Holy Rosary STANDING STRONG Rosenberg

By Landan Kuhlmann lkuhlmann@fortbendstar.com

When Holy Rosary Catholic Church was founded in Rosenberg in 1911 off of Avenue H, it was built with a desire to pour the love of Christ into the Rosenberg and Fort Bend County communities.

It has since moved its physical location to 1416 George St. where it has stood since 1954. Father Orrin Halepeska said its priorities have not changed. Our story is one of, “abundant sacrifice, devotion, generosity, and vision.”

“As a whole, it’s our responsibility to teach the whole community about God, teach everyone about how much He cares for us and loves us, and to teach people to serve and take care of others,” Fr. Halepeska said. “That’s our responsibility. So not only do we teach people who are part of our community, but we try to take care of everyone.”

First founded over 100 years ago, the church has a deep history in Rosenberg and in Fort Bend County. Fr. Halepeska is the 12th pastor assigned to shepherd the parish in Rosenberg, where he took over beginning in 2018. And though his tenure is but a small part of the parish’s story, he said it is one he is nonetheless honored to be blessed to continue. “We are a family-oriented place. We are grounded in our Catholic faith. We’re very proud of that. We love our community and desire to serve Rosenberg for years to come.

Ongoing renovations have been taking place at the church for the last two years. From repairing the exterior envelope of the building, to replacing the floor and buying a new sound system, Fr. Halepeska said each task has been completed with one goal in mind – to create a place where the Rosenberg and greater Fort Bend communities can come to feel at home. It was a daunting project to take on, he said, “but he believes it was well worth it.”

“It’s the small things that make the church a beautiful place for people to be able to pray, where they can open up to God, and where they can feel safe that really makes a difference in people’s spiritual journeys. When you have a historic building that is so special to everyone, you want to take it seriously and do a very good job. We took the time to do it properly so that building really will be here for another 100 years, and will preserve our faith in this local church of Rosenberg.”

The 27-acre campus is also home to Holy Rosary Catholic School, providing education for PreK through 8th grade, which serves a diverse student base of 150 students under the leadership of Principal Adrienne Rodriguez.

The school has graduated over 2,000 students since it opened in 1942 under the direction and vision of the Dominican Sisters. The growth of the school over the course of those nearly 82 years propelled the need for additional space and activities leading to the current campus which includes an elementary building, junior high building, cafeteria, gym and two playgrounds.

“It’s a very special community here, and alumni want to send their children and grandchildren to our school at Holy Rosary. “It’s a family atmosphere,” Principal Rodriguez said. “It’s an excellent academic school, but our number one priority is to be grounded in our faith. We’re educating their mind, heart, and spirit, and everybody here contributes to that.”

And while academics are important, Principal Rodriguez points out the most important part of coming to work for her and the school’s 22 fulltime staff members goes so much deeper. “As an educator for almost two decades”, she said,

“serving others has always been a personal philosophy. When that personal philosophy of service is rooted in one’s faith, it takes on a much deeper meaning”, she explained.

“Having that long-standing faith-based resource in the Rosenberg and Fort Bend County communities”, she said, is a blessing, ”and everything the school and church offers for education, she said, has been eye-opening in her first year working in a Catholic school.

“It has been such a special opportunity to be able to approach teaching and learning grounded in our Catholic faith. We come to work to help our children get to the kingdom of Heaven,” she said. “For us to be able to say that we are doing that before we say we’ll teach them math, science, and more is something that cannot compare.”

Above all, Fr. Halepeska and Principal Rodriguez said that Holy Rosary is a place where anyone from any walk of life can come to feel at home. The church has been ministering and proudly serving for decades and desires to continue that legacy.

The parish also offers daily mass, as well as spiritual growth programs such as bible study and small faith communities. Youth ministry and faith formation programs serve the children of our community that may not attend our school, and grief ministry and compassion ministries serve those in time of loss. Community building organizations within the parish also support those in need around our community.

“We hope that Holy Rosary is a place where people can come for the truth, where they can come to learn about God and how to be a good human person,” Fr. Halepeska said.

“We want to be a part of Rosenberg and the greater Fort Bend County area because we’re proud to live here, and we love being here. We want people to feel as if they can come to our Parish Church and School to find Love, Hope, and Relationship with God.”

For more information on Holy Rosary Catholic Church and School in Rosenberg, visit the parish’s website at https:// hrccr.com/.