Catholic Church to start new parish in Denton

The Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth recently announced the establishment of a new parish in Denton, primarily for the city’s university students, faculty and staff.

The new parish, Blessed John Paul II, is scheduled to open July 1. The parish will be located initially at the Catholic Campus Ministries building, 1303 Eagle Drive, near the University of North Texas.

Recent studies have called for four to five more parishes needed by the diocese to match the region’s top-ranked growth pattern, and the bishop and his advisers felt there were enough Catholics associated with UNT, Texas Woman’s University and the surrounding area to establish one there.

“Just by its title alone, its primary community will be the university and those who associate with it,” diocese spokesman Pat Svacina said. “It’s students, faculty, family and people who are living in that downtown Denton university area.”

The Rev. Kyle Walterscheid, diocesan vocations director, has been named pastor of the new parish.

Blessed John Paul II is the first parish established in the diocese since 2003. The two existing parishes in

Denton are St. Mark and Immaculate Conception Catholic churches.

The presence of the parish will yield a full-time pastor and availability of the sacraments to all, said Luisa Martini, director of the Catholic Campus Ministries.

“Students, faculty, staff, we can help support them in their faith and meet their needs in a powerful way,” she said.

Martini said the establishment of the parish could bring in more members, students and others who might have had different preconceptions about the campus ministry.

“In some ways [being a parish] shows we’re here for more than just to hang out,” she said. “It shows we will continue to be here in a very real way and we’re invested in their lives.”

While the parish is located at the ministry building now, its future home will be determined later, Svacina said.

“One of the last new parishes formed in 2001 in Leto, they worshipped for four to five years at the high school gym,” he said. “Once the community grew, they had a capital campaign, raised a fund and built a church. That’s probably going to be the same process. The congregation develops a vision of what is it and what it wants to be, and things will proceed from there.”

The diocese also announced the opening of the Holy Cross Catholic School in the fall for the 2012-13 school year in The Colony.

BJ LEWIS can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail address is blewis@dentonrc.com .