The Texas State Council of the Knights of Columbus recently presented the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), a check for $60,550 to support the AMS Co-Sponsored Seminarian Program (CSP). The gift comprises funds raised over the past two years by the Texas Women’s Project, headed by Mary Evans, outgoing First Lady of the Texas Knights of Columbus and wife of Immediate Past State Deputy T. Mark Evans.

Summer is usually a lot of fun in our homes. The elderly enjoy getting outdoors for picnics, gardening and community outings, especially when they include a stop for ice cream. Not so this year! As summer wears on with no end to the pandemic in sight, the mandated social isolation is beginning to take a serious toll on our elderly Residents.

The Ark Assessment Center and Emergency Shelter for Youth is grateful for the public's support the last five months, but it has been a difficult period for them. "Surviving is still tough," said Delma Trejo, Executive Director and Administrator of The Ark.

CHRISTUS Spohn Health System is celebrating 115 years of answering the call to care for our community. Through pandemics and disease, CHRISTUS Spohn remains a pillar of strength in the fight to protect and heal the people of South Texas.

Today, July 30th the World Day Against Trafficking of Persons is being observed in the United States and throughout the world.

Catholic Charities Mother Teresa Shelter, in coordination with the Diocese of Corpus Christi, became a day and night shelter, receiving 27 area homeless people who sought refuge from the storm caused by Hurricane Hanna throughout the weekend of July 24-27. 

Sister Victoria Pastrano, MCDP, went peacefully home to God on July 10, 2020, in San Antonio, TX at the age of 89 years.  

Tropical Depression #8 has been upgraded to Tropical Storm Hanna. Tropical Storm Hanna continues to move W-NW at nine mph over the Central Gulf. Locally heavy rain with dangerous flooding is the greatest threat with this system as it makes landfall somewhere over the Lower to Middle Texas Coast on Saturday. Tropical storm warnings are in effect from the mouth of the Rio Grande to San Luis Pass. 

Bishop Michael Mulvey ordained Deacon David Thomas Brokke, SOLT to the sacred order of the priesthood at Corpus Christi Cathedral on July 18.  The ceremony included relatives, friends, fellow seminarians, formators, sisters and priests. 

The Catholic Church supports the methods of Natural Family Planning (NFP) because they respect God's design for married love. In fact, NFP represents the only authentic approach to family planning available to husbands and wives because these methods can be used to both attempt or avoid pregnancy. When learning about NFP, it is important to know that:

St. Paul the Apostle Parish broke ground on its new 4000 square foot religious education building site on July 16. Vicar General Father James Stembler led a small group in prayer for the occasion. 

Hundreds of faithful Catholics filled Broadway, Lipan and other nearby streets on July 17, 1940 waiting for the doors to open at their new Cathedral. It was a clear day with a few clouds in the sky. Minutes before 10 a.m. the bells in the two towers that shot up 97 and 125 feet into the sky began ringing and a large procession of priests led by Bishop Mariano S. Garriga, co-adjutor of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, began to make their way into the newly completed sanctuary.

The Gulding family live out their Catholic faith every day. Steven and Kathryn Gulding are the parents of eight children, with the eldest being 19 and the youngest three. “When we were engaged, we never put a number on how many kids we wanted,” Kathryn said.

Dear Sisters and Brothers, as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise, I want to recognize and pray for those who have recently died in your families, parishes, and communities. I assure you that I am praying for all who have died since the pandemic began several months ago.

CHRISTUS Spohn Health System, in collaboration with the Coastal Bend Blood Center (CBBC), is asking individuals, who have recovered from COVID-19, to donate their plasma. Although there is no approved treatment for COVID-19, research indicates that plasma from these individuals may benefit patients currently combatting the virus.

Eight seminarians from the Diocese of Corpus Christi are living out their pastoral summer assignments by accompanying parish youth ministers, volunteers, and teens in growing a personal relationship with Christ. The assignment includes hands-on small group ministry to teens.

I want to let you know that starting August 2020, the South Texas Catholic will begin publishing as a quarterly magazine with Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer issues. Each edition will focus on a theme. This new format will offer a strong emphasis on evangelization to lead the reader to an encounter with Christ and a clear understanding of the Gospel and our Catholic faith.  

For Deacon David Brokke, SOLT, family has always been an integral part of his life.  The youngest of four children, the Baltimore, Maryland native, grew up in a home filled with love and packed with a nonstop flurry of activity that comes from having three older siblings. Symbolically, it was also in this setting that seeds of spiritual growth were calling him to a vocation to the priesthood. 

The number of calls for assistance from the Corpus Christi Hope House has tripled since March due to the Covid-19 virus. Our facilities and essential services have remained open with virus safety precautions and procedures in place.

Bishop Michael Mulvey blessed the newest addition to the Spirit Center, Shalom Place, on June 6. He also offered a prayer of dedication and protection against the coronavirus to all future visitors.