Introduction

            The story of St. Bartholomew Catholic Church begins with the establishment of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Brookshire (now located in Pattison).

            According to a Monograph written by Clara Guice, Catholics gathered in the Katy area a century ago “only a few times a year and usually during the week.” The first Mass said in Brookshire was in the home of H. N. Savoy on December 23, 1914, with Fr. Paul Nemic of Immaculate Conception Church in Sealy celebrating. Waller County Judge Adolph Anderson and his wife, Patricia, started a chapel in the Brookshire Times office in 1915. Various priests from Immaculate Conception, St. Mary’s in Frydeck, St. Mary’s in Hempstead, and St. Patrick’s in Navasota would celebrate Mass at the newspaper office.

            Occasionally a priest from Houston or other parts of the country also came.  If a priest would come on the westbound M-K-T train, he would often stop in the village of Barker and be an overnight guest of the Wendling family, which was pre-arranged by letter or telegram. Sometimes Mass would be celebrated in the Wendling Home. The next day the Wendlings would take the priest to Brookshire to say Mass in the Times Chapel. When a priest was secured for Mass, word went out to the Catholics, who were small in number since most Katyites were either of the Baptist, Methodist, or Apostolic faiths, to gather for Mass.

            In 1917, Mrs. J. W. Campbell donated land for a chapel in Brookshire. Construction for the chapel began on July 8, 1921, and was completed that month. The first High Mass (a variant of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass in which the priest is assisted by a deacon, a subdeacon, and servers; the Mass is chanted in Latin by the priest with the Schola or choir chanting the responses) was celebrated at the new Sacred Heart Chapel by Fr. Paul Nemic (who had become pastor of St. Mary’s in Frydeck) on August 5, 1921. Mass was offered monthly at Sacred Heart Chapel by priests of either St. Mary’s in Frydeck, St. Mary’s in Hempstead, or St. Patrick’s in Navasota.

            In 1930, Fr. A. J. Nicholson was assigned to administrate Sacred Heart Chapel. Fr. Lad Klimeck of St. Mary’s in Frederick succeeded him. Under Fr. Lad’s tenure, Mass was offered at Sacred Heart Chapel once a week. The sisters of Divine Providence, Lay parishioners, and James Quilter (a seminarian in his pastoral year) conducted CCE Classes.

            In the Mid 1950's, Fr. Lad’s health deteriorated, and the administration of Sacred Heart Chapel was given to the Congregation of St. Basil. The Basilians who ran Sacred Heart Chapel included Fr. John Broussard, CSB; Fr. Leo Adams, CSB; Fr. John Collins, CSB; Fr. Joe Shannon, CSB; Fr. Rafael O’Laughlin, CSB; Fr. Wilfred Murphy, CSB; Fr. Gerald Orsini, CSB; Fr. Raymond Jackson, CSB; Fr. Robert Ritz, CSB; and Fr. Richard Jeffery, CSB. In 1960, Fr. Raymond Jackson, CSB, noticed the growth of the Catholic population in the Katy area. On November 18, 1960, the diocese of Galveston-Houston purchased 7,408 acres of land at the corner of Eleventh Street and Sherwood Drive in the proposed Katyland subdivision for a future mission church.

            In 1961, land was purchased for a much larger Sacred Heart Church from the Baines family on the corner of Otto St. and South St. in Brookshire. The Church was completed and blessed by Bishop Wendolyn Nold on February 22, 1962. This church, which held 300 people, served the Catholics in Brookshire and surrounding areas until 1992, when a fire destroyed it.

Part One of Ten: Beginnings
 1965-1970
            September 1, 1965: The Astros had completed their inaugural season in the Astrodome. President Lyndon B. Johnson began to send troops to aid in the conflict in Vietnam. The fourth and final session of the Second Vatican Council was underway. In an area west of Houston, Coadjutor Bishop John L. Morkovsky elevated the then-mission church of Sacred Heart in Brookshire (which had itself been established as a mission church in 1914) to a full parish. The parish’s boundaries encompassed an area roughly from the Brazos River to Highway 6 (then FM 1960) and from FM 1093 to US 290. Fr. Lawrence D. Simons (1923-2005) was appointed pastor of this new parish.

