South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 45, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, July 16, 2010 Page: 3 of 28
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SOUTH TEXAS CATHOLIC * JULY 16, 2010
DIOCESE
Seven decades of Oblates’ ministry ends in Kingsville
Story and Photos By Rey Sifuentes Jr.
KINGSVILLE - The five-thirty
afternoon Mass at Saint Martin of
Tours Church on Sunday, June 13
marked not only the end of the
tenures of Fathers Jose Isidoro
Garcia and Jose Torres, but also the
conclusion of the representation of
the order by the Missionary Oblates
of Mary Immaculate in Kingsville.
The missionary was conceived
on January 25, 1816 when Father
Eugene de Mazenod and four
companions came together to
preach missions in Provencal,
a rural countryside of southern
France. Since its inception 188 years
ago, the missionaries have spread
to all five continents eventually
making their way into Texas and
reaching Kingsville back in 1940.
A packed Saint Martin Church
on Sunday bade farewell to both
the order and to Fathers Garcia
and Torres.
“They were truly good pastors,”
said Bishop Emeritus Edmond
Bishop Emeritus Edmond Carmody (center) conducts the five-thirty Mass held at Saint Martin
of Tours Church in Kingsville on Sunday, June 13. The Mass was in honor of Fathers Jose Torres
(second from left) and Jose Isidoro Garcia (far right) whose residence at Saint Martin’s came
to an end. Father Raul Ordonez, a diocesan priest from Colombia, was scheduled to begin at
Saint Martin’s on Monday, June 14.
devotees here.
“The people here have been
very supportive of all of the things
we have asked them to do like
volunteering in the different
ministries,” Garcia said. “It has been
easy working in this community.”
Father Torres, who has been at
Saint Martin’s for four years, echoed
Garcia’s melancholy.
“I was very sad because, first of
all, I could not understand why they
were moving us,” Torres said. “But
now that I have had time to reflect
on it I think this is God’s way of
telling us that our work is done here
and that it was time to move on and
let somebody else come take our
place and continue the growth of
the parish of Saint Martins.”
Torres, who will become a
Carmody - who presided over
Sunday’s Mass. “They pastured the
flock here very well with kindness,
love and compassion while always
Outreach to victims and survivors
of sexual abuse by clergy and/or
church personnel
Bishop Wm. Michael Mu Ivey and the staff of the Dio-
cese of Corpus Christi are committed to assisting in the
healing process for victims and survivors of clergy sexual
abuse.
If you or someone you know is in need of such services
please call Kristi Skrobarczyk or Fr. Joseph Lopez at the
Office for Child and Youth Protection 361-882-6191.
OFFICE OF CHILD AND YOUTH PROTECTION
TRAINING REQUIRED FOR ALL VOLUNTEERS
AND EMPLOYEES IN THE DIOCESE
CORE CLASSES:
»July 17: Our Lady of PerpelucI Help (Portable
Room #1) -> call 991-7891 to register at
10:00 am
»July 19: Our Lady of PerpelucI Help (Parish
Holl A/B) -> call 991 -7891 to register at
6:30 pm
»July 20: Holy Family CC (Chapel) at 6:45 pm
»July 21: Holy Family CC (SPANISH CUSS)
at 6:45 pm
»July 26: St. Joseph, CC (Annex Building)
6:00 pm
» August 3: St. Pius X CC (Parish Hal) at
6:30 pm
» August 4: St. Pius X CC (Community Center
Rm 1) at 2:00 pm
» August 17: Our Lady of Guadalupe CC (Rm 2
of CCD Building) at 6:00 pm
» August 18: St. Peter Prince of the Apostles
(Parish Hall) at 7:00 pm
» August 22: Sacred Heart Rockport (Room 105
Sacred Heart School) at 1:00 pm
RECERTIFICATION:
»July 17: Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Parish
Hall "A") -> call 991-7891 to register at
10:00 am
»July 19: Our Lady of Perpetual Hdp (Parish
Hall HCW) > call 991-7891 to register at
6:30 pm
»July 21: St. J ohn of the Cross Orange Grove at
7:00 pm
»July 22: Holy Family CC (Chapel) at 6:45 pm
»July 26: 5t. Joseph, CC (Annex Building)
7:00 pm
»July 26: Most Precious Blood (Family Center)
7:00 pm
» August 2: Our Lady of Guadalupe CC (Rm 2 of
CCD Building) at 6:00 pm
» August 2: St. Plus X CC (Parish Hall) at 6:30 pm
» August 3: St. Pius X CC (Parish Hall) at 2:00 pm
» August 16: St. Pius X CC (Community Center Rm
1} at 6:30 pm
» August 19: St. Peter Prince of the Apostles
(Parish Hall) at 7:00 pm
» August 22: Sacred Heart Rockport (Room 105
Sacred Heart School) at 4:00 pm
Call 882-6191 ext. 632
for more information
Recert. classes (Participant must show instructor proof - certificate or
certification card- of having attended (ORE training or prior RECERT training.)
imitating the Lord Jesus and leading
the parishioners to him and we
thank them both deeply for that.”
Father Garda, who has spent five
years at Saint Martin’s and grew teary
eyed during the service, expressed
his love for the community as a
whole.
“ft has been a pleasure, a delight
and a very pleasant experience, one
which I hate to leave,” Garcia said.
"Even when I first came on and we
had the job of putting in a new roof
the people here really cooperated
and have always been extremely
friendly and very good to us.”
Garcia said word of his and
Torres’ eventual departure from
Saint Martin began spreading in
late 2009. “We were notified in
October of 2009 that there was a
possibility of us having to give the
parish up in February,” Garcia said.
“By November, we realized we
were going to have to leave which
was not good news but rather sad
because we were not anticipating
this. We wanted to be here when
Saint Martins celebrates their 100-
year anniversary (in 2014) and I
hope I will be able to come back and
Father Jose Isidoro Garcia expresses his heartfelt gratitude to
the congregation of Saint Martin of Tours Church (Kingsville)
during the five-thirty Mass held there on Sunday, June 13.
That gathering was the finale for Father Garcia who spent five
years at Saint Martin and is now moving on to Saint Patrick
Church in Flouston.
celebrate that anyway.”
Moving on to St. Patrick Church
in Houston, Garcia expressed
his deepest gratitude to all of his
Father Jose Isidoro Garcia (right) and Father Jose Torres (left)
receive hugs from some of the parish children after the five-thirty
Mass held at Saint Martin of Tours Church in Kingsville on Sunday,
June 13. The Mass was a celebration for both fathers, whose tenure
came to an end at Saint Martin’s, and also marked the end of the
representation of seven decades by the order of the Missionary
Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Kingsville.
parochial vicar at the Cathedral
of the Immaculate Conception
in Brownsville, also offered his
gratefulness to the local community.
“It has been a wonderful
experience, we have learned a
lot from all of the local people
and to see the gifts of the Holy
Spirit working amongst the people
here through their generosity and
helpfulness has been very inspiring
for us,” Torres said. “That is what
makes a priest happy, when you
have so many people willing to
cooperate and to know they love
their priests and are willing to work
with them.”
Following the Sunday Mass, the
congregation migrated to a banquet
celebration held at Texas A&M
University-Kingsville’s student
union building ballroom where
former President Dr. Rumaldo
Juarez was the guest speaker and
City of Kingsville Mayor Sam Fugate
presented a proclamation. Father
Raul Ordonez, a diocesan priest
from Colombia, was scheduled to
begin at Saint Martin on Monday,
June 14.
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Cottingham, Mary E. South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 45, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, July 16, 2010, newspaper, July 16, 2010; Corpus Christi, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth855823/m1/3/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .