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Pastor’s Letter, May 2013Theotokos

Dear Family in Christ,

VINI, VIDI, VINCI…CAME, SAW AND CONQUERED. (Came to Texas, Saw our Ministry, and Conquered our hearts!) Those are the words that best describe the visit of Prime Bishop and Mrs. Carol Mikovsky, and Bishop John and Mrs. Sherry Mack. Their TEXAS SENIORATE visit began in Dallas, at Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Parish. What a joy for the congregation in Dallas to have such a prayerful and joy filled visit. We want to thank all of the members at the Dallas parish for all they did to make this a memorable visit. The strong winds and very cold weather was a small disappointment for the Bishops who came to experience the Texas heat and they got a cold blast from the north…yet, their “blast” for us was heart warming and we want to thank them all. After two days in Dallas, they flew to San Antonio where they began a visit with the Pastor,( Fr. Charles Henderson) and parishioners of Annunciation of the BVM parish.

During that visit, the Faith Sharing Group was able to meet Carol Mikovsky and Sherry Mack. They learned more about Adoration Society of the Blessed Sacrament, an organization of the PNCC to help women grow in the mystery of the Eucharist. After their visit at Annunciation, they came to St. Martin and St. Rose Parish to spend Sunday, CINCO DE MAYO, with us. During the celebration of the Eucharist Fr. Peter Barlow was incardinated as a priest of the PNCC. It was a meaningful ceremony, and we thank the Lord for Fr. Peter’s call to the priesthood, now expressed through PNCC. After the celebration of the Eucharist we all met at our parish hall to celebrate the joy of the Bishops and families visit. WHAT A JOYFUL Event! We had great food, great desserts, great music, and great dancing. All of this was organized with the help of Michael and Robn Traugott, Ben and Taiwan Sigala, Louis and Socorro (SM) Ortiz, George and Dolores Chavez, and all of their family members. We thank our parish committee members, Belen (chair), Tootsie (vice-chair), Dolores (treasurer), Sister Lillian (SMOP), Taiwan (Recording Sec.), Robn (SOCL), Michael (Music Ministry), Juan Manuel (Property Management); Herlinda (Hall Director), Ben (Fund raising Activities), and many others. They all gave of themselves 150% to make sure the Bishops and their families enjoyed the visit with us all.

We want to specially thank all of the children who did SO WELL as part of the choir, and to Belen for the songs she sang for Fr. Peter and the Bishops’ families, and also Brittany for being part of the dancing team when the Marichis played for us all. We really enjoyed seeing every one dancing and celebrating.

After such an eventful moment, Fr. Peter took the Bishops and their spouses to the River Walk to get a taste of Old San Antonio. I want to express the warm feelings of us all to Mrs. Cynthia Teniente. She went out of her way financially to help for the Bishop’s trip, hotel stay, meals, and to make sure assistance was available when they went to the River Walk. She also was the one to organize all of the new plants around the outside of the parish. Please hug her in thanksgiving!

Most of us are by are now aware that some things have changed in the parish: the reorganization of the kitchen, and the new bathrooms. That came about with the hard work of Robn and Michael Traugott, Taiwan and Ben Sigala, and Juan Manuel Ortiz. You all did a wonderful job, and we truly thank you! The Parish Committee at SMSR is now engaged in making arrangements to fix the back of the church building, getting new doors and new wooden frames for the outside. The biggest project we are proposing is at the Hall. The Hall will be closed during the whole summer so that we can get some work done on the roof, dropping of the ceiling and ceiling fans inside, false ceiling with insulation, and AIR CONDITIONING AND HEAT. This is possible because of the Samaritan Missionaries!

Very Rev. Augustin, SMOP
Dean, Texas Seniorate


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About our Parish

St. Martin & St. Rose

Our Parish invites you to worship with us on Sundays and during the week. We are almost at the corner of Nogalitos and Theo in the southwest of San Antonio. Join our small community of Catholics seeking to keep our faith alive!

 

St. Martin and St. Rose Catholic Church is a Parish of the Buffalo-Pittsburgh Diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church , established in 1897 by Bishop Francis Hodur for Polish nationals, and became known as the Polish National Catholic Church. Our parish in San Antonio was established by the religious community of the Samaritan Ministers, Missionaries and Oblates of Prayer to serve the many needs of our Hispanic population.

 

Our faith and tradition is Catholic, and our Church, along with the Roman Catholic Church, mutually recognize the validity of all the seven Sacraments. Our Masses (Eucharistic Celebrations) are in English and Spanish (and in Latin when requested). All our rituals are the same as in the Roman Catholic Church.