         On September 9, Fr. Simons called a meeting of the parishioners in the eastern portion of the parish at the Katy VFW Hall to discuss the establishment of a mission church in Katy. Forty-seven families were in attendance at this meeting. On September 12 at 6:00 pm, the first Mass ever celebrated in Katy was held in the VFW Hall. CCE Classes were conducted at Katy Elementary School.

            For eight months, the Katy Catholic Church (as it was called by The Brookshire Times) was without a name. In a letter to Coadjutor Bishop Morkovsky dated March 25, 1966, Fr. Simons expressed that the Katy faith community needed an identity, as many in the congregation had raised the concern of a name. He had suggested the name of St. Bartholomew, as he was partial to it (he had been assigned as pastor of a parish of the same name in his native home state of Montana in 1952), that “no one (church) for counties around is named Bartholomew."

            On May 5, 1966, it was reported in The Brookshire Times that Coadjutor Bishop Morkovsky named the church after St. Bartholomew the Apostle.

            In the summer of 1966, a groundbreaking was held for the construction of a church at a site on the corner of Eleventh Street and Sherwood Drive. The first Mass in the original church was held on April 23, 1967, even though the church was not fully completed. This Church was a simple modern building that could seat 360 people, double the size of the membership of the mission church. However, the interior of the building was originally split in half, with one half being worship space and the other half containing four meeting rooms (The meeting rooms could be converted to worship space as demand warranted). It was planned to be a temporary church, with a permanent church to be built in the future.

            On June 1, Fr. Anthony T. Orlando (died July 1, 1993) was assigned as administrator of Sacred Heart and St. Bartholomew. However, he was in this position for only one month when Msgr. Charles C. Domec (1931-2013) was appointed as the second pastor of the two churches on July 27. On September 24, 1967, Coadjutor Bishop John Morkovsky dedicated St. Bartholomew Church. John Ernestes, Neil Smolik, and Charles Corville were servers. Msgr. Domec, Frs. Robert Daigle, James Quilter, Francis Hynes, and William Bartinsk concelebrated the Mass of dedication.
 

Part Two of Ten: At Ten Years
 1971-1975
            The early 1970s saw the escalation of the Vietnam conflict and come to its horrific ending. President Richard Nixon resigned from the Presidency in the wake of the Watergate Break-in Scandal. The Space Race with the Soviet Union ended with the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. The Church had promulgated the new Post-Conciliar Roman Missal in both Latin and in the vernacular.

            In 1973, Msgr. Charles Domec wrote Coadjutor Bishop John Morkovsky to discuss the possibility of relocating the parish rectory from Brookshire to Katy. His reasons were several. First, the size of St. Bartholomew had grown to 150 families, whereas Sacred Heart Church had only 87 families. Secondly, the Katy area was projected to grow, and Msgr. Domec provided some projected growth data from the Katy Independent School District. Thirdly, Sacred Heart Church needed more classroom space, so once the move was made from Brookshire to Katy, the Brookshire rectory could be converted into CCE classrooms. Fourthly, Katy was inside the Houston metro area, so the diocese or anyone else did not have to incur the expense of the charges for making a long-distance phone call when they needed to contact the parish. A rectory was built onsite, and on August 25, 1974, Bishop Morkovsky blessed the new rectory after celebrating Sunday Mass.

            It should be noted that there was never a formal decree of erection elevating St. Bartholomew to a full Parish. Lisa May of the Archdiocesan Archives has stated that an elevated mission parish not having a decree of erection is not uncommon. She also states that the unofficial elevation of St. Bartholomew as a full parish was in 1974 upon completion of the rectory. Msgr. Domec remained pastor of both St. Bartholomew and Sacred Heart parishes until his reassignment in 1979. The western boundary between Sacred Heart and St. Bartholomew has never been defined and is considered a grey area.
            In 1974, Deacon Paul Hunsucker was assigned to St. Bartholomew. He was the first permeant Deacon assigned to the parish. Deacon Hunsuker would serve St. Bartholomew’s until his retirement in 1995. He was followed a year later by Deacon William Wagner, who continues to serve the parish to this day.

