2023 Annual Report
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St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic Church is an active parish through liturgy, education, and service. In the tradition of the Congregation of Holy Cross, we make God known, loved, and served by our prayers and actions.
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2023 Annual ReportJanuary 2024
Dear St. Ignatius Family,
As anyone who has ever been sidelined by injury knows, it can take a little time to get “back in stride.” Similarly, after being somewhat “sidelined” by COVID, our parish community got “back in stride” this past year and things are, once again, as vibrant and bustling as ever around our campus. What follows are just some of the highlights.
Our campus
We are full to overflowing! While it is a wonderful “problem” to have, it makes the calendaring process for spaces on campus something akin to very complicated surgery, so my special thanks to our Office Manager, Kathy Reyes, who shepherds all scheduling! And while we are still very much pursuing our new building (Holy Cross Hall), we keep meeting roadblocks from Austin’s challenging permitting agency. But I promise you that I will not give up on this project!
Our people
Although we were disappointed that Fr. Felipe Campos, CSC, was called to serve elsewhere in our Province, the Lord provides, and we welcomed Steve Jakubowski, CSC, as a transitional deacon (our fifth deacon in six years!). Deacon Steve will be ordained a Holy Cross Priest on April 6 at Notre Dame, so mark your calendars now and make plans to attend! On the staff side, we welcomed Peter Hanley as our Communications Coordinator and Roxann Pishnick to oversee our First Friday Fellowship gatherings and new parishioner welcome dinners.
Our school
Since its founding, St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic School has always been a vibrant and important part of our ministry in South Austin. Principal JB Watters continues to lead our school and has overseen important improvements in our physical plant, security, and standardized testing performance of our students. The only issue of concern is our enrollment. COVID hit our enrollment hard and we have not yet recovered. Please encourage families to check out our wonderful school.
Our prayer & spiritual life
Our prayer life must be at the center of our parish life. This year, we will be focused on a program of education about the Mass that includes adding more times of silence into our Mass and other liturgies. There are many opportunities for all parishioners of any age to grow in their faith, whether in Bible study, formal religious education, Sunday faith sharing or small groups, and I encourage you to join in. But, most importantly, make sure you are getting to Mass – it is the source and summit of our lives as Catholics.
Finances
The items mentioned above, along with many others, are only possible through your generosity. I am happy to report that we are doing well with our collections and are able to meet all our financial obligations without any additional funding appeals outside of our annual Stewardship Days in January. Thank you for your faithful support.
Looking ahead
As Austin grows, so, too, does our parish – with great joy, I sign 10-20 welcome letters to new families and individuals every month! People are letting others know about our parish and its welcoming spirit – let’s keep it up!
We have seen some great things take place at our parish this past year and there is more to come! Thank you for being a part of our community.
God’s blessings,
Fr. John Dougherty, C.S.C.
Pastor