The culmination of seven years of meetings and planning took place March 19, as Bishop Patrick J. Zurek blessed and dedicated the new Parish Family Center at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.
The blessing and dedication was followed by Mass across the way at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.
Diocesan records show the new building, at 1210 Southeast 11th, is the first new building on the Our Lady of Guadalupe campus since the dedication of the current church building on Dec. 12, 1949.
The Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Family Center includes a reception/gathering area that can seat 500 people, a full kitchen, a conference room for 35 people and a gift shop with storage space.
The new center will be used for the annual Las Fiestas de Amarillo, which will take place Saturday, July 19 and Sunday, July 20. The 6,500 square foot building will also be rented out for community events, such as Quinceañeras and weddings.
The drawings for the new building were created by Richard Constancio of Shiver-Megert & Associates of Amarillo. Contractor for the building was Plains Builders of Amarillo.
“It indeed takes a community to build a new Parish Family Center here at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church,” said Sam Meza of the Core Building Committee, “and the community has come together to help make our dream a reality.
“We want to thank a number of folks who helped us with this project. The committee with the annual Las Fiestas de Amarillo were instrumental in helping us finish this project. The support that we received from Monsignor Joe Tash before his passing in 2012 was unbelievable. We appreciate everything that he and the parishioners at St. Thomas the Apostle Church did for us.
“Special thanks also to Mark Palacio, Pete Mendez Jr., Margaret Mendoza, Eva Grotefend, Freddie Ochoa, Ramón and Alice Gutierrez, Gloria Carlisle and Jesus and Rosa Mares for all their prayers and support.
“Finally, thanks to United and Amigos and to Amarillo National Bank for all their help and support. Special thanks to our parish family at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church for their prayers, financial support and words of encouragement.”
One of the first fundraisers in the new Parish Family Center will take place Friday, April 11, with an Enchilada/Tostada dinner, which will be served from 11:00am to 2:00pm and again from 5:00pm to 8:00pm, according to Meza.
An adult three-item plate with rice and beans, including drink, is $8.00 and a child’s plate is $4.00. Dessert is on sale for $1.00 and takeouts will be available.
For additional details, contact Our Lady of Guadalupe Church at 372-1128.