The following story first appeared in the Spring 1999 Glenmary Challenge.
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Another Church Established! Missioner Moves On
 A Glenmary Success Story
By Father Bob Poandl

Father Bob Poandl offers the cup to a Holy Cross parishioner. Toddlers feel free to draw close to the action.

In January 1999 Glenmary handed over Holy Cross Church to the Diocese of Tyler, Texas. The departing pastor shares highlights of Glenmary’s experience establishing this unique Church community—and gives thanks for its rich cultural diversity.  

‘Founding the Catholic Church in the rural areas of our own United States where it has not yet been established”—that dream of founder Father William Howard Bishop is as old as Glenmary. But it keeps taking new forms as rural America keeps changing.

In 1987 Father Joseph Dean brought Glenmary’s dream to Pittsburg, a town of 4,000 in northeast Texas. The shape it has taken 12 years later as Glenmary hands the parish back to the local diocese would be a surprise to the original dreamer. But Father Bishop would be proud of the creative ways Glenmary responded along the way.

Father Joe had been the pastor of St. Michael Church in Mount Pleasant, 13 miles to the north of Pittsburg. But when Glenmary’s work was finished there and the diocese had appointed a pastor, the missionary in Joe Dean knew where to head next. Some of his parishioners at St. Michael’s had been traveling to Mount Pleasant from Camp County. Pittsburg, the county seat, had never had a Catholic Church.

There was enthusiasm among the Catholics of Pittsburg to start a new community there. The first Masses were celebrated in a rented downtown storefront. But within months an unused church building was located. This white-frame structure, built as a Presbyterian church, had been used by Mormons for many years. Enthusiastic Catholics remodeled and restored it, and it became Holy Cross Church.

Father Joe rented a house to serve as the rectory. Several generous Sisters came to serve in the new mission. The work of Franciscan Sisters Colette Tonne and Veronica Kempenich is remembered fondly by many at Holy Cross and in the wider community as well.

So far this story of the new mission at Pittsburg is not much different from so many other Glenmary mission stories. There is one major difference, however: the large number of Spanish-speaking people who began immigrating to this area from Mexico.

The local poultry industry was flourishing and there was a need for many workers. Most of the jobs did not require much skill—just long hours of hard work. The immigrants who came were young, energetic, not afraid of challenges. And with rare exceptions, they were all Catholics who wanted to continue their rich heritage of devotion to Our Lady of Guadelupe.

Glenmary missions in the Southeast and in Appalachia had, over the years, experienced the influx of Hispanic Catholics, usually brought in by relocated industries. While their accents and background (mostly urban) were different, they did speak English and they were citizens of the United States. With varying degrees of success, they were integrated into the process of establishing the new Catholic communities in these areas. 

In Pittsburg, Texas, things were very different. Although some Catholics here came from California, Iowa and south Texas, many others were coming from states with very different names: Guanajuato, Queretaro, Zacatecas and Durango. They did not speak English, and they did not share a common citizenship with the other  Catholics of the area.

The response of Glenmarians to this new situation would surely have delighted Glenmary’s founder. Father Bishop’s own vision had led him to adapt again and again to the changing demands of missionizing. From the beginning, the Glenmarians in Pittsburg strove to include all people in the Church. This meant learning Spanish and studying the richness of the Mexican culture.

While presenting a demand on the missioners, this also brought Glenmarians new experiences and hard-won insights. After struggling for years to master Spanish, missioners like myself have a ready response to the simplistic (and divisive) observation, “If those people are going to live in the United States, why don’t they just learn English?”

“Easier said than done,” I say. With all my educational background, with the advantage of full-time language study in an excellent school and without the demands of supporting and rearing a family, it has still taken me years and years to begin to learn this new language.

Yes, our Mexican parishioners will learn English. But in the meantime, we too must learn.

The difficulties and challenges of two cultures living with and respecting each other became a lived reality at Pittsburg’s Holy Cross. The tradition of las posadas is a good example.

This is the Mexican getting-ready-for-Christmas. From December 16 to 24, each evening is spent in a simple ceremony of going to one home or another in the parish. Two children carry large statues of Mary and Joseph, and the entire procession of parishioners becomes that holy couple on the road to Bethlehem begging lodging for the night.

When the sung dialogue between Joseph and the innkeeper ends and the whole procession is admitted to a home, the Rosary is said along with the Blessed Mother’s litany and, finally, refreshments are served. This is a far cry from frenzied last-minute shopping or watching Christmas specials on television!

Accepting the new can be very threatening, however—even when it is something as good as las posadas. When the good in different cultural patterns is not so obvious (letting toddlers roam freely at Mass or lacking punctuality at public events), the tension can build. Holy Cross has been through all of this as well.

Jesus always teaches us acceptance of the “stranger,” even when others do not accept them. More than that, Jesus teaches us to love one another—even when the other person does not speak the same language or have the same customs. The people of Holy Cross know how difficult that is. They have lived through that struggle to love one another—and to spread that love into the wider community. 

There are now over 600 people registered in the parish, with an average weekend Mass attendance of about 400. Those speaking Spanish as a first language outnumber those speaking English by four to one.

Today most people in Camp County know that there is a Catholic Church in Pittsburg. They also know that it is involved with the community because its members belong to so many organizations. They know it for its support of the Camp County Christian Caring Coalition. Local service organizations come to ask Holy Cross for assistance in helping those who are in need of food or toys. The local college conducts English classes twice each week in its church hall. And in 1998 Holy Cross’s pastor was elected president of the local ministerial fellowship.

Holy Cross also has a vital parish life. A prayer group meets each Saturday evening after the Spanish Mass. An active circle of el Encuentro Matrimonial meets regularly. Young and old attend the religious formation program each Sunday.

During the summer there is a wonderful week of Bible school with intense learning about saints, sacraments and commandments as well as visits to nursing homes to sing those enthusiastic Bible school songs.

But the most important part of Church life is in the liturgy. Visitors to Holy Cross are amazed at the fine organist and the wonderful choir that support the worship of God at the 8 a.m. Mass. And for the 10:30 Mass, the Church is always packed.

Parishioners have come to expect a baptism (and sometimes two!) each Sunday. This young community resists the temptations of a consumer society and responsibly births the future Church through the sacrament of new life. As voices are raised in English and in Spanish, in song and in prayer, our God is praised and the Church lives. Deo Gratias!