The parish celebrated ten years of existence at St. Bartholomew's in Katy in 1975.

Part Three of Ten: The Domestic Years
1976-1980
            The year 1977 saw several events happen in the life of St. Bartholomew Parish. On June 29, Knights of Columbus Council 6950 was charted. The council has pulled its membership from St. Bartholomew Parish and has done many projects for the parish and the Katy community over the years, including the City of Katy Rice Harvest Festival and the Katy ISD FFA Livestock Show and Rodeo.

            On August 1, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish was founded in the Copperfield area. Its establishment caused a loss of territory from St. Bartholomew, particularly in its northeastern area (as the parish boundaries at the time went east to Highway 6 and north to US 290). The Parish’s eastern boundary was set along Barker-Cypress Road and Greenhouse Road.

            On October 16, 1977, following Sunday Mass, Bishop John Morkovsky blessed the newly completed religious education building. This building had twelve classrooms, four of which had panel walls so that the rooms could be arranged in a variety of ways. It was known as the multi-purpose room. The multi-purpose room would serve as the primary place for parish fellowship until 1984. In addition, this building contained the Parish and Religious Education Offices. With the Religious Education building completed, the main worship area was expanded as the back wall in the church was moved by eliminating two of the classrooms in the rear of the church. The remaining two classrooms were repurposed as a cry room and as a confessional and a hospitality room, respectively.

             On July 1, 1978, Bishop John Morkovsky assigned Fr. Arthur Nichols as pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Brookshire. Msgr. Charles Domec was retained as pastor of St. Bartholomew. Fr. Nichols resided at St. Bartholomew’s until a new rectory could be built in Brookshire.

             On September 1, 1979, Msgr. Milam E. Kleas was appointed as the third pastor of St. Bartholomew Parish. Msgr. Klaas has the distinction of being the first pastor of St. Bartholomew’s alone. Also, on December 1, 1979, Fr. John-Vincent Rouse was appointed as the first parochial vicar of the parish. He would hold this position until 1982.
 

Part Four of Ten: The Kleas Years
 1981-1985
              By the early 1980's St. Bartholomew Parish had grown so large that the Masses had become standing-room-only. It was necessary to split the parish in half. On June 1, 1981, Epiphany of the Lord Parish was established for Catholics living in the eastern portion of the Parish boundaries to relieve overcrowding at St. Bartholomew’s. Epiphany’s establishment caused a significant loss of parish territory, and St. Bartholomew’s eastern boundary was set at Mason Road. The boundaries would be redefined a year later to encompass the eastern portion of the proposed Cinco Ranch Community. Fr. Ralph Schmidt, founding Pastor of Epiphany, used St. Bartholomew as his office and residence until a rectory was built at Epiphany later in the year. Weddings and Funerals for parishioners at Epiphany were conducted at St. Bartholomew until a church was built at Epiphany in 1984. Epiphany itself would be divided in half in 1999 with the establishment of St. Edith Stein Parish in the northeastern portion of the Katy area.

            On November 5, 1982, Fr. Kenneth E. Milkuk (1927-2016) was appointed as the second Parochial Vicar of the parish. He would hold this position until 1985, when he became interim pastor of St. Catherine of Sienna Parish in Houston. Following Fr. Mikulik’s departure, another parochial vicar would not be assigned to St. Bartholomew Parish for fifteen years.

            In late 1984, a parish hall was built to the east of the church and the religious education building. This building also contained the parish youth ministry offices. Many parish ministries used the hall for meetings and social functions. Vacation Bible School was held in the hall, and it was transformed into whatever the theme was for that year, be it the Amazon Rainforest or a medieval castle. It was used until the Autumn of 1999, when it was demolished to make the present church more visible from Eleventh Street. Because of the construction of the parish hall, the multi-purpose room in the CCE Building was no longer needed and was walled in on one side and would remain this way until its demolition in 2013.
 

