St. John of the Cross Parish

On Sunday, March 10, Msgr. Louis Kihneman III, Vicar General and Chancellor of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, joined parishioners at St. John of the Cross in Orange Grove for Mass and a blessing of the parish’s new rectory/office building.

Msgr. Kihneman congratulated Father Prince Kuruvila and parishioners on a fine building that will meet the parish’s needs for years to come. The 3,100 square-foot structure, built at a cost of $460,000, includes a three-bedroom and two-car garage residence to accommodate the resident priest and visiting priests, as well as, an area for a secretarial office, the pastor’s office, a storage room and conference room/day chapel.

Father Prince Kuruvila, Pastor of St. John of the Cross in Orange Grove, joins Msgr. Louis Kihneman III in congratulating parishioners on their new rectory and parish office buiding. Alfredo Cardenas, South Texas Catholic

The building is part of a master building plan initiated by the parish in 2010, said building committee chairman Rick Svetlik. He is part of an eight member committee appointed to review the status of all buildings on the St. John of the Cross campus. Other members include Father Kuruvila, Tom Karkoska, Ernest Henderson, Don Rokohl, Joe Ortiz, Alice Wright and Diana Treviño.

Svetlik said the master plan called for building the parish offices first and then the rectory but the Diocesan Building Commission advised the committee that it would be more advantageous from a cost standpoint to build both at the same time. The project was initially to be paid from a Parish Building Fund but since its initiation the diocese undertook the Legacy of Faith~Future of Hope capital campaign and plans now call to use pledges from that campaign to support the existing building fund.

The new building replaced the rectory completed on Dec. 29, 1926 at a cost of $1,710.

Father Michael Puig of San Patricio founded St. John of the Cross 13 years earlier, on June 15, 1913. Five families gathered at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Diersing for the first Mass. Father Puig returned periodically until January 1914 when Bishop Paul Nussbaum, CP asked Father Erasmo Gloeckner, CP from Sacred Heart in Alice to establish a mission at Orange Grove.

Parishioners at St. John of the Cross in Orange Grove bow their heads in thanksgiving as Msgr. Kihneman blesses their new rectory/offices. Alfredo Cardenas, South Texas Catholic

On Nov. 8, 1914, Bishop Nussbaum had a new church built with the help of the Catholic Church Extension Society at a cost of $1,191. After the blessing, Bishop Nussbaum administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to 39 children from Orange Grove, Sandia, Anna Rose and Cregg. Father Joseph Solsona came to celebrate Mass twice a month.

In 1920 St. John of the Cross became a mission of St. Isidore in Falfurrias; in 1923, it was  a mission of St. Elizabeth in Alice; and it became a full parish on Jan. 1, 1925 with Father Frank Kasper serving as its first resident pastor. The new parish had missions in Sandia, Alfred and Casa Blanca.

In 1929, Father Joseph J. Hoellmann was appointed pastor and served until his retirement at age 86 in 1955. On Sept. 8, 1948, Father Hoellmann–by then a monsignor–broke ground for a new church. Construction was suspended on July 11, 1949, when the project put the parish in financial difficulties. With the help of the diocese, work resumed and the current church was dedicated on June 10, 1951. Without any furnishings the church cost $76,840.

During its early years, the faith community in Orange Grove faced many challenges from hurricanes to drought to confronting anti-Catholic bigotry from the Ku Klux Klan, but the community at St. John of the Cross kept close to their faith, were nourished by it and supported it in return.

St. John of the Cross has given the Diocese of Corpus Christi three of its children. Mary Gabriel Gajdos entered consecrated life on March 25, 1926, and made her final profession seven years later on March 25, 1933. Sister Mary Raphael Bartosch became a novice at Incarnate Word on April 9, 1928, and made her final profession on April 22, 1935. On May 18, 1939, Sister Mary Raphael’s brother, Engelbert Bartosch, was ordained a priest.

Father Stanley C. Brach was appointed pastor in January 1956 and found the rectory in disrepair and quickly set out to remodel it with help from the diocese. In May 1962,
Father Charles M. McNaboe replaced Father Brach as pastor and found a parish with a significant debt. His priority, as directed by Bishop Mairano S. Garriga, was to retire this debt.

New rectory and office building will provide residence for priest and space for parish staff . Alfredo Cardenas, South Texas Catholic

He soon organized the “bingo games” that put Orange Grove on the map. Every Monday evening hundreds of cars converged on Orange Grove, “doubling its population.” With the help of faithful parishioners, Father McNaboe retired the debt in less than four years.

He also bought buildings from the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, relocated them to the church property and transformed them into CCD classrooms and a parish hall. Central heat and air were installed at the church in 1965.

Father Celestine Murray served as pastor beginning in September 1966. In 1971 the Catholic Civic Center was built to replace the old hall destroyed by Hurricane Celia. In 1974 the church was completely renovated and the sanctuary remodeled to comply with the new liturgy introduced by the Second Vatican Council.

Msgr. Kihneman blessed the new rectory and parish offices. He told parishioners they would not have to worry about this need for many years to come. Alfredo Cardenas,  South Texas Catholic

Father Seamus McGowan who served as pastor for 16 years, beginning in 1977, made additional renovations.

St. John of the Cross parish continues to this day to seek to improve its church. The Master Plan adopted in 2010 calls for the religious education building to be replaced in the next five to 10 years. The estimated cost of that project is $1.5 million.

For now Father Kuruvila, his staff and parishioners will take a well-earned break and enjoy their new quarters.