St. Joseph church breaks ground on activity center Posted On: Monday, Nov. 23 2009 04:50 AM By Don Bolding
Killeen Daily Herald

At a groundbreaking ceremony Sunday afternoon for the new Parish Activity Center of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Killeen, the Rev. Adam Martinez told several hundred church members and guests that the church looks forward to have space to house its increasing activities.

"We're moving forward step by step," the church's pastor said. "Many in the church were beginning to lose heart with the delays in this project. But with constant labor, and buck by buck, we're seeing it come to reality."

The new building will house a large meeting room doubling as a gymnasium with rooms on the perimeter for offices for the church's various ministries. It will also hold a science laboratory for the church's elementary school, architect Jeb Burns said.

Stewart Builders expects to have all work completed by May or June of 2010.

"With our growth, we've barely had enough space for classes," Martinez said.

The Rev. Richard O'Rourke, dean of the Killeen/Temple Deanery, recalled that St. Joseph's church had sent a number of people to form St. Paul Chong Hasang Catholic Church in Harker Heights at a time when "no one knew how fast that area would grow. St. Joseph's has sent people all over the world. The church always gets bigger and must have the facilities for it."

Also attending was Diocese of Austin administrator Monsignor Michael Mulvey.

The building committee includes Austin Pickett, chair; Brenda Polizzi, secretary; and Deacon Mike Aaronson, Marianne Burroughs, James Lindley, Bernice Lindley, Jose Rodriguez, Brian Trahan, Bill Yowell and Johnnie Lou Yowell.

Polizzi said the activity center has been in planning for several years and that Martinez organized a new committee 18 months ago.

She said, "I along with the pastor and committee members committed ourselves to this project. Many of us have been a part of it since the very beginning, assisting with pledge drives, a town hall meeting, mailings and other work.

"For those of us who have fulfilled and those who continue to fulfill their pledges to this project, today's groundbreaking ceremony is a momentous event. This new facility will give us the means to meet the spiritual and social needs of our parishioners as well as the local community."

The church was established in 1954.

Contact Don Bolding at dbolding@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7557.