History of St. Jerome Catholic Church

- Information

St. Jerome was a 4th century priest who translated the Bible from the Greek and Hebrew manuscripts into Latin which was the living language then. Monsignor Edward Jordan, first pastor of St. Jerome said, “I hope to make the emphasis at St. Jerome to bring the Bible to life in our contemporary times."

St. Jerome Parish was born on November 11, 1982, through a Decree of Erection by the Bishop of Austin, the Most Reverend Vincent Harris. The church was established to serve the Hewitt-Woodway area and Monsignor Jordan was appointed the pastor. Monsignor Jordan led the parish in its temporary quarters at the old Knights of Columbus Hall and supervised the building of the current campus. After more than a year of waiting and working, St. Jerome parish started construction on a permanent church home in 1983. The building committee members wanted to build a church in an old tradition because Catholicism has such a rich heritage. The design and colors were based on the Santa Maria Novella Church in Florence, Italy. The sanctuary windows were decorated with geometric type stained glass representing the six days of creation with a center circle for God’s day of rest.

In 1987, Monsignor Jordan left and Father Bill Brooks became our pastor. During his tenure the church sanctuary was expanded to include the chapel area around the present tabernacle, the large bronzed entry doors were added, and Brooks Hall was built.
In May 1999, Fr. Don Loftin, a Waco native, became our pastor. He worked with parish groups to purchase adjoining property and appointed a Facilities Planning Committee to do master planning to meet parish growth.

On September 1, 2005, Fr. Don was succeeded by Fr. Rakshaganathan Selvaraj. Fr. Raj is a native of India who had previously served St. Jerome Parish as interim administrator. Father Raj has seen a growth of the parish including addition of the preschool and several modifications to the church grounds.

Our current pastor is Rev. James Ekeocha.