Pastor's influence reshapes parish

By JANET PHELPS
Eagle Staff Writer

Santa Teresa Catholic Church has changed dramatically in the two years since Father Raymundo Chavez Vazquez became its pastor.


Since Father Raymundo Chavez Vazquez came to Santa Teresa Catholic Church two years ago, he has been an advocate for illegal immigrants.

Church leaders estimate the parish has nearly doubled in size. The church has a remodeled parish hall, a new Eucharist chapel, hand-crafted Mexican furnishings and more.

But a more profound change has taken place in its parishioners, church leaders say.

"[Vazquez] has brought the immigrant community into the spotlight and out of the shadows," said Angelita Garcia Alonzo, a leader in the parish who has often spoken out in defense of local Mexican immigrants. "He has made them feel welcome - that [Santa Teresa] is their home."

Vazquez came to Santa Teresa two years ago from a Catholic church in Nacogdoches, where he was pastor for four years. In his relatively short time in Bryan-College Station, he has become known locally as a champion for immigrant rights.

"I really believe that we have to defend all those who are coming from another country. They come here to work and to make this nation more powerful," he said last week. "We have to see the face of Jesus in the faces of immigrants."

Vazquez said his stance on immigrants might lead people to believe he favors Mexicans, but that is not true, he said.

"I'm not working for the Mexican community. I'm working for the church, and the church has so many different faces," he said.

Fair treatment for immigrants is just one of the many principles Vazquez teaches his parish, he said. He encourages parishioners to avoid hypocrisy, mediocrity, laziness, sexual sin and even junk food.

"I'm not preaching personal views. I'm preaching the teachings of Christ," he said. "Everyone is welcome here, but if you disagree with the social teachings of the church, you're not disagreeing with me."

Vasquez holds himself to the same strict standards he sets for his parishioners, Alonzo said.

"He's not the kind of man who's everyone's best friend. He's the leader of the church," Alonzo said. "He's very demanding of himself, so he expects a lot from his parishioners."

Vazquez often works seven days a week at the church, waking up at 4:30 or 5 a.m. to exercise for 21Ú2 hours before preparing for work, he said. He keeps a strict vegetarian diet, eating as little as possible and absolutely no junk food, he said.

"I have to prepare my body to preach, to do holy Mass, to listen to people," he said. "I have to do that or I will not be able to handle the tension."

Santa Teresa, he said, is much more difficult than his previous assignment, but that doesn't diminish his commitment to the parish.

"I really love my parish," he said. "Santa Teresa is so important to me."

Vazquez and former associate pastor Father Cesar Jaime Guzman Diaz, both from Mexico, came to Santa Teresa in August 2005 as the first permanent priests since clergyman Victor Robles was forced to resign in 2002. Robles, who had been pastor of Santa Teresa since 1988, was later sentenced to five years in prison for stealing more than $160,000 from the church.

Vazquez said he didn't want to leave Mexico, but he knew there was a need for priests to care for Mexicans living in the U.S. It's something that helps him identify with immigrants at Santa Teresa, he said.

"I love Mexico. I love my country," he said. "It's difficult being a foreigner in the U.S., far from friends, family, culture - it's not easy."

Though there is no official updated church census, church officials estimate the parish is made up about 2,000 families who attend regularly. Of those, up to three-quarters are recent immigrants, officials said.

The church has grown beyond its capacity and plans to build a new hall later this year to accommodate its growing numbers, Vazquez said.

Two years ago, Santa Teresa had two groups that met outside of Mass. Now, the church has 15, including the first bilingual youth group the church has had, Vasquez said.

"He's not the kind of priest who sits behind the desk," Alonzo said. "He will have a lasting impact. That parish is not the same as it was before he came."

Bryan resident Estela Canales said she came to Santa Teresa two years ago because of Vazquez. Canales and her family had visited Santa Teresa before Vazquez came, she said. But when she heard him speak during Mass, something changed, she said.

"When he gave the Mass, his words really spoke to my heart," she said in her native Spanish. "We had come before, but nothing had spoken to us, nothing had changed."

Because of what they learned at Santa Teresa, Canales and her longtime partner decided to wed, she said. Their two teenage children will be at the ceremony later this month, she said.

"He has changed things. He has listened to us," she said of Vazquez's time at Santa Teresa. "If we ask us for something and he knows it is good for us, he will find a way to help us as soon as possible."

Fred Molina, a deacon at Santa Teresa, said Vazquez is different from other priests he has known because he is "very, very spiritual." He spends lots of time in prayer, he said, to be sure he is doing and saying what is right.

"One thing he will be remembered for is his concern for his parishioners," Molina said. "He goes beyond his call. He has a hard time saying no to people."

• Janet Phelps' e-mail address is janet.phelps@theeagle.com.

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