Father Charlie Garza says goodbye to St. Martin de Porres

PHOTOS BY JOHN GANZERLA

 

Father Charlie Garza performed mass for the last time as Pastor of St. Martin de Porres this past weekend, as he has been reassigned by the Diocese to St. Albert the Great Catholic Church in Austin.

“As I prepare to leave St. Martin de Porres gratitude has been coming up a lot in my prayers,” Father Garza said in a statement to his parish. “ I am grateful to God and our Bishop Joe Vasquez for giving me this opportunity to be your pastor. My heart is grateful to all of you for teaching a first time pastor like myself how to become a pastor.” 

In his five-plus year tenure at St. Martin de Porres, Father Garza oversaw dramatic growth in the parish and oversaw the construction of the new St. Dymphna Center, which is an all-purpose parish building slated to house mental health initiatives for the community . He also won the “Hometown Hero Ed Sims Memorial Award,” from the Dripping Springs Chamber of Commerce in the 2017 Star Awards.

For his going away present, Father Garza asked parishioners to participate in the Corpus Christi Procession. “My first weekend at St. Martin de Porres in 2014 was on Palm Sunday and so I began my time here with a procession. I feel it is fitting to end my time at St. Martin de Porres with a procession as well. My hope is that this will be the largest Corpus Christi Procession that St. Martin de Porres has ever had,” Father Garza said.

Father Garza also received scrapbooks full of photos of parishioners and events during his time at St. Martin.

For more information on St. Martin de Porres visit https://stmartindp.org.