 

We believe in small basic Christian communities, we pray the rosary, have novenas and benedictions. We receive the Holy Eucharist under both species and the people are free to kneel or stand to receive the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

We have great devotion and respect for Our Lady, the Blessed Mother of Our Lord Jesus, and to the saints who have modeled for us how to live the Christian Life.

 

As a jurisdiction we accept married men to the priesthood, married priests from apostolic churches to the priesthood, and married priests may also become bishops. We are under the administration of a Prime Bishop, with Church headquarters in Scranton, PA. We have five dioceses in the U. S. and Canada, with numerous parishes. We also have parishes in Norway and in Italy.

History of St. Martin & St. Rose Parish PNCC

The origin of St. Martin and St. Rose Parish goes back to November 3, 1981 when a group of Roman Catholic laity, together with Reverend R. Augustin Sicard (an ex-Marianist), began a group of consecrated individuals. This group became known as the Samaritan Ministers and Missionaries, organized in honor of St. Martin de Porres and St. Rose of Lima, two Peruvian Dominican religious. The first establishment was on northwest San Antonio. By 1990 they had outgrown their place, and began a search for a larger place. At that time Father had been working with Father Rafael Ruiz at Lutheran General Hospital. Together with Father Celestino Treviño, an ex-Franciscan, they began to dialogue with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) for a Church. In 1993 ELCA vacated a property in southwest San Antonio and asked us to look at the site. Within that same month, a group of the parish committee got together and made arrangements to see the site. In May of 1994 we agreed to move forward with the purchase of the property, which included the Church building, a rectory apartment, and a hall. The 25 years note on the mortgage was carried by ELCA.

 

During the same period of time in 1994, the parish committee had begun dialogue with Bishop Thaddeus Peplowski for possible incorporation with the Polish National Catholic Church. Between 1972 and 1981, Father had worked with PNCC members in Toronto, Canada, and had made a previous attempt at dialogue with Prime Bishop Francis Rowinski. This dialogue was never completed, and it was not until 1995 that direct contact was made with the Bishop Ordinary of the Buffalo-Pittsburgh Diocese. Bishop Peplowski set up a number of meetings, and in June of 1996 St. Martin and St. Rose was officially established as a parish of the PNCC. From 1994 to 2005 mortgage payments were made to ELCA, but in 2005 they forgave our mortgage and allowed us to keep the parish and hall at the price of the payments already made.

 

The Samaritan Missionaries have made contact with a number of Roman Catholic diocesan priests in Mexico, and has helped establish three (3) parishes in the name of St. Martin and St. Rose Parish. These parish are now named: St. Rose of Lima, Immaculate Heart of Mary, and Holy Cross. Many donations have been made of monies and property goods for these establishments, and a number of missionary trips have been made on behalf of St. Martin and St. Rose Parish.

EXECUTIVE TEAM
Chair:
Belen Sanchez
Vice Chair:
Rose Marie Panuelez
Treasurer:
Dolores Chavez
Financial Secretary:
Sister Lillian Margarita, SMOP
Recording Secretary:
Taiwan Sigala
Pastor:
Fr. Sr. Gus Sicard, SMOP
DIRECTORS
Property Management:
Juan Manuel Ortiz
Grounds keeper:
Ceorge Chavez
Hall Manager:
Herlinda Estrada
Music Director:
Michael Traugott
School of Christian Living:
Robn Traugott
Fund Raising:
Ben Sigala
SAMARITAN MISSIONARIES
Aurora Rosemary Hernandez (SM)
Federico San Miguel Hernandez (SM)
Reverend R. Augustin Sicard (SMOP)
Socorro Catarina Ortiz (SM)
Lillian Margarita (SMOP)
Leticia Guadalupe Sanchez (SM)
Teresita Vielman (SM)

Union of Scranton Statute May 12, 2009 PDF Download
Download the
2008 Declaration of Scranton
in PDF format

Joint Declaration on Unity

The Joint Declaration on Unity is an effort by the Polish National Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church to mutually recognize the unity in faith and morals in the Body of Chirst. This process has brought us to look at what unites us, rather than what separates us. We mutually accept the validity of all of the sacraments, the dogmas of the first seven Ecumenical Councils, and the teachings that has been handed down since the Apostles… If read carefully one will see that the effort to find the common ground has been very fruitful, and it continues as we move to unity in diversity. The difference between the two bodies is simply adminitrative, but not in matters of faith and morals.


The Roman Catholic-Polish National Catholic Dialogue Joint Declaration on Unity


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Please email us at: smsrpncc@gmail.com or you can use the email form below.


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