Introibit Rex Gloriæ: FSSP Houston Aims to Expand

If everything’s bigger in Texas, the FSSP apostolates there are living up to expectations. The Lone Star State boasts the most apostolates of any state (5), beating out both California and Pennsylvania by a nose, and it can claim the oldest and largest apostolate in North America (FSSP Dallas).

And that’s just the beginning of the story. Enter FSSP Houston, which has some serious expansion plans of its own. Begun in 2011 and formally erected as a personal parish on August 15th, 2013, Regina Caeli Parish moved from temporary quarters to donated land on October 29th, 2016, the day that His Eminence Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, blessed the newly built St. Athanasius Chapel Hall. The move kicked off an era of new growth for the parish, and it now finds itself in rather dire need of more classroom and meeting spaces as it struggles to accommodate all its activities in the limited square footage available in the Hall.

But Fr. Charles Van Vliet, pastor of Regina Caeli, has a plan. After all, he’s done this before, having overseen the construction of Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Nebraska, which was built from the ground up and completed in 2010. The future Blessed Solanus Casey Gatehouse is the solution he has in mind. Named for a 20th century Capuchin who reached great heights of holiness performing the humble work of a porter and sacristan in Yonkers and Detroit, the gatehouse will include a rectory, parish offices, classroom and meeting spaces, an inner courtyard for homeschool activities and a new chapel dedicated to St. Joseph.

The parish’s capital campaign, entitled “Introibit Rex Gloriæ”, a passage from Psalm 24 that translates to “The King of Glory shall enter in”, will fund the project in phases, with different parts of the gatehouse being constructed as the necessary money is raised. To learn more about Regina Caeli’s exciting plans and to find out how you can help, watch the video below and visit their giving page here.