
prayer, guidance, and example.
—Help each student develop a positive
attitude toward a life-long education, in-
cluding the power to think constructively, to
solve problems, and to reason independently.
—Establish a climate in which students can
grow in self-acceptance, self-respect, self-
control, repsonsibility, cooperation,
In a recent letter to Mr. and Mrs. Wallace
E. Whitworth. Jr Bishop Thomas J. Drury
appointed them to head the Family Life
Department of the Diocese of Corpus Christi.
When the Diocesan Pastoral Council restruct-
ured the various departments of the Diocese
to comply with the workings of the Texas
Catholic Conference it placed the Family Life
Department under the Christian Formation
Division.
Whitworth, a graduate of Corpus Christi
Academy, received an Associate of Ar s
degree from Del Mar College, a Bachelor of -
Arts degree from St. Mary’s University and
his Master of Social Work from Our Lady of
the Lake College in San Antonio. He did field
work at the Veterans Hospital in Big Spring,
Texas and at Brooke General Hospital at San
Antonio, Texas. From 1964 until 1966, he was
engaged as a caseworker for the Family
Counseling Service in Corpus Christi,. his
responsibilities including work with in-
dividual, familial and environmental
problems as well as some community
program involvement.
For the next five years he was associated
with the Brown Schools in Austin as a
psychiatric social worker, dealing with in-
dividual and group psychotherapy with
awareness of others, and the ability to meet
the demands of life.
—Promote physical fitness and encourage
habits which build and maintain good health.
—Meet the individual needs of each student
in so far as it is possible.
The School Sisters of Notre Dame provided
the teaching staff for St. Elizabeth’s School
for the first 20 years of hits history. In 1970, 2
Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed
Sacrament took over the administration of
the school. Presently, the staff includes Sister
Julia Strubhart, principal, and Sister Mary
Anselm Till. Both are Sisters of the Incarnate
Word and Blessed Sacrament. Also on the
staff are; Mrs. Joe Eicher, Mrs. George Love,
Mrs. John Dworczyk, Miss Claudia Lowe,
Mrs. Kenneth Cobb, Mrs. Gordon Wasson who
serve as teachers, and Mrs. Bernard Carroll,
secruary, with Mrs. Verna Joy Seago as
cafeteria supervisor.
St. Elizabeth’s School has been financed
through the years by the parish and its
children from ages six to eighteen. In addition
he served as a residence administrator and
was responsible for the selection, training and
supervision of child care staff, plus the
supervision of four other MSW Residence
Administrators.
In January 1971 Whitworth returned to the
Corpus Christi Family Counseling Service as
the Executive Director. In this capacity his
work entailed program planning, policy
making, personnel management, budgeting
and accounting, office management,
research, community relations and casework
practice.
Since January 1974 he has held the position
of Director of Social Work at Seaview
Psychiatric Hospital in Corpus Christi,
planning programs and providing direct
services, but primarily working with the
families of patients. He is also in private
practice in the area of individual, marital,
family and group therapy.
Assisting him in this work will be his wife,
Marilyn. They have four children and live at
4643 Gayle Circle in Corpus Christi. This is the
first time that this position in the Diocese has
been held by members of the laity and is one
of the few examples of its kind in the Dioceses
in the State of Texas.
parishioners through the St. Elizabeths
Involvement Fund, by contributions from the
Mullen Foundation, by St. Elizabeth’s
Parents’ Club, and by the Knights of
Columbus Council of St. Elizabeth’s.
The school was founded by Monsignor E.J.
Miller. After he left for Corpus Christi, the
present pastor, Monsignor G.J. O'Doherty,
has worked closely with the Sisters and the -
staff so that the school has been able to
progress in spite of the many problems that
schools are facing today. Monsignor
O’Doherty told the Texas Gulf Coast Catholic
that “The Pastor, staff members, parents,
friends of the school, and the children, all
anticipate many more happy and successful
years for this institution which has proven its
worth and success for 25 years, during which
time moxe than 1500 children have felt the
impact of Christian teaching in an en-
vironment conducive to developing their full
potential for good.”
BLESSING OF ST. ELIZABETH’S
SCHOOL
The late Bishop Mariano S. Garriga
blessed St. Elizabeth’s School in 1949. He
was assisted by (left to right) Father
Theodore J. Radtke, and Msgr. Joseph A.
Valenta.
The Chancerzy Office
coill be closed
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texas gulf coast
CAT H O LIC
Official Newspaper of the Diocese of Corpius Christi
Vol. IX No. 43
FRidcK/, MaRcb 21, 1975
Bishop Appoints
Family Life Directors
Bishop Drury to Break Ground for IWA Boy's Field House
Groundbreaking for the new incarnate Word
Academy field house for boys will be
Tuesday, March 25 at 2:00 p.m.
Bishop Drury will speak and officials of the
Incarnate Word Schools Development Board,
the Area School Board, various public elected
officials, and others have also been invited to
bring greetings, according to Sister Agnes
Marie Tengler, Superior General of the In-
carnate Word Sisters. An. invitation to
attend is extended to everyone interested,
expecially the Incarnate Word School
parents, members of the Incarnate Word
Advisory Board, Catholic school principals,
and the clergy in the city.
Sister Martha Ann Snapka, IWA Principal,
says ‘The occasion is significant because it
marks the visible beginning of the transition
of IWA to a coeducational high school. It also
marks the beginning of a new opportunity for
boys to receive a Catholic high school
education in Corpus Christi
This transition will cost approximately
53000,000. The facilities of a shower, locker
room and rest rooms will cost about $140,000
and two more classrooms needed later are
projected at $60,000.
Other expenses of $100,000 are expected
beyond present operating costs. According
to Sister Martha Ann, they include boys’
physical education program equipment and
related expenses, possible laboratory ex-
pansion, the initiation of a scholarship
program for those who may not be able to pay
necessarily increased tuition, and upgraded
teacher salaries, now essential.
These funds are being raised through the
Sisters’ Educational Development Project
and with its newly-created Incarnate Word
Schools Development Board. The Board
Chairperson, Dr. James McCutchon, says
that the group is focused on raising the
$300,000 for the high school in 1975.
The response of the Incarnate Word schools
parents in a current drive among them has
been ‘excellent,’ according to Dr. McCutchon.
‘We are heartened by the strength of their
response. It .shows that many people care
very much and are willing to help provide the
financing that quality education requires,’ he
said.
The Development Board will also be
working with IWA alumnae parochial school
parents who plan to send their children to the
Incarnate Word schools, and others who are
interested. Special gifts are also being
sought, and received, from individuals and
other sources of major funds.
This new {. base in the life of IWA is actually
lot the first time boys have been admitted. It
was coed once before in the 1920’s before
College Academy opened. Since 1970, boys
have been unable to attend a Catholic high
school here. IWA’s now in its 104th year and
the oldest continuing educational instituion in
the city.
The new Incarnate Word Academy shower-locker-rest room facility for boys adjacent
existing gymnasium on the Angel Avenue side of the property.
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Pena, Raymond. Texas Gulf Coast Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 9, No. 43, Ed. 1 Friday, March 21, 1975, newspaper, March 21, 1975; Corpus Christi, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth835443/m1/1/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .