Preserving the History of St. Michael Catholic Church
By Janet Dawson Ebrom 

The Father Leopold Moczygemba Foundation recently bestowed two gifts regarding the history of St. Michael Catholic Church in San Antonio.  On Tuesday, September 27, Msgr. Franciszek Kurzaj, president of the FLM Foundation, presented a large, framed memento of historic St. Michael’s to Rev. Paschal Amagba, the pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church. This visual history features the original inscriptions and vibrant photographs of stained glass windows previously enhancing the majestic St. Michael’s built in 1922 in the Polish Quarter of downtown San Antonio.  When the church was razed to make way for the 1968 HemisFair, the stained glass windows were saved and installed in another downtown church, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 617 South Santa Rosa Avenue, under the care of the Claretian Fathers.

The original St. Michael Catholic Church was the center of the third oldest parish in San Antonio, Texas, and a nucleus for the Polish people of the city. It began with the arrival of Father Vincent Barzynski of the Resurectionist Order who was the earliest resident pastor. On November 8, 1866, the first Mass of the newly organized parish was celebrated in the San Fernando Cathedral. Then divine services were held in a one-story, rock building owned by Emanuel Rzeppa, a baker and charter member of the parish, while the first church was constructed in 1868. The original church was torn down and a larger edifice of white brick was erected in 1922. The treasured stained glass windows from the 1922 church are the focus of the framed memoir prepared by the Silesian Texan website committee including Msgr. Kurzaj, Janet Dawson Ebrom, and Elaine Mazurek Stephens who had also photographed the windows with James Collins.

The history of St. Michael’s is deeply personal to those who were in  attendance for the informal presentation: Lynn Highley, descendant of Emanuel Rzeppa whose building remains in HemisFair Plaza; Barbara Stanush, whose late husband Claude Stanush, a prolific author and San Antonio treasure, grew up in St. Michael Parish; Michele Stanush, Carol Stanush Gagliardi, and Ashley Stanush Jackson whose ancestors, Ignatz and Mary Burda, had been memorialized with a stained glass window of St. Ignatius; Dorothy Pollok Pawelek whose relatives, the Frank Pollok family, had been paid tribute with a stained glass window of the Holy Family.  Other families whose ancestors were members of historic St. Michael’s may visit Immaculate Heart of Mary Church to set eyes on the jewel-toned windows which reflect the faith of their forebears.

To see our online photo gallery of these and past events, click here please.  You will be directed to our Picasa Web Albums.

A Solemn Vow to God
Archbishop Ordains Jonathan Felux as Catholic Priest

by Nannette Kilbey-Smith

{This outstanding article and accompanying photographs originally appeared in the Wilson County News on May 13, 2009, page 1B. It is reprinted below in its entirety with permission.}

Most boys, when asked what they would like to be when they grow up, list professions such as firefighter, football player, pilot, or rock star. Some even contemplate becoming doctors, teachers, or lawyers.

    Jonathan Felux of Floresville bucked those trends on Saturday, May 2, when he was ordained as a Catholic priest by Archbishop José H. Gomez in the San Fernando Cathedral in downtown San Antonio in a ceremony that spans centuries, with roots in the Old Testament.
 

  Born in 1981, Felux grew up in Floresville with his two brothers under the watchful eyes of his parents, Wilbert and Brenda Felux.
   His road to the priesthood wasn’t quite a direct route, however.
   He attended school in the Floresville Independent School District and was “an active member of Sacred Heart Parish,” he said. After high school, he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Texas Tech University in Lubbock.  
   It was in college that he grew in his faith. Felux attended Mass in the St. Elizabeth Parish and belonged to the Catholic Student Association. 
   “My vocation was nurtured there, through ministries such as the Raider Awakening retreat program,” Father Felux said.
   He felt drawn to the priesthood and entered the Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, where he studied for six years. He shared his milestones, such as his ordination as a deacon, with his home parish, Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Floresville, so it was natural to return “home” after he was ordained as a priest. 
   Following the Mass in San Fernando Cathedral, Father Felux celebrated the five weekend Masses at Sacred Heart May 2-3.
   “It was a great privilege to have one of our own to come back and celebrate Mass with us and preach,” said the church’s pastor, Father Phillip Henning. “The last man from our parish to be ordained as a priest was Father James Hoelscher, and that was more than 50 years ago. This is a milestone for our community.”
   The Archdiocese of San Antonio confirmed that the newly ordained Father Felux will serve as an associate pastor with St. Brigid Catholic Church in San Antonio and will be assistant vocation director.

   “Priests celebrate the Eucharist, preach, teach, build community, challenge people to serve each other, fight for justice, and stand by people in the most important moments of life and death,” states the Archdiocese of San Antonio Vocation Office Web site’s homepage.
   Father Felux was one of five men ordained during the May 2 Mass. This was the largest group of priests ordained in San Antonio since 1930, according to the Archdiocese of San Antonio. Two more ordinations are expected this fall.
   Ordained with Father Felux were deacons Martin Garcia Avila and Gonzalo Meza, both of Mexico, Valentine Gallegos of San Antonio, and James Seiwert of Wichita, Kan. The backgrounds of the new priests range from degrees in computer science to international relations and education; their average age is 34.
   “I am so excited about my ordination and my future priestly life,” Father Felux said. “I pray that I will live in God’s will and be a faithful minister of His work in the world.”
   Father Henning is certain the new priest will be a credit to the profession, his church, and his community.
   “I think Father Felux will be a great advocate [for vocations],” Father Henning said.

nkilbey-smith@wcn-online.com 

COURTESY PHOTOS

Cultural Exchanges Surprise Texans and Silesia, Poland
by Elaine Mazurek Stephens
Oct. 23, 2008

     When traveling involves more than just sight-seeing, the results can surprise everyone.  In recent months, several visits  between local travelers and their counterparts in Silesia, Poland, have brought a fresh exchange of culture, music and understanding between the distant waypoints.  The Father Leopold Moczygemba Foundation has been working hard to support such exchanges, and is announcing plans for a Christmas season with musical surprises from Silesia.

