By Father Timothy Gollob
Special to The Texas Catholic
We acknowledge that the Diocese of Dallas has been around these parts as an authentic entity for 125 years. None of us who celebrates this milestone has a fraction of this longevity.
But it is a good thing to put each fiesta of life into some valid perspective. Just recently Pope Francis came to North America. He represents the Roman Catholic tradition, which has been around for around 2,000 years. That makes our diocese a mere babe who has delighted our part of Texas with our faith and our service for a mere fraction of the church’s history.
In this brief time, we can be proud of the facts. The diocese has shared the faith during this century and a quarter. The diocese has been of service to the needs of the entire population from frontier times to modern times.
Steve Landregan, diocesan historian, sums it up well in his story of the events which have taken place during this time. He recounts how the gallant nuns came at the beginning to teach the children of the poor and the orphans about our faith. Other nuns came to establish hospitals where the sick could be healed by medicine and by hope.
Priests from distant countries came to minister to the immigrants who had come to this rugged land seeking freedom and prosperity through hard work. These men had the language skills needed to serve to each group.
The Holy Father called all of us to continue the work begun. We can be proud that service to each other and especially the poor have always been on our agenda. Now we can add some new dimensions to this call. Our divided world is greater than Texas! We cannot ignore any of our brothers or sisters in need.
There is only one world which belongs to all people of all times and of all places. Pope Francis reminds us in his letter Laudato Si that we need to keep it safe and beautiful for the next 125 years and beyond.
Father Timothy Gollob is the pastor of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Oak Cliff.
