Welcome Frs. Dean and Jonathan

Fr. Dean Wilhelm, Pastor

Fr. Dean Wilhelm was born in San Antonio, Texas on 23 March 1962. He attended St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church and grade school as well as Central Catholic High School in San Antonio. He entered the seminary in 1980 and graduated from St. Mary’s Seminary and the University of St. Thomas in Houston in 1984 and from the Pontifical North American College and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1988. He was ordained for the Diocese of Austin on 23 July 1988 at St. Louis Catholic Church in Austin, Texas. He served at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Austin, Texas (1988-1992) as well as St. Mary’s Catholic Center in College Station, Texas (1992-1997) and was pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in College Station from 1997 until 2005. He joined the formation faculty at St. Mary’s Seminary in 2005 and presently serves as the Vice Rector.

Fr. Jonathan Raia, Associate Pastor (ordained a priest on June 6th)

Fr. Jonathan Daniel Raia was born and raised in Houston, where his parents still live. His parents were very faith-filled and emphasized strongly a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus. He attended Catholic school from 3rd through 12th grade, and in his parish, he was an altar server and was active in the youth group. He swam competitively for about ten years and also coached summer league swim teams. He had been attracted to the priesthood from about age seven, mainly because of the example of the priests in his parish, but he discerned his vocation most seriously while at the University of Texas at Austin. While a student at UT, he was very involved in the University Catholic Center, where his faith grew and matured through prayer, retreats, and opportunities for leadership and service. During his last years in college, Jonathan also worked for the Diocese of Austin. Jonathan graduated in 2002 with a B.A. in Plan II (Liberal Arts) and Spanish and entered seminary that fall. He spent two years in philosophy studies at Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, then four years of theology at St. Mary's in Houston, plus a pastoral year at Holy Family Parish in Copperas Cove. Ever since he spent his first summer as a seminarian at St. Helen in Georgetown, Jonathan has considered it his home parish. He was ordained a deacon on May 17, 2008 and will be ordained to the priesthood on June 6th. He is humbled and grateful for the gift of the priesthood and can't wait to start serving at St. William!

Some farewell thoughts from Fr. Joel

Dear Friends, these past years have been the fastest 10 years of my life. I had not been at St. Williams long when I realized what a special parish it is. It is one of the most Catholic parishes (the word “Catholic” means in its roots “embracing all”): it has wealthy and poor, new and old, Anglo, Hispanic, Asian, African, all sitting in the same pews at the same mass. It is one of the most Compassionate parishes: our St. Vincent de Paul society, Medical Missions, Thanksgiving & Christmas programs. It strives to be a Holy parish: reconciliation, adoration, CHRP, Legion of Mary, etc. Why is this parish so special? I’ve tried to figure that out. Sometimes I think the fact that its first 24 years were in a family’s home set the direction for the parish. Sometimes I think that it has had quite a few “saints” sitting in its pews. Sometimes I reflect on the fact that there have been quite a few good pastors here: Frs. Schmidt, Holtmann, Pavlicek, among others. This was a special parish long before I got here. And now that it has room to grow, I am confident that it will continue being a welcoming, compassionate, and holy parish for many years to come.

Please mark your calendars for our “Welcome” reception.
 

Fr. Jonathon will introduce himself to us at the masses on the weekend of July 19.
Fr. Dean will introduce himself to us at the masses on the weekend of July 26.

We will have a welcome reception for our two new priests on
Sunday July 26 in the parish hall at 3:00 PM