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Celebrant at the liturgy was Archbishop José H. Gomez. Concelebrants included Archbishop Emeritus Patrick F. Flores; Bishop John W. Yanta from the Diocese of Amarillo; Father Bill Zadora, SDS, past-or; Father Joseph Musiol, SDS, regional superior; Father Thaddeus Tabak, SDS, superior; Msgr. Michael McManus, pastor from 1955 to 1959; Father Brian Plate, a native son who was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J.; Father Ignac Pawlus, SDS, who is a missionary from Russia, and priests from neighboring parishes. Special guests were the Seraphic Sisters and Felician Sisters, a former parish teaching order, represented by a native daughter, Sister Clementia Zigmond.
Inspired by the generosity of their ancestors who left them such a beautiful church, the parishioners also presented to God a number of gifts of their living faith. At the beginning of the Mass, Archbishop Gomez blessed the newly installed cross, dedicated to the late John Paul II, and the statues of St. Isidore and of Our Lady of Guadalupe, asking for her protection of the St. Hedwing community and blessings on the new Family Center being built.
Homilist at the eucharistic celebration was Bishop Yanta, a former auxiliary bishop of San Antonio. Referring to the courageous faith of ancestors, he greeted the congregation in Polish, saying “Niech bedzie pochwalony Jesus Chrystus, Na wieki wiekow Amen!” (Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever!)
“The pioneers of this parish were people of faith, and people of faith always say thanks for blessings. God is with us as we celebrate his presence here,” said the bishop. “We begin this 150th anniversary with the Eucharist, the source and summit of our faith lives. We are not only gathered as a eucharistic people, we are gathered as a communion of saints as we pray for our beloved deceased pioneers.” In discussing the parish’s pioneer families, he noted that Texas was a good place to settle and a good place to live one’s faith. The bishop recounted a number of historic events in the history of St. Hedwig.
These included:
• 1855 — Construction of the log church by the 13 Polish families, among them were such names as Pierdolla, Tudyk, Kosub, Ploch, Mihalski, Aniol and Kravitz.
• 1868 — Father Felix Zwiardowski, Resurrectionist priest, and 34 families built the present church, recorded as St. Hedwig Church in Martinez.
• 1870 — Parish school was built, under the direction of Father Vincent Barzynski.
• 1880 — Pioneers, who had named the community St. Hedwig after their patroness of Silesia, place the parish under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
• 1892 — Church enlarged under the direction of Father Theodore Jaron to serve 200 families.
• 1900 — Tower of church built.
• 1916 — Present rectory built.
• 1924 — Sacristies built.
• 1958 — Bells from Holland installed.
• 1959 — Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto built. Father McManus introduced Noctural Adoration Society.
• 1969 — Church interior altered to reflect Vatican II changes. Marble altar was installed. Parish school closed.
• 1972 — A mausoleum, air con-
ditioning, stained glass windows, carpeting and St. Francis Hall were added by Father Frank Foster.
• 1987 — With the arrival of the Salvatorian Fathers, the church and parish facilities underwent a complete restoration and new projects to benefit the growing parish, reaching nearly 1,000 families.
• 1996 — First Mass of native son Brian Plate was celebrated.
After reciting this litany of dates, Bishop Yanta explained how much things have changed in the past 150 years, listing the invention of television and computers and innovations in travel, but also emphasizing how Jesus Christ has not changed.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever,” he said. “But the culture today is anti-Bible and is not for the common good. Secularism is the unofficial religion of the United States. There are all kinds of things we can get away with because there are no objective freedoms and truths. In the past, culture supported natural law, divine law and God, but no more,” the bishop lamented.
However, the Panna Maria native countered that God has a beautiful vision of mankind and the world. “We are to be a people of togetherness in solidarity,” Bishop Yanta said. “We need to come up with a new way to evangelize once again, to come together as one people in Jesus. That was the intention of the founders of this parish.”
In closing remarks, Archbishop Gomez expressed his congratulations to all parishioners on this 150th anniversary. “So many Masses, so many prayers have been said here,” he told the listeners. “These 150 years have been important, but the next 150 years are going to be more important.”
In his remarks of gratitude to all who prepared and attended the jubilee celebration, Father Zadora also read a congratulatory letter from President George W. Bush.
Following the Mass, the bishops rode in antique cars, leading a parade of tractors, floats and horses, to a homecoming festival at the American Legion Hall.
During the meal, the Community Band and South Texas Polish international folk dancers from Karnes, Bexar and Travis counties provided entertainment.
The Metheny Brothers played for the free dance.
Allen and Regina Kosub, historians, were on hand, along with the Polish Genealogical Society of Texas, providing historical data and photos.
Today’s Catholic Editor Jordan McMorrough contributed to this report. |