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About Us

 

untitledFather 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 persons.  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 Worh 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. 

On December 8, 2015-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 virtural 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 multi ethnic 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, Ms. 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. served the parish until 6/30/2022. 

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.

Fr. Narcisse Denis,S.S.J. 1928-1939
Fr. Thomas Brophy,S.S.J. 1939-1949
Fr. Thomas Collins,S.S.J. 1949-1956
Fr.  John Rawlins,S.S.J. 1956-1957
Fr. Edward Bowes,S.S.J. 1957-1963
Fr. John Geelan,S.S.J. 1963-1969
Fr. Paul Lanigan,S.S.J. 1969-1970
Fr. Charles Crowley,S.S.J. 1970-1972
Fr. Thomas Collins,S.S.J. 1972-1977
Fr. Harold Gregory,S.S.J. 1977-1981
Fr. Martin Kenney,S.S.J. 1981-1989
Fr. Kenneth Howard,S.S.J. 1989-1991
Fr. Vincent Inametti, MSP 1991-1997
Fr. Michael Farrell,S.S.J. 1997-2005
Fr. Jerome Ledoux, S.V.D. 2006-2015
Fr. Darrell Kelly, S.V.D. 2015
Fr. Bartlomiej Jasilek,S.V.D. 2016-2022

On July 1, Most Rev. Michael Olson, Bishop of Ft. Worth, announced new clergy assignments.  Very Rev. John Robert Skeldon was appointed  to 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.

Our Mother of Mercy School History

Our Mother of Mercy Catholic School has been one of the most important works of the parish for it served as a good start for evangelization and recruitment to the catholic faith.  Three Holy Ghost Sisters began classes in 1930 with 50 students.  The following year a four room school was constructed.  The school would eventually serve 250 students. 

Still growing, the church and school relocated to their present site in the 1000 block of East Terrell Avenue in 1952. Both facilities were larger than those at the original site.

In 1958, a convent was built for the 5 nuns along with a new school which could accommodate 250 students.  The Sisters of the Holy Spirit served the school for 73 years.

In 2008 a new school was built to replace the aging building.

In August 2018 the school opened as Crito Rey Fort Worth High School at Our Mother of Mercy. Having the need to grow more, Cristo Rey relocated to a larger facility in southwest fort worth.

In 2020 Fortress YDC took possession of the Our Mother of Mercy School building and is continuing the OMM tradition of reaching out and ministering to those in  need.  

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