Tag Archives: Bishop Mark J. Seitz

On Monday, Bishop Mark J. Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso and Dylan Corbett,  executive director of the HOPE Border Institute, announced the launch of a new emergency fund, the ‘Border Refugee Assistance Fund’, to assist migrants stranded at the US-Mexico border.

Thousands of migrants, mostly from Central America, are currently stranded in Ciudad Juárez, across the border from El Paso.

These migrants have been returned to Ciudad Juárez as a  result of the Migration Protection Protocols, commonly known as Remain in Mexico.

“The need in Juarez is  tremendous,” Bishop Seitz said, “Churches and community-led initiatives there are doing everything possible to feed, clothe and offer shelter to thousands of migrant families fleeing desperate conditions and looking for safety  and refuge. Here we have a real opportunity to serve Christ in the migrant.”

Grants from the fund will be used to support the initiatives and shelters providing for the  immediate humanitarian needs of migrants in Ciudad Juárez, the majority of which have been  organized by faith communities.

Dylan Corbett, executive director of HOPE, added, “We are proud to partner with Bishop Seitz  for this critical opportunity to support migrants at the US-Mexico border. Faith communities and  individuals across the country have asked how they can help at the border and this is a concrete way to  make a difference in the lives of migrant families in need.”

More details and information on how to donate to the fund may be found at the Diocese of El  Paso’s webpage.

In honor of Bishop Mark J. Seitz’s 5th anniversary, the Foundation for the Diocese of El Paso launched the 545Fund, a campaign to raise resources for the Bishop’s Scholarship Fund.

The Most Rev. Seitz was installed the Bishop for the Diocese of El Paso on July 9, 2013.

The Bishop’s Scholarship Fund provides scholarships for students enrolling in the 6th grade or above and are renewable for as long as the student attends an El Paso Catholic school and remains in good standing.

The amount of individual Bishop’s Scholarship awards range from $500 to $6,000 annually.

According to the foundation, their goal is to grow the Bishop’s Scholarship Fund to $500,000 to provide an annual distribution of $20,000 for students to attend Catholic school.

Since 2001, the Catholic Foundation has raised $15 million for endowment, raises $2 million each year through the Progress Appeal and $1 million annually from outside grants.

The Foundation manages 88 separate endowment funds.

The Foundation for the Diocese of El Paso is an independent 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization established in 2001 to support the growing needs of the Catholic community.

On Friday, Bishop Mark J. Seitz and the Diocese of El Paso announced new assignments for seven priests in the area.

Via a news release, diocese official shared, “The primary goal of assigning a priest to a parish community is to best match the priest’s gifts to the needs of the parish.  The Diocese of El Paso has many beloved priests throughout the diocese and wishes to extend its profound gratitude to all who serve so faithfully.”

A priest is ordained to the Church and not to a particular parish so the needs of the entire community and the diocese are considered first when making new priest assignments.

“Inspired by the words spoken by Jesus to his disciples, “Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them disciples: baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit “(Matthew 28:19), the Diocese of El Paso is heading out further East.”

The diocese is taking the first steps towards establishing a Far East El Paso Catholic Community. The newly formed community will be a Mission of St. Mark Parish and will work in conjunction with other surrounding parishes.

Ultimately, the diocese plans to establish a future parish to serve the faithful in this rapidly growing area East of Joe Battle/Loop 375 between Montana and Vista Del Sol.  The diocese has set up initial offices at 3000 Tim Foster.

Diocese officials added, “The Diocese of El Paso wishes to express its deepest gratitude to Father James W. “Buzz” Hall who after many years of service throughout the diocese will be retiring in June 2018.”

“We ask the faithful to pray for our priests who have received new assignments as they prepare to move to new places of ministry.  We ask that they continue to be inspired, strengthened and guided by the Holy Spirit.”

Assignments are effective June 22, 2017.

The following are the new priest assignments:

Rev. Saul Pacheco                  St. Mark, Administrator of new Far East El Paso Mission – St. Mark, Parochial Vicar

Rev. Mark Salas                      Pastor, Our Lady of Assumption

Rev. Gleen Carpe                   Administrator, St. Thomas-St. Joseph Kermit, Texas

Rev. Frank Hernandez           Parochial Vicar, St. Mark

Rev. Cong Vo                          Parochial Vicar, St. Pius

Deacon Victorino Lorezca     After June 28 Ordination will be Parochial Vicar, St. Raphael

Deacon German Alzate          After June 28 Ordination Alzate will return to Mundelein Seminary in Chicago to complete his studies

Rev. James W. “Buzz” Hall     Retired

Bishop Mark J. Seitz will be celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe twice on Tuesday, December 12th.

Bishop Seitz will celebrate Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Fabens at 6 a.m., then at Our Lady of Guadalupe- El Paso at 6 p.m.  Bishop Seitz released the following statement about the celebration and its meaning.

“This year on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe we will not only honor our Blessed Mother, the mother of Jesus, as the Patroness of the Americas, since she appeared in this new world soon after Christianity arrived here, and Patroness of the Unborn, since she is shown as a woman who is expecting a child, but we will also honor her as the Patroness of our Families, particularly our migrant families.  

At a time when national borders are depicted as places of conflict and division Our Lady of Guadalupe stands as a reminder of God’s special care for all the people of this hemisphere, but especially for the native peoples who were here long before national borders were drawn.

This year’s celebration to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe is a time to renew the commitment of our border Church to accompany families that come to the United States seeking refuge and a new opportunity to live in peace and security. This year we will be praying in a special way for Mary’s maternal care toward those families that are separated from one another because of harsh outdated immigration laws.

In a special way we will be praying for our young Dreamer community in El Paso and elsewhere.  We know they have a special place in Mary’s heart.”

Who:

Bishop Mark J. Seitz and The Catholic Diocese of El Paso

What: 

Public Invited and All are Welcome to Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day Masses celebrated by Bishop Mark J. Seitz

Where: 

Our Lady of Guadalupe-Fabens at 127 W. Main Street 79838

Our Lady of Guadalupe-El Paso at 2709 Alabama St. 79930

When: 

Tuesday December 12, 2017

6 am at Our Lady of Guadalupe- Fabens at 127 W. Main Street 79838

6 pm at Our Lady of Guadalupe- El Paso at 2709 Alabama St. 79930- Matachines will perform