Diocese of El Paso Catholic Pastoral Center January 18, 2019 Office of the Bishop Dear Members of the Community of San Jose, As you are aware after your adobe church building collapsed several years ago and your Pastor, Fr, Jose Alcocer retired at about the age of 80, I made the difficult, but I believe necessary decision, to ask the new pastor to serve both the parish of San Jose and Santa Lucia with the goal of eventually finding the best way to bring your two parishes together. I also directed that a new parish church should not be constructed there at San Jose for several reasons: 1, The property there at San Jose is not sufficiently large or well placed to provide the space for a larger church, parking and other facilities 2. The building fund, while representing great effort on the part of the community over many years, would not be nearly adequate to meet all the facilities needs the parish faced. 3. There are a number of parishes within a close two mile radius of San Jose that were all decreasing in membership. 4, And most importantly, I did not see that a sufficient number of priests would be available in the future to meet the needs of all the parishes we presently have plus those that would be needed to serve the rapidly growing communities on the expanding peripheries of El Paso. Iam very much aware that you feel very close to your parish community in which many of you have lived all your lives. It is natural to feel close to one’s parish home. At the same time in this life change is unavoidable, ‘The truth is that we have no permanent home here on this earth, Your Faith needs to be much deeper than an attachment to a particular place. After much prayer and consultation I have made the decision that it is time to take the next step in the process that was begun two years ago. Within several months I will issue a decree forming a new parish out of the two parish communities of San Jose and Santa Lucia. Once this new parish community is created Sunday Masses will be celebrated at the present location of Santa Lucia but the neighborhood of the former San Jose parish will continue to have a center there on the property. Itwill be your decision along with your pastor and with diocesan approval to choose how to use the building fund money for the good of the people who live in your area. I have indicated in the past that a small chapel could be built which could be used for occasional weekday Masses, the celebration of baptisms, small weddings, quinceafteras and the like. You may also want to consider a new hall and/or meeting rooms for various local meetings and events. 499 St. Matthews Street + El Paso, Texas 79907 + Ph. (915) 872-8419 + Fax (915) 872-8409‘Members of the Community of San Jose January 20, 2019 Page Two I would strongly encourage you to work together with the community of the present Santa Lucia. Work together to form a new community that will bring new energy and new possibilities to your area, One of your first tasks will be to participate in a process to choose a new Patron Saint for your new parish. You will always fondly remember San Jose, but a new name will be an important way to recognize this new work God is doing among you in bringing your communities together. Everyone should have an opportunity to make a suggestion and then ‘work toward a saint’s name upon which the majority can reach consensus, When you have narrowed your choices to three I would ask that you submit them to me for the final decision, Tam aware that all of this has been and will continue to be difficult. Letting go of something that has been so familiar to us is always hard. But I am confident that God can use this change to ‘ring much good; to deepen our Faith and to create something truly wonderful by virtue of this marriage of two great communities. ‘You will certainly remain in my prayers as you work together with your pastor, Fr. Federico Franco, and your brothers and sisters at Santa Lucia. May God bless you and reward you for your efforts to be part of this exciting new beginning! ‘Yours in Christ, ‘Wedel Seitz, D.D, Bishop of £1 Paso