“… We celebrate our parish community as a tapestry of persons and gifts, woven together by God through sacraments… We treasure our unity with the Holy Father, our bishop and other parishes in the Diocese of Fort Worth. We also value our relationships with congregations of other faith traditions within our community… We are a pilgrim church and a people of faith. We are called through our baptism to be a visible sign of the Lord’s presence… As Jesus was sent to bring good news to the poor and liberty to the captives, so we are sent to serve our brothers and sisters in our neighborhoods and work places, and herald the Gospel in proclaiming faith, peace and justice for all."
"Our profession of faith begins with God, for God is the First and the Last, the beginning and the end of everything. The Credo begins with God the Father, for the Father is the first divine person of the Most Holy Trinity; our Creed begins with the creation of heaven and earth, for creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God's works."
---the Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 198
Catholic belief is succinctly expressed in the Nicene Creed:
The Nicene Creed
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
In 1908, seeing the need for a Catholic Church in Handley, Miss Mollie brought her dream to the attention of Bishop E.J. Dunne, second bishop of the Diocese of Dallas. The Bishop advised Miss Mollie it would be an "impossible task", but eventually gave his permission for her to pursue support of her vision.
Our first church opened it
In 1908, seeing the need for a Catholic Church in Handley, Miss Mollie brought her dream to the attention of Bishop E.J. Dunne, second bishop of the Diocese of Dallas. The Bishop advised Miss Mollie it would be an "impossible task", but eventually gave his permission for her to pursue support of her vision.
Our first church opened its doors to 14 families on February 28, 1909. Bishop Dunne named the little mission church, located on Erie Street a block South of Lancaster, St. Rita after the saint of the "impossible".
Fire destroyed the church on December 9, 1916, and for 1-1/2 years Mass was celebrated in the nearby home of Mrs. Pat Ferrell. In 1918, the mission church was rebuilt in the same design of an English bungalow with a front porch and a bell tower. The bell for the bell tower was acquired years later by an employee of the Santa Fe Railroad, who managed to salvage it from a discarded steam engine. Vincentian priests from the old University of Dallas attended the mission from 1913 until 1926, and priests from St. Patrick in Fort Worth had charge of the mission in the intervening years. Due to the mission status of St. Rita Church, it was many years before the Eucharist was reserved in the tabernacle of the church.
There was yet another change in 1942 when St. Rita was associated with St. William mission in Arlington (now St. Maria Goretti), and the parish was referred to as the Arlington-Handley parish under the direction of Father William Silk. It was during this period in 1943, the present church site at Weiler and East Lancaster was purchased. Also, during this time, a former parishioner, Mr. Joseph Noel, under the guidance of Monsignor Langenhorst, in 1945 started the St. Vincent de Paul Society which is continuing their work today throughout the Diocese fo Fort Worth and Dallas.
The present church was built in 1974 when Fr. Albert Tyl was pastor and dedicated by Bishop Joseph Cassata, First Bishop of the Diocese of Fort Worth. Father William Aaron was assigned as pastor in June 1979 with, then associate pastor, Fr. Joseph Pemberton, who later became our pastor in 1986.
Fr. Richard Flores became our pastor in July 1993 and served St. Rita's until July 2008. Fr. Paul Kahan, SVD served St. Rita's until August of 2015. Fr. Eric Groner, SVD served as pastor until August of 2020. Our current pastor is Rev. Keith Hathaway.
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