OUR HISTORY

Father Narcissus Denis of the Josephite Fathers, was assigned to Fort Worth in December of 1928. Property had been purchased at the corner of Missouri Avenue and Verbena St. 

On January 13, 1929, the first mass was celebrated.  In the beginning, Mass was held in the house that served as a rectory attended by a dozen members. Father Denis wrote that his first “convert” was the conversion of an abandoned drug store into the first chapel. Before the year ended, a new church had been built and the parish numbered about seventy people. By 1935 the new parish boasted a membership of 150 members.

Another milestone for Our Mother of Mercy was opening the mission church of St. Veronica on December 14, 1941. The mission church was located on the west side of Fort Worth in the Lake Como area in an all-Black settlement. The mission began with one Catholic and through the efforts of Father, Philip Trallo, SSJ, Father Brophy, SSJ, and Father Denis, SSJ, St. Veronica’s grew to serve the Catholics of the Lake Como area for

more than 25 years until they were absorbed by surrounding parishes.

In 1952, Our Mother of Mercy moved from its original location on Verbena and Missouri to the former site of the Holy Name Church located at 1001 East Terrell Avenue. This location was more spacious, allowing for the Our

Mother of Mercy community to grow and flourish. 

From December 8, 2015 to November 20, 2016, Our Mother of Mercy was chosen by Bishop Olsen, Bishop of Ft. Worth, to be the principal church for the Year of Jubilee of Mercy. See our virtual tour here!

Our Mother of Mercy Parish has been very influential in the Fort Worth community.  Since its inception, Our Mother of Merch Parish has produced many leaders in diocesan and national church organizations, in government, education, and in business.

The present day Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church boast a multiethnic congregation that is growing in faith and numbers.

The Josephite Fathers served the Parish for 78 years with 13 Pastors, 10 assistant Pastors and one Pastor of the Missionaries of St. Paul.

With the aging population of the Josephites and the limited number of

Josephite priests available, the Josephites ended their service at Our Mother of Mercy Parish in 1997.

With a very long history of serving the African American Community, the Society of Divine Word Priest (S.V.D.), Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, were invited to the Diocese of Fort Worth in 2006. Father Jerome Ledoux was the

first S.V.D. priest to serve in the Diocese of Fort Worth. The S.V.D. priests served the Our Mother of Mercy parish until June 30, 2022. 

Every priest has brought some form of beautification of the grounds, restoration of many of the crucifixes, statues in and around the church, renovations and code upgrades. Most importantly, all have provided

evangelization and thoughtful prayers to the parishioners of Our Mother of Mercy.

On July 1, Most Rev. Michael Olson, Bishop of Ft. Worth, announced new clergy assignments. Very Rev. John Robert Skeldon was appointed the Canonical Pastor to Our Mother of Mercy Parish without prejudice to his current assignment as the Rector of St. Patrick Cathedral. Deacon Tom Giovannitti was appointed the Parish Life Coordinator to Our Mother of Mercy