Part Five of Ten: The Abell and Lee Years
 1986-1990
            In 1987, Spanish Masses were first offered at St. Bartholomew. Fr. Jose H. Gomez, a priest of the Opus Dei Personal Prelature, was assigned to celebrate Mass in Spanish at St. Bartholomew. Fr. Gomez celebrated Spanish Masses (and the occasional late morning English Mass) until 2001 when he was ordained as an Auxiliary Bishop of Denver. He is currently serving the Church as the Archbishop of Los Angeles. Assisting Fr. Gomez in celebrating Mass in Spanish was Fr. Michael Barrett, an Opus Dei Priest. From 2001 to 2012, the parochial vicar who spoke Spanish celebrated Masses in Spanish. Recently Mass in Spanish has been celebrated by the priests of the Heralds of the Gospel, the Passionist Priests, Fr. Frank Gunter, and other diocesan Priests. The Hispanic community of the parish has been very active, celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe with a play and dance and cooking breakfast tacos for Sunday fellowship every second Sunday of each month.

        On June 1, 1990, Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza assigned Fr. Edward W. Abell (1934-2014) as the fourth pastor of St. Bartholomew. However, less than two months into his pastorship, Fr. Ed had to undergo heart surgery, which included (at the time) a lengthy recovery period. Before he left, Fr. Ed told the Parish, “I’m going get you someone good.”

            Msgr. Lawrence "Larry" F. Lee, ACSW* (1915-2009) was assigned as a priest in residence on August 1, 1990, for the duration of Fr. Ed’s stay in the hospital. Fr. Larry would stay in residence at St. Bartholomew until 1994 and would assist the parish with saying Sunday Masses until January 30, 2007, when his health deteriorated. Originally from the Bronx Borough of New York City, “The Bishop of Katy” (a nickname bestowed upon him) often made fun of our Texas colloquialisms, peppering a few “y’alls” in the liturgy, especially at the sign of peace, when he would bellow, “Now share the sign of peace with one another, y’all!”

           Fr. Larry was known to deliver his homily while walking down the church's center aisle, visiting the CCE children during class while singing “Shoo, Fly, Don’t Bother Me.” Later, when Children’s Liturgy of the Word was conducted, Fr. Larry would invite the children to gather by proclaiming, “Venga aqui los ninos! Come all you little ones!” Once the children were assembled, the good father would deliver a short meditation, often about the guardian angels. He would then give the children a blessing (sometimes in Latin) and would send them on their way with a playful “Vamoose!” to which the congregation would laugh. Yet, Fr. Larry had a deep respect for the Blessed Mother, so much that at the final “Thanks be to God,” he would add “And His Holy Mother.” Fr. Larry has had a profound impact on this parish. He was deeply loved by many parishioners. He has been the inspiration for several songs written by various parishioners.
 
*Association of Certified Social Workers

Part Six of Ten: The Maullon Years
 1991-1995
               On July 1, 1991, Fr. Alberto (Albert) A. Maullon, Jr. was appointed as the fifth pastor of St. Bartholomew. During his tenure, many things happened in the life of the parish.

               A preschool program was established at the parish. Initially utilizing the east side of the CCE Building, the preschool program has educated many children over the years. 

              On September 29, 1993 (The feast of Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael-Archangels), perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament commenced at St. Bartholomew Parish, with the cry room serving as an adoration chapel during the week and was converted back to a cry room for the weekend liturgies. A core team of volunteers has ensured that someone is in the chapel at all hours, even in the wee hours of the morning. Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was shifted to a specialized chapel in the new church in 1999 and continues to this day.

              In 1995 Deacon Leroy William “Bill” Hamilton (1930-2010) was assigned to the Parish, replacing the retiring Deacon Paul Hunsuker. He would remain at St. Bartholomew’s until he died in 2010. Deacon Bill was known for giving homework assignments at the end of his homilies and for starting and leading the Living Water prayer group.

              It was about this time the population of the Katy area began to increase rapidly with the establishment of the Cinco Ranch master-planned community. Overcrowding again became a problem for the Parish of St. Bartholomew. Temporary chairs had to be placed along the outer walls and in the church's narthex. The time had come to build the permanent church that the parish had planned thirty years earlier. On December 25, 1995, Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza approved the building of the permanent church.
 