 Pilgrimage Takes Silesian Texans to Poland

            In June, a group of South Texans, including fourteen teens and thirty-five adults, made a pilgrimage to an ancient region in Europe, now in Poland, called Silesia.  They were led by FLM President, Father Frank Kurzaj of St. Paul's Catholic Church in San Antonio.  In Poland, the Texans met a people and a country much different from what they expected. 

            The travelers knew their ancestors immigrated to Texas in the 1850s, following years of hardship in Silesia, but their summer pilgrimage to their ancestors' villages brought a new meaning and purpose to their lives.   Many in Father Frank's group expressed a deep appreciation for the Silesian people and the resilient country of Poland.  

            During an August reunion of the travelers many impressions were voiced.   "The country has been torn by many

wars but the people have pulled themselves back by their bootstraps.  They cherish all they have," said Ferdinand Kotzur, of Adkins, Texas, whose own Silesian ancestors settled in harsh South Texas in the 1850s. 

    The students expressed a new interest in their own Silesian heritage while recalling their trip.  "I'd like to learn more Polish now," said one of the fourteen, followed by much agreement from her fellow travelers.  Kaine Korzekwa, of Gillette, Texas, said, "The architecture is so much older, and it's built to last.  The country is so clean -- there's no litter." 

    "Everyone was so willing to talk to us.  We felt welcomed everywhere we went," said Mary Jane Moczygemba, of Floresville, Texas.

 

Devin Dziuk, of Koscuisko, Texas, added, "They have such pride in their country, especially for their soccer teams.  There were Polska (Polish for 'Poland') flags everywhere and during the night I could hear people saying, 'Polska! Polska!'"

    The spiritual faith in Poland made a lasting impression on the Texas travelers.  Laura Dylla, of La Vernia, Texas, said, "Even after 250 years of partitions, wars and struggles, they still have a very strong faith.”  Another person said, "The trip made me want to be more religious, more spiritual."

      The group visited Krakow, Wawel Castle, Tatra Mountains, Auschwitz, Wieliczka Salt Mines, Wadowice (the birthplace of Pope John Paul II), the Shrine of St. Ann, and in Czestochowa they toured the Jasa Gora Monastery with the Black Madonna Shrine.  They also visited the Basilica of the Divine Mercy and prayed at the grave of Saint Faustina Kowalski.  They traveled into the Czech Republic and toured the city of Prague.  Other cities visited by the Texans were Opole, Gliwice, Pluznica, Koszęcin and Boronow. 

    Many of the students and adults exchanged email addresses and genealogical information with some of the people they met on the trip.  Not surprisingly, all of them felt a new appreciation for their Silesian Texan heritage.

Billy Mata  & Band Visits Poland

    Summer held surprises for the people in Silesia, too.  In August 2008, local music legend Billy Mata and the Texas Tradition band performed in Koszęcin, Poland, another trip organized by the FLM.   Mata and his band, along with guest singer, Texan Ray Sczepanik, not only performed three concerts in four days, but they met members of the international Polish music group, "Śląsk."  The meeting brought decades of award-winning talent together, giving inspiration to both sides of the ocean. 
 

     The Texas Tradition band and Sczepanik played their famous Texas music to thousands of people in Koszęcin, Poland.  Western swing and ballads lead their lineup as they headlined for "A Country Picnic," a musical exchange program between the two countries.

      “It was the first time in history that Western Swing music had been heard live in Poland,” said Mata’s drummer, Rocco Fortunato.  “At first they didn’t know what to think, but soon they recognized something very familiar in the beat and tempo; they heard their own Polish and German influence in the polkas and the fiddles.  Prior to our concert they had only heard the kind of western music associated with line dancing and 1990s Nashville.”

            Fortunato went on to explain how the music was new, yet familiar to the Silesian audiences.  Western Swing music was founded in the 1920s by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, a band from South Texas, whose members were a mixture of Polish, German, Dixie and Cajun musicians who blended their talents to create a popular and enduring style of music.  “The South Texas ethnic communities learned music from their ancestors -- many of whom were from Poland.”
           
      “They loved our cowboy hats and were excited to see real Stetsons.  By the third concert, people were coming from everywhere.  They even stood in the rain to listen and dance.” said Fortunato.  “They just kept coming and coming.  It was great to see them dance to our music.”
     
       Mata and the band were equally impressed by the country itself.  “The Polish people have been through so much.  They don’t take anything for granted and they appreciate every day.  We have so little to complain about here.  Our band still talks about how the trip has changed our life for the better,” said Mata.

      Accompanying Mata was Ray Sczepanik, of the famous Texas Top Hands, a band organized in 1945.  Sczepanik was born in Cestohowa, Texas.  When asked how he connected with the Polish audiences, he said, "I made all of them Honorary Texans."  Sczepanik visited several villages during his short trip to Silesia.  When asked what he thought when introduced to people in Poland, he jokingly said, "I hoped my ancestors didn't owe them any money."
       
     Another band member shared his impressions of Poland.  “I was impressed with the beautiful, modern malls and fashions” said Richard Helsley.   “I was also amazed at the wide range of farming methods.  In one field we would see a man using modern farm equipment while down the road was a person using a wooden pitch fork to toss hay.” 

  

    Visiting other countries can be a rewarding and enlightening experience, but the impression is often deeper and more lasting when blood, faith and hope surprises the traveler.