An anchor of the parish, Leola Flake, completed 32 years of service to the parish as the priest's housekeeper before passing away in the year 2000. The kitchen in the Pastoral Offices which served as the rectory until 2007 is named in Leola's memory. As a parish we have always been blessed with many dedicated individuals such as Leola, Msgr. Tom, Betty Jennings, Martha Jo Kerr, Betty Beam - Church Sacristan for many, many years, and Mary Robertson who served as school Librarian as well as Altar Coordinator for decades.
Three staff members were hired in 2000. Kassie Andries succeeded Virginia Hemmi as director of the CCD program. The program has grown by leaps and bounds and also required a Spanish director. In July, Josie Pacheco filled the new position of Spanish CCD director. And in September John Farrell became the first chief financial officer for the parish.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
In the spring of 2001, Lydia Montgomergy, long time manager of the Religious Goods Store, retired and Daion Christenson stepped in as manager. In July the parish was pleased to hear that Father Jacob Angadiath, who came from India to serve St. Pius from 1984 to 1997, was elevated to Syro-Malabar Catholic Bishop. Many altar servers and parishioners have very fond memories of Bishop Jacob.
As the summer of 2001 came to an end, so did the tenure of Catriona Wilke as Youth Minister. Catriona moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas Law School. Rachel Lorenz assumed the position of Youth Minister.
After 2 years as an assistant in the Youth Ministry, Consuelo (Chelo) Garcia left in early 2002 to pursue her education. Samantha Patterson (Sam) stepped in to the vacancy left by Chelo. In March of 2002 we sponsored a visit from Father Cantalamessa, the preacher for the pope. We very much enjoyed the presentations that he made and the unique perspective on our church that he brings.
Priest reassignments are a way of life in every parish and 2002 is no different. In June of 2002, Fr. Mar Ortiz, a native of the Philippines came to us from New Jersey but only stayed with us until the end of August of that year. Fr. Cliff Garner who arrived in 1999 left St. Pius X in July of 2002. Deacon Juan Ibarra expanded his role at St. Pius X at the beginning of August. Deacon Ibarra assists the pastor.
In 2002, the St. Pius X community was blessed with good news when the Bishop announced the establishment of a new mission in Mesquite called “Divine Mercy”. Led by Fr. Ernie Torres of St. Augustine, many of our dear parishioners left St. Pius to become founding members of the very first Catholic Church in the city of Mesquite. This continues a tradition of new churches either being created or having a strong association with St. Pius. St. Michael, Sacred Heart, Our Lady of the Lake, St. Peter (Vietnamese), St. Thomas (Indian) and Divine Mercy all have significant heritage with St. Pius X. St. Pius X of course is the offspring of St. Bernard parish.
Amid the normal changes, we significantly upgraded facilities. The school received a new tile floor in the hall, new lighting in the hallways and classrooms, new ceilings and half of the school received new windows. These are just some of the more noticeable changes. Many others have taken place, such as the refurbishment of the gym.
Fr. O'Brien, who became a priest in residence in 1988, passed away on August 29 of 2002. We have a memorial to Fr. O'Brien, pictures, his writings and his obituary.
Fr. Don Zeiler joined St. Pius X Parish in September of 2002. This is a homecoming of sorts since seminarian Don Zeiler served an internship here at St. Pius X as part of his formation. Once again we have been blessed with incredible good fortune in having such a wonderful person in our service.
In January of 2003 one of the properties owned by the parish at 2815 San Medina was determined to be surplus and was sold in that month.
In March, Lilia Luna joined the church office staff.
A major milestone in early 2003 was the re-commissioning by Monsignor Pichard of a Master Plan Committee to once again address the facility needs of the parish for the long term. The committee comprised of Len Ruby, Bill Armstrong, Cindy Dewan and John Farrell hired Droese Raney Architects and together with parish staff they reviewed the current plan. With input from many individuals and groups, they created a new Master Plan. This new plan envisioned four phases. Phase I encompassed improvement of the church for handicapped access. Phase II addressed cafeteria and youth organization needs with a new building to accommodate a kitchen, cafeteria/reception hall, scout room, youth facility, teacher's lounge and conference room. Phase III included a new priest residence. Phase IV would be a redevelopment of the land west of the church and would include a new day care facility, parking and a green space.
The summer of 2003 facility improvements were a mixture of additions, renovations and looking forward. The largest project was the replacement of the remainder of the school windows that had been started in. But just as significant to the students was the renovation of the junior high girls and gym boy's restrooms.
The year 2004 is an important year for St. Pius X Catholic Church marking our 50th year of service to the community. The first event of this occasion was held February 21st, beginning with a Jubilee Mass concelebrated by Bishop Galante, Msgr. Pichard, Msgr. Weinzapfel, Msgr. King and other priests. The celebration continued afterward in the gym and honored those pioneer parishioners young and old that have meant so much to the parish. Smaller events throughout the year recognize the history of the parish and to looked forward to the next 50. Click here for pictures and the event schedule.