Part Seven of Ten: We Build a Church…Again
 1996-2000
               A Building Committee was established in early 1996. They decided that the new church should be traditional and modern. The architectural design was Romanesque, with the facades based upon the original St. Peter’s Basilica that stood from 360 to 1506. The Church would hold a thousand people and was to cost $2 million.  The Capital Campaign for the new church kicked off on November 8, 1997, with Mass in a Tent on the site of the new church. This Mass was presided by Fr. Maullon with Msgr. Larry Lee concelebrating. Children’s Liturgy of the Word for the evening was held in the church. A catered barbecue dinner followed the Mass, with a magic show in the parish hall.

            In 1998, Deacon Arthur Chin-Fat was assigned to the Parish. He would remain at St. Barts until 2015. Deacon Chin-Fat served as the Director of Liturgy from 2003 to 2015. On May 17, 1998, a Groundbreaking ceremony took place on the site of the new church. Then Auxiliary Bishop Curtis Guillory (now Bishop of Beaumont) presided over the ceremony. Among the dignitaries were Frs. Maullon, Lee, Gomez, Deacons Bill Wagner and Bill Hamilton, representatives from E. E. Reed Construction Company and Ray and Hollington Architects. Within a month of the groundbreaking, construction of the church began, and good progress was made. As the project reached halfway, the parishioners were invited to tour the new church and write their names and personal messages into the walls before the sheetrock went up.

             In the early hours of October 18, 1998, a tornado partially collapsed the roof of the Religious Education building. CCE Classes were conducted temporarily at Faith West Academy on Porter Road until March of the following year, when repairs to the Religious Education Building were completed. Thankfully, there was no damage to the new church.

             Construction of the new church wrapped up in April 1999. On April 25, 1999, Fr. Albert Maullon celebrated the rite of closure of the original church. Included in the ceremony was a reading of the names of the forty-seven founding families of the parish (who stood to thunderous applause if they were present). Initial dismantling of the original church began the following day, though the building was still used for daily Mass that week. The final Mass celebrated in the original church was on April 30, 1999, at noon, using a spare credence table as a makeshift altar. It was a bittersweet day as many parishioners came for daily Mass and reminisced about all that had gone on in the church.

            On May 1, 1999, the first Mass celebrated in the new Church was at 5:00 pm Sunday. A crowning of the Blessed Mother and rosary procession preceded the event, with each ministry carrying banners and wearing the regalia of their groups. The procession started at the old church around the new parking lots to the new church. Fr. Albert Maullon opened the new church's doors as the people sang, “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name.”

            Throughout the summer, the old church was converted into the parish hall that was meant to be thirty years earlier. As soon as it was finished, the old parish hall was demolished.

             On October 30, 1999, Bishop Joseph Fiorenza dedicated the new church. Concelebrating were Frs. Albert Maullon, Larry Lee, Milam Kleas, Jose Gomez, and Troy Gatley (acting as Bishop Fiorenza’s Assistant Priest).
 

Part Eight of Ten: The Tran Years
 2001-2005
              In 2001, Fr. Josephino “Joe” Templado was assigned as the third parochial vicar and the first one in sixteen years. He was known for wearing tropical shirts (while still wearing his clerical collar) and riding his bike around the parish grounds.

             During this year, the parish office staff outgrew the parish offices in the CCE Building behind the parish hall. A house was purchased on Watts Ave. in the nearby Heritage Meadows Subdivision for a new rectory, and the onsite rectory was converted to parish offices. The old parish offices were converted into space for the St. Vincent de Paul Society and a room for the youth ministry.

