Diocese of Austin

Our congratulations and gratitude to Sara Ramirez, the director of Catholic Charities of Central Texas, who reaches her 20th anniversary with Catholic Charities this September! After working nine years with Catholic Charities Fort Worth, she joined Catholic Charities Central Texas in 2013. And she is still going strong. “I stay because of the Catholic social teachings,” she said. “I am so in love with … watching them being lived out and being a part of a community that has the same values and goals of pushing our community forward to be better for the person sitting in front of us.” Read the #catholicspirit story at https://lnkd.in/gbdutwQN

Join us and the Catholic Healthcare Professionals of Central Texas for an evening of spiritual integration and rejuvenation honoring all healthcare workers at the 23rd annual Healthcare Mass 🙏👩⚕️👨⚕️ Bishop Joe Vásquez will celebrate the Mass on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at St. Mary Cathedral, Austin. Learn more and let us know you're coming by visiting https://lnkd.in/ghpaz2sX.

Bishop Joe Vásquez will celebrate the Red Mass on Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. at St. Mary Cathedral. Monsignor Ronny Jenkins, J.C.D., Chair of Canon Law and the Catholic University of America, will preach the homily. A dinner and reception (tickets required) will follow at the Austin Club with a keynote from Honorable Eva Guzman, (Ret.) Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. Learn more and buy your tickets at austindiocese.org/red-mass.

When Father Steve Sauser began his term as pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Fayetteville and St. Mary Parish in Ellinger, he realized both needed to establish new ways to sustain their communities for the long term... From his experiences at other parishes, Father Sauser knew of a solution — to create endowments within the Catholic Foundation - Diocese of Austin. The opportunity to establish an endowment — and take advantage of the diocese’s larger investment pool and professional fund management — is available to all parishes, schools, agencies and organizations in the diocese. An initial gift of at least $10,000 is required, and distributions can begin once an endowment’s value reaches $25,000. Read the #catholicspirit story at https://lnkd.in/eaGyRzmX

This morning, St. Austin Catholic Church & School celebrated the opening of its ministry building and school with a ribbon-cutting event and campus celebration that included Diocese of Austin leadership, the Paulist Fathers, St. Austin Parish and School leaders, as well as city, business, and community leaders. “The Diocese of Austin celebrates this new facility as a great sign of hope and an opportunity to strengthen the ministry of St. Austin parish in the downtown and university communities. As the city of Austin continues to grow, St. Austin remains poised to serve all people in bearing witness to the Gospel.” - Bishop Joe S. Vásquez

St. Austin Catholic Church & School undertook a multi-million-dollar project to build a new school and parish facilities eight years ago. This Friday, they host its grand opening! "To finance the $44 million cost for the new [St. Austin Catholic School] and ministry building, St. Austin leased a remaining acre adjacent to the school and parish to a third-party developer who built a 29-story structure with 423 apartments to house UT students. St. Austin financed the construction of its new facilities with cash from one upfront ground lease payment, a $30 million tax-exempt bank loan, and $9 million of taxable bonds purchased by the Diocese of Austin. The project will provide the parish and diocese a revenue stream for nearly 100 years." Read the complete #catholicspirit story at https://lnkd.in/gusUyNHv

Congratulations to the 11 young adults who completed the Diocese of Austin's Ascend program this year! This program is designed for young adults to build their leadership skills and to grow personally, professionally and spiritually. At their graduation, they were joined by family and Ascend alumni for a luncheon celebrating the 10th anniversary of the program. You can learn more about Ascend at austindiocese.org/ascend.

The 2024 Catholic Media Association Awards honor outstanding achievements in Catholic journalism, communications, and other forms of media. We are happy to announce that our Office of Communications, staffed by Camille Garcia, CPCU, Shelley Metcalf, Ashley Valle and Andres Almendarez, has received the following: 🥇 First Place for Best Multimedia Package – A Year of Celebration: 75th Anniversary -- "This package - an the entire special website - is extraordinary in every way, showing the heart and soul of 75 years of service…. The overall package lives up to the momentous occasion!" 🥇 First Place for Best Seasonal Multimedia Package - A Year of Celebration: 75th Anniversary -- "A nice comprehensive look at the Austin Diocese. Well used video and photography through out and the information is presented in alternate formats which make for easy browsing." 🥉 Third Place for Best Use of Video on Social Media – 60 Seconds on the Eucharist -- "Highly impactful short clips….using appropriate social platforms with strong metric data supporting wide reach!" 🏅 Honorable Mention – Communications Director of the Year – Camille Garcia, CPCU 🏅 Honorable Mention – Social Media Professional of the Year – Andres Almendarez

Members of our Stewardship and Development team attended a Regional International Catholic Stewardship Council (ICSC) retreat with colleagues from around the region on June 2-4 at Monserrat Retreat House in Dallas. They shared best practices and learned about the latest trends in diocesan stewardship and development. The ICSC promotes and supports Catholic teaching on stewardship by providing education and resources for dioceses, parishes, and institutions of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Diocese of Austin is thrilled to announce its recognition as a finalist in the Video Category of Ragan Communications and PR Daily’s 2024 Social Media & Digital Awards for our video commemorating our 75th anniversary! We are humbled to receive this recognition from Ragan, the leading learning & development resource and publisher of information about corporate, internal, and employee communications. We thank our CAST Media partners for their integral role in this project, the creative and foundational work of our Office of Communications and Bishop Joe S. Vasquez for his vision for our diocese. Check out the recognized video here: https://lnkd.in/gyi5Px_u