Construction on the new building officially began April 12th with excavation and minor demolition. Pope Pius X was a proponent of more frequent communion service and so we honor him by naming our new building Communion Hall. Completion of the building occurred in 2005.
Each year, we lose assets valuable to the parish. After 2 years Rob Whitworth stepped down as principal of the school to return to his roots in Ganado, TX where he will assume the position of principal of Ganado H.S.. But after an absence of 8 years, the school happily announced the return of Dr. Carol Newman as principal.
Over the summer of 2004 the primary building underwent a refurbishment. New flooring, outside painting and foundation sealing were all completed. This is one of many projects done in 2004 to improve the parish facilities.
A big event for the parish was the blessing of Communion Hall on March 28th 2005. Three years of planning, demolition and construction came to a close with this event. The 14,500 sq ft Hall houses a new kitchen, cafeteria, teacher lounge, conference room, scout room, concession pod and youth room. The facility and improvements to the courtyard and replacement of the back parking lot came to $2,000,000. The name honors the work of Pope Pius X and the building was designed by the firm Droese.Raney Architecture. The students in the school under the direction of Robbie Gavos built a wonderful installation art project to line the procession path from the church to Communion Hall.
The third church tile project was completed in April. Another volunteer success, this completes the changeover from carpet to Italian marble tile.
St. Pius X has a number of very beautiful buildings, statues and artwork. Communion Hall incorporated an art project designed exclusively for the building, this rendition of the Leonardo DaVinci painting the Last Supper.
The biggest event to start the year was the restoration of one of the beams that supports the roof of the church. These massive supports carry the whole weight of the roof. One that was not visible for inspection had been damaged by termites. Left unchecked this would have had far reaching consequences. Just look at what the beam looked like after the damaged wood was removed. The project was very delicate. To learn more about it, please Click here.
In May of 2007 we welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Farrell as head of the Diocese of Dallas. The Bishop visited all of the parishes and schools in very short order and everyone was pleased at the outreach. Born in Ireland, Bishop Farrell's previous assignment was at the Diocese of Washington D.C.
On a sad note our pastor Msgr. Larry Pichard was reassigned in November. Fr. Larry is a product of the St. Pius X School and we are very proud to have had him as pastor. On November 29th the diocese announced that he would be replaced by Fr. Michael Guadagnoli on January 5th 2009.
The year 2009 started off with the sad news that our friend and former leader Bishop Tschoepe died on January 24. Bishop Tschoepe would be missed.
We welcomed our new pastor Fr. Guadagnoli at a reception on January 11th after his first full weekend of Masses. Also on the 11th the ringing of the bells at the consecration of the hosts and wine was implemented at all Masses, a tradition that had stopped a number of years prior. Read more about the bell ringing here.
Zachary Packard, a seminarian with family ties to St. Pius X, spent about 6 weeks with us over the summer, learning the ropes and getting to know the people. Zach's mother Mary is a member of the Cook family, Bill and Betty Cook. They were long time members of the parish and their children all attended St. Pius X School.
2009 was a very busy year with many changes. After many years of service, our cafeteria manager, Kathy Milano, moved on. Ann Stover, moved up to assume the management of the cafeteria. Previously Ann was in charge of the day care food service program managed by our cafeteria.
![]() Ann Stover |
Kathy Milano |
In October of 2009 Fr. Lloyd Morris came to St. Pius X to serve as a priest in residence. A priest in residence is affiliated with a church of their choosing (in consultation with the diocese) normally after they have retired from active duty as a priest. The parish is pleased to have Fr. Morris and his wife as part of our family.
The St. Vincent DePaul Society at St. Pius X received a grant that enabled them to reach out to their clients and perform service that they currently do not have the financial resources to manage. The first project involved Mary Schaar, Phillip Young and Bill Bauer of SVDP and parishioners associated with FW Properties, LLC. SVDP paid for the materials and FW Properties organized and staffed the endeavor. For more about this joint venture, click here.
We had a little fun in November of 2009 with a concrete repair that we did in the back parking lot. Click here for a few fun pictures of that event.
The sound system was upgraded courtesy of David Hemmi. In November the microphones and amplifier were replaced thus improving the quality of sound for everyone hearing that sound through our speaker system. In December we were pleased to announce a big improvement in the system for our hearing impaired parishioners. A loop system was installed. This system takes the sound going through our system and transmits it on an AM frequency. This signal can then be picked up by an ear bud device (similar to headphone set) for those without hearing aids or a loop worn around the neck for those with hearing aids. The loop sends the sound directly to the individual's hearing aid. Mr. Hemmi generously donated the equipment and his time. We thank him for a tradition of giving to St. Pius X Parish begun by his father.