            On August 25, 2002, Bishop Joseph Fiorenza appointed Fr. John Kha Tran, the sixth pastor of St. Bartholomew Parish. Almost immediately, Fr. Tran began to beautify the new church. He reconfigured the chapel from its original in-the-round setting to a more traditional church setting. In the main church, Fr. Tran added stained glass windows in the church's clerestory windows and the chapel's windows. Most of the clerestory windows contained the 20 mysteries of the rosary, the four gospel writers, the life of St. Bartholomew, and others. In contrast, the chapel windows contained depictions of the annunciation and the crucifixion. Fr. Tran also had Stations of the Cross installed in the church. He also had a statue of the blessed mother and the child Jesus and a statue of St. Joseph installed on the back wall near the sanctuary. He had the tabernacle moved from the preservation room to on top of the sanctuary. Handrails were installed in the sanctuary area. In the Narthex, a large painting of St. Bartholomew dating from 1836 was installed on the west wall. A statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was placed in the east garden, while a statue of the Blessed Mother was placed in the west garden. An anonymous parishioner donated both statues.

            Parishioner Lupe Reed painted several art pieces for the church, including Christ the Good Shepherd, which hangs in the hallway between the sacristy and the clergy vesting room. A painting of DaVinci’s Last Supper hangs in the back of the nave. A painting of God the Father hangs in the former Eucharistic preservation room, with a reproduction of the painting hanging in the FLC. A painting of Jesus in the Eucharist hangs above the altar in the chapel. A full-length painting of St. John Paul the Great hangs in the Youth Building.

            On January 25, 2003, Michael McGuire (1941-2015) was ordained to the permanent diaconate and was assigned to St. Bartholomew. He would remain at St. Bartholomew until he died in 2015. Deacon Mike was known for portraying Santa Claus around Christmastime for the preschool program and other parish Christmas parties. His wife, Patricia (1947-2010), often worked with him portraying Mrs. Claus.

            In 2004, a new rectory was built onsite. The rectory was built by O’Malley Construction. It was much larger than the original rectory, being two stories. The rectory on Watts Ave. was sold.

            On July 1, 2005, Fr. Josemaria Fernandez (1934-2009) was assigned as the fourth parochial vicar of St. Bartholomew. This was his final assignment before he retired and returned to his native Spain. In addition, in August, the parish hall served as a Red Cross shelter for victims that had been displaced due to Hurricane Katrina. The refugees, thankfully had moved on before the panic that was caused due to Hurricane Rita a month later.

Part Nine of Ten - The Tran Years
 2006-2010
            On July 1, 2006, Fr. Humberto Sanchez was assigned as the fifth parochial vicar of St. Bartholomew. He would hold this position until 2011 when he returned to his native Columbia. Also, that year, a Youth/Social Services building was constructed on the east end of the property with O’Malley Construction building. The Building houses the local St. Vincent de Paul Society Chapter’s offices, food pantry, the Parish Gabriel project, and the Youth ministry. The Building is dedicated to St. John Paul the Great. The vacated rooms in the CCE Building were used as office space for the parish’s preschool program.

            In 2008, Deacon David Garnier, a transitional Deacon from St. Mary’s Seminary, was assigned to the parish for his diaconate year. On February 7, 2009, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo ordained Dcn. David was a priest, which was the first ordination held at St. Bartholomew. Also that year, Deacon Rolando Garcia was assigned to the parish to assist with the Hispanic community, and he is still serving the parish.

            By then, the CCE program had outgrown the original 1970s building. Even though the parish purchased two temporary buildings for CCE classes, that space was inadequate. Classes were held in every building and over most of the week to accommodate all the children. A second Capital campaign was held to raise funds for a two-story Religious Education Center. Initially, plans also called for expanding the church, as overcrowding had become a problem once again. But the church expansion was scrapped due to budgetary concerns.

            Following the purchase of a large statue of the blessed mother by Fr. Tran, a memorial garden was built in the middle of the courtyard to hold the statue. The Mary Garden was blessed on May 3, 2009, by Fr. John Kha Tran following the 10:45 am Mass.

           The Religious Education building was blessed and dedicated on December 12, 2010, by Archbishop Emeritus Joseph A. Fiorenza following the 5:00 pm Vigil Mass. The building is dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, and included in the dedication of the Religious Education Center, was a procession of the statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe (which sits in the Adoration Chapel) throughout the Religious Education Center by the Hispanic community. The building has 21 classrooms, office space (which later served as offices for the preschool program), and a parish library dedicated to the late and beloved Fr. Larry Lee. It exclusively houses the parish’s CCE Program and the parish’s preschool program.

