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CAMPAIGN PRAYER
We come before you Jesus, grateful for the many blessings you provide for us as individuals and as a family of St. Francis of Assisi. As you instructed your disciples to go and preach the Gospel to all nations, we pray that we may continue to grow in our faith, and strengthened by the Sacraments to live out the mission that you gave us (Matthew 28:16-20).
Heavenly Father, we are grateful for the continued growth in our community and as we fix our hearts and minds toward our future, we ask for your blessing and guidance in our vision for St. Francis for generations to come. May you always continue to give us wisdom, perseverance, clear direction in our discernment and never let us forget the words that you promised your disciples:
“I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
St. Francis of Assisi
Catholic Church
Mission Statement
The 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20
LEADER'S LETTER
Dear St. Francis Family,
I come to you today feeling deeply blessed to serve as your pastor. Each Sunday, I look out upon rows and rows of the faithful family of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. Every service is filled with not only the members of our vibrant and diverse community, but also with the joy and reverence of a church committed to the mission given to us by Christ. Your commitment, however, does not stop at the doors of our beautiful church. Our members leave every week to serve our church and community through vibrant ministries – providing meaningful education and formation of our children and youth, merciful outreach to those in need, and making missionary disciples of others. As you have gone forth on this holy mission, St. Francis has continued to grow in numbers, adding an average of 25 new families per week over the past year – over 1,000 in 2024 alone. Because of this growth, St. Francis is at a turning point and must make plans for the future.
In the following pages, you’ll find the details of our plans to not only accommodate our existing family, but also the continued growth over the years to come. That is why we are launching a major capital campaign that is derived directly from Matthew 28:16-20, our parish mission: I Am with You Always. I encourage you to read the following pages carefully, outlining our vision for the St. Francis community. It is my prayer that every member of the St. Francis family can invite the Lord to lead you in discerning your sacrificial gift or pledge to fund these projects to accommodate our expanding membership.
I extend my deepest gratitude for your continued prayers, support and generosity, and I pray for the Lord’s abundant blessing upon you, your loved ones and all of the St. Francis family.
Gratefully,
Fr. Rudy Garcia
Pastor
View the I am with You Always Campaign Video
A GROWING COMMUNITY
In the summer of 1966, twelve families stepped out in faith to establish a mission parish in the small farming town of Frisco. God has blessed and transformed our once-tiny parish from those humble beginnings into one of the largest in the Diocese of Dallas and the country. Today, St. Francis of Assisi is home to over 9,000 active parish families and nearly 24,000 active individuals. Throughout our history, parishioners have stepped forward to guarantee that our church could meet the needs of our growing Catholic community. With their leadership, sacrifice, commitment and generosity, we were able to construct our original parish center in 2001, followed by our beautiful church and chapel in 2013.
Today, we stand at another pivotal moment in our history. We have been blessed by growth, but also challenged by it. We simply don’t have enough space to accommodate our many ministries and activities, housing for our priests, and adequate room for our children, youth and young adults. We find ourselves in a similar situation to those original twelve families who formed our parish. Collectively, we must step forward in faith to ensure that St. Francis can provide adequate space and resources for prayer, formation, discipleship and outreach.
To that end, parish leaders have been diligently working on a long-range plan to accommodate these needs through new facilities on our campus. During this period of discernment and planning, we have sought the guidance of the Holy Spirit and listened intently to feedback and ideas from across the parish, most notably through our planning study last fall where we solicited feedback from every family and received feedback from thousands of parishioners to help determine the most important aspects of the plan for our future. In these pages, you will find the details of that plan, and an overview of what we hope will be the fruit of our labor and the blessing of the Holy Spirit.
In Matthew 28:20, part of our parish mission statement, the Lord promises his disciples that “He will be with them always, even until the end of the age.” As disciples of Christ today, we know these words grant us the same assurance that He is ever-present in our lives. Through the I Am with You Always Capital Campaign, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church will be able to share this pledge with future generations of disciples, providing reverent worship, meaningful discipleship, engaging formation, strong education and outreach to those throughout the community who have yet to know the blessed assurance of God’s love.
“St. Francis is our spiritual home where we have grown in our faith, deepened our love for Jesus and made many friends in this faith community. The parish is very welcoming, with a number of ministries that allow us to put our faith into action through service to the parish and community. The formation programs are outstanding, challenging each to become lifelong disciples of Christ. Most importantly, we appreciate the reverent celebration of Holy Mass and deep love of the Eucharist. We are excited and looking forward to building new meeting and sacred spaces. The developments are crucial for St. Francis to remain a fountain of spiritual growth and nourishment for generations to come and allow us to continue to welcome those who seek Christ and want to grow in their faith.”
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Loren and Christie Lacy
Campaign General Chairs
“Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received – only what you have given.” – St. Francis of Assisi
Under the leadership and direction of Bishop Edward J. Burns, the Diocese of Dallas is looking with great hope to the future. We recognize that Collin County is one of the top three fastest-growing counties in the United States. With this growth, the Diocese has the responsibility of ensuring access to quality education that represents our Catholic identity and values. The Catholic community in Collin County has long called for a Catholic school in our area, a school close to home where our children and future generations can grow and develop academically, spiritually, reflect the values of our faith and find a strong Catholic identity.
In 2019, the Diocese answered that call with the purchase of 26 acres of land and a vision of a regional school to benefit the families of St. Francis of Assisi and our neighboring parishes in northern Collin County. Recent survey responses overwhelmingly called for moving forward quickly with executing this vision.
The planned Mother Teresa Catholic School in Frisco at the corner of Independence and Main is a unique and exciting opportunity to open a new Catholic school and provide access to Catholic education for families in Collin County. St. Francis of Assisi, as the largest parish in the area, will lead the charge in support for the school through an initial fundraising effort as part of the I Am with You Always Capital Campaign, accompanied by a Diocesan capital campaign for all parishes in northern Collin County and the Diocese of Dallas. Together, we will create a strong foundation for future generations at St. Francis of Assisi and beyond in Collin County and throughout the Diocese of Dallas.