Fr. E. Philip O’Hern Council 10776, St. Austin Catholic Church in Austin

Big Changes coming to St. Austin Parish

The long-awaited redevelopment of the St. Austin campus has begun! In the planning and approval process (all the way to the Vatican!) for several years, visible changes are happening at last. As reported here previously, Knights helped clear out a hundred years of accumulated stuff. We helped our parish school move to the San Jose Parish campus several miles away. All our council gear is now stored off-site. Only the church building itself will be left standing – all other structures will be razed to make way for the new construction, a process that will take several years. This dislocation presents a challenge for our Council but we will find ways to continue our mission to serve our parish and school.

Photo 1: Bishop Vasquez Breaks Ground. The Bishop (center) and our pastor, Fr. Chuck Kullmann CSP (left), wield shovels to mark the beginning of the campus redevelopment on October 11.

Photo 2: Demolition is underway. St. Austin Catholic School (SACS) is the first building to come down. New school and parish facilities will be part of the new high-rise structure to be built on church land.

Photo 3: Teacher Appreciation Lunch. Even though our school is now several miles away, we go the distance to support our teachers, staff and students. To help get the new school year off to a good start, we provided a special lunch for teachers and staff. L to R: Larry Schroeder, Paul Lewis, George Pratte, Dennis Moraw, Eric Nichols.

Photo 4: Halloween Hoot. Always a popular event at SACS, no matter where it happens, is the Halloween Hoot and the Knights are always there to ensure a safe event for the costumed attendees. L to R: Frank Garcia, Charles Vernor, Larry Schroeder, Randy Cubriel, Jorge Garcia, Dennis Moraw, Eric Nichols, Dcn. John de la Garza.

Photo 5: Grand Tour. Another popular SACS event is the Grand Tout fundraiser. On December 11^th students and parents ran laps around the San Jose campus to fulfill donation pledges. The Knights assisted by serving the burgers and hot dogs grilled by the School Dads, hard at work in the background of the photo. L to R: Paul Lewis, Eric Nichols, Larry Schroeder, Randy Cubriel.

The Council closed out the year with the Keep Christ In Christmas poster contest for SACS students in Grades 1 – 5, and donations to the St. Vincent De Paul Christmas Basket Project.