Part Ten of Ten- The Tran and Wilkerson Years
 2011-2016
            In 2011, Gordon Robertson and Humberto Carrasco were ordained to the permanent diaconate and were assigned to the parish. Both men are still serving the parish. Deacon Gordon is known for using props to demonstrate a point in his homilies.

            In the early 2010’s, the ACTS program was started at St. Bartholomew. The ACTS program, which offers a one-time retreat for men, women, and teenagers, has become an amazing opportunity for the people of the parish.

            In 2011, Frs. Desmond “Desy” Daniels and Fernando Adia-Maria were assigned as the sixth and seventh parochial vicars respectively. Fr. Desy was known for starting his homilies with a song and had a song for each of the parish office staff. He would play his guitar and sing Classic Rock at parish events, such as the bazaar or a staff going away party.

On February 1, 2012, Fr. David Garnier returned to the parish as the eighth parochial vicar. Fr. David was a very intellectual priest and this was reflected in his homilies. He also organized classes on Ignatitan Spirituality (as he had spent some time with the Jesuit Order) and a book club on spiritual classics and Christian Fiction.

            In 2013, a new Parish Center, similar in appearance to the Religious Education Center, was planned. The old CCE Building was demolished and groundbreaking was held on May 5, 2013 with Fr. John Kha presiding. The Building was completed and blessed and dedicated in March of 2014 with Fr. John Kha Presiding.

            On June 1, 2014, two events happened in the life of the Parish. Fr. Wayne W. Wilkerson was appointed as the seventh pastor of St. Bartholomew Parish. His very short tenure as pastor was marked with more beatifications to the church, including new chairs for the priest and deacons, improvements to the ambo, new carpet in the church, and minor rearrangements in the adoration chapel. He also brought the Rejoice Counseling program to the parish.

           Fr. Wayne was also adamant about producing vocations from the parish. In 2014, Michael McFall, a seminarian, was assigned to the parish for his pastoral year. In the winter of 2015, Deacon Paul Iverson, a transitional deacon for the Diocese of Dallas, was assigned to the parish for remainder of his diaconate year. For the 2015-2016-year, Deacon Xavier Bilavendiran was assigned to the parish for his diaconate year. The parish has produced several priests and religious thanks in part to the efforts of Frs. John Kha and Wayne.

            Also, on July 1, 2014, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo established St. Faustina Parish for Catholics living in the Fulshear, North Richmond and South Katy Areas. The Establishment of St. Faustina Parish caused a major loss of Parish Territory and the Parish’s Southern Boundary was set at Interstate 10. Fr. Dat Hong, founding Pastor of St. Faustina, used St. Bartholomew as his office and residence until a rectory was purchased for him later in the year.

            On September 1, 2015, the Parish celebrated its golden anniversary. A celebration committee was formed and events were planned throughout the 2015-2016 year, including a kickoff Mass celebrated by Cardinal DiNardo, a rare presentation of the Hispanic Community’s annual Our Lady of Guadalupe Pageant in English, and other events.

            The Parish looks forward to fifty more years of faith and community and the pride that they are the Mother Church of Katy.
 

The Forty-Seven Founding Families of St. Bartholomew Parish
Katy, Texas

• Robert Andrella

• Mrs. Frank Barton

• Roger Beek

• The Bongotedt Family

• James Roy Brown

• Charles and Marie Courville

• Jim and Margaret DiIorio

• Erwin and Lucille Dittrich

• Edward and Judy Divin

• Winslow and Elise Divin

• Edwin and Eloise Dobson

• Lloyd Ernstes

• Bill Freeman

• Jerome Franka

• Mrs. E. O. Gilbert

• Ronald Gotro

• Earl Hering

• Steve Haczynski

• Gilbert and Emily Hegemyer

• Phil and Judith Houghton

• Dayton Itz

• Marcella Jurek

• Joe Kameniski

• Alois Keilers

• John Kenney, Jr.

