By Victoria Diloné
San Jose Catholic Church and School welcomed Bishop Erik Pohlmeier to celebrate Mass and to bless and dedicate the newly renovated middle school building on Aug. 31.
“It’s great to be meeting you for the first time while celebrating Mass,” Bishop Pohlmeier told students and faculty on their first day of the school year.
“Everything that we are doing in building and expanding,” Bishop Pohlmeier said, “is all because Jesus said, ‘I have to go to other towns and preach the Gospel. But I’m not going to go alone. I need co-workers.’ That means you.”
In his homily, the bishop encouraged San Jose’s students to become “co-workers” with Jesus.
“Here you are, sitting here in this church,” Bishop Pohlmeier said to students, “because people you’ve never met cared enough about their faith to pass it on to other people. As you get older, you can be sure that Jesus is saying to you, ‘I need you to be my co-worker.’ That’s true for every one of us. That was true when I got a call that said you’re going to move to Florida and become the bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine. That was Jesus saying to me, ‘You’re going to be my co-worker.’”
San Jose has 60 years of tradition in serving the spiritual and educational needs of its community, according to Father Remek Blaszkowski, the pastor. After decades of service, their parish campus needs major renovations to continue creating and supporting faith-filled Catholics.
The middle school building renovation is the first of five phases to renew their spiritual home as part of their “Forward in Faith, Love, and Service” capital campaign.
“We’re truly blessed to welcome Bishop Pohlmeier for the first time to our parish,” Father Blaszkowski said.
After Mass, students lined along the path towards the school, smiling and waving at their new shepherd. As the bishop walked through the building, he blessed eight new classrooms, sprinkling holy water over the middle schoolers seated at their desks.
“What a wonderful way to begin our 2022-23 school year to have the bishop with us,” Principal Jennifer Swain said. “This project has truly been guided by the Holy Spirit.”
Renovations on the building began in May and finished the day before the students returned to school, despite the material and labor shortages affecting most of the country.
“Parishioners showed great excitement for this campaign,” Father Blaszkowski said. “The fact that we were able to finish the first phase in such a short amount of time is a testament to the parishioner’s love for the school and parish. I am thankful for their shared time and gifts given to preserve and grow the legacy of San Jose.”
Three of those parishioners who shared their time and talents are general contractors Jack Marku and Steve Daragjati along with architect Chris Kaye. They met with Bishop Pohlmeier at the reception after the blessing to express their gratitude for the bishop’s support.
“It is an honor to be able to be a part of the renovation of the school that my children went to,” Daragjati said. “It’s through our amazing, God-centered community that our children and families have the opportunity to grow in holiness each and every day.”
San Jose will begin phase two of its campaign next summer, renovating the 4th and 5th-grade classrooms and adding a new roof to the school’s main office building.
“It’s thanks to those who worked hard to lay the foundation of San Jose Church and School that we are here today,” Father Blaszkowski said. “We’re committed to continuing this legacy of forming our students into great co-workers with Christ as we build upon the vision, sacrifice and stewardship of the generations before us.”