• George Korenek

• Arlin Krejci

• Harry Krhovjok

• Johnny Kubena

• J. Kurkendall

• L. L. Linihan

• Charlie Larson

• Phil Mahoney

• Tikert Marris

• Francis McDonnell

• Garland McMeans

• Iven Minks

• Dan O’Malley

• Charles Peck

• Trgory Perez

• Raymond Pfeifer

• Richard Prokop

• Mrs. Jim Scates

• Louis and Clara Schoenemann

• Johnny Smolik

• Jim Tesar

• Julius Vinclarek

Works Cited
 
“Sacred Heart Parish Designated by Bishop,” The Brookshire (Texas) Times, Thursday, September 8, 1965.
 
“Decree of Erection,” The Brookshire (Texas) Times, Thursday, September 8, 1965.
 
Diocese of Galveston-Houston, Decree of Erection, Sacred Heart Parish, Brookshire, Texas.
 
Fr. Lawerence Simons Welcomed to Parish,” The Brookshire (Texas) Times, Thursday, September 16, 1965.
 
“Planning Meeting Held for Katy Catholic Church,” The Brookshire (Texas) Times, Thursday, September 16, 1965.
 
“Katy Catholic Church Plans Barbecue May 1,” The Brookshire (Texas) Times, Thursday, March 17, 1966.
 
Simons, Rev. Lawrence. Letter to Bishop John L. Morkovosky, March 25, 1966.
 
“Catholic Congregation of Katy Area Named for St. Bartholomew,” The Brookshire (Texas) Times, Thursday, May 5, 1966.
 
“Barbecue This Sunday Noon to be at Katy VFW Park,” The Brookshire (Texas) Times, Thursday, April 28, 1966.
 
“Proposed New St. Bartholomew’s Catholic Church Building,” The Brookshire (Texas) Times, Thursday, July 7, 1966
 
“Building for Catholic Church in Katy Reaches Half-Way Mark,” The Brookshire (Texas) Times, Thursday, December 22, 1966.
 
“Katy Catholic Men’s Club Plans May Barbecue,” The Brookshire (Texas) Times, Thursday, February 16, 1967.
 
“Holy Mass at 11:00 in New Church,” The Brookshire (Texas) Times, Thursday, April 20, 1967.
 
“Barbecue Sunday, May 7 Benefits Katy Catholic Church,” The Brookshire (Texas) Times, Thursday, April 27, 1967.
 
“Tree Planted as a Memorial,” The Brookshire (Texas) Times, Thursday, April 27, 1967.
 
Barbecue Sunday at Katy VFW Park Benefits Church,” The Brookshire (Texas) Times, Thursday, May 4, 1967.
“St. Bartholomew to be Blessed at 9 A.M. Mass Sun.,” The Brookshire (Texas) Times, Thursday, September 21, 1967.
 
“New Katy Church Dedicated Sunday,” The Texas Catholic Herald, September 29, 1967.
 
Domec, Rev. Charles C., Letter Bishop John L. Morkovsky, July 7, 1973.
 
St. Bartholomew Parish “Projected Growth Summery,” February 1973.
 
“Dedication Sunday in Katy,” The Texas Catholic Herald, August 23, 1974.
 
Decree of Erection, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Houston. August 1, 1977
 
“The New Religious Education Building…,” The Texas Catholic Herald, October 21, 1977.
 
Morkovsky, Most Rev. John L. Letter to Rev. Arthur Nichols, May, 1978.
 
Decree of Erection, Epiphany of the Lord Parish, Katy, August 1981.
 
Redefining of Boundaries, Epiphany of the Lord Parish, Katy, June 24, 1982
 
Rofranno, David J., “We Build a Church,” Musical composition, 1996.
 
Special thanks to:
Clara Guice
Deacon William Wagner
Lisa May: Director of Archdiocesan Archives, Downtown Chancery
The Staff of Cardinal Brean Library, St. Mary Seminary-Houston
The Staff of the Katy Heritage Museum
Inspiration for the title of this work to David Rofranno