History of St. Jerome Parish

Under the guidance of the Redemptorist Fathers, the Parish grew and prospered as a mission of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish. In 1962, St. Jerome was placed under the guidance of Father Robert E. Schmidt and became a mission of St. Benedict Catholic Church with Father Liam P. Brosnan as the priest in charge.

On July 21, 1963 with the parish community continuing to grow, the ground breaking for a catechetical center and hall took place. Archbishop Francis J. Furey celebrated the cemetery expansion with a field Mass on October 27, 1971. Growing pains for this community continued. They were in constant need of larger space. Mrs. Teofil (Veronica) Zigmond donated eight acres of land where our white brick church sits. 

Fr. Benedict A. Pruski was appointed the first Pastor on August 20, 1974 after St. Jerome was established as a parish on September 13, 1972. When St. Jerome's "little red brick church" was deemed unsafe for all services, all religious and social services were transferred to the catechetical center. Ground breaking for our white brick church began August 17, 1975, with Archbishop Furey and Veronica Zigmond turning over the first spades of ground. 

The white brick church was completed March 10, 1976 and the first Mass was offered ten days later. The old bell was refinished and suspended in a bell tower next to the new church. Archbishop Francis J. Furey dedicated the white brick church in May 1976. As the parish grew, the CCD and CYO programs expanded considerably and space for parish activities was essential. In 1977, a new building was built and was used along with the old hall for all CCD classes and parish activities. In 1991, an addition was added to the building. This building is now known as Pruski Hall. Fr. Ben Pruski retired in 1991 after many years of faithful service to St. Jerome parish. 

Fr. Thomas O'Brien was appointed pastor of St. Jerome in 1991. Under Father O'Brien's leadership a BBQ pavilion with kitchen was built next to the baseball field. The baseball field was improved with new bleachers and upgraded dugouts and fencing. In 1995, Father O'Brien reincarnated the parish festivals. All the proceeds from the festivals were used and are still being used for parish building and improvements. The hall was completed May 2000 and during the May Festival was dedicated by Bishop Thomas Flanagan. The new hall was dedicated to Fr. O'Brien who passed away on May 26, 2001 while still pastor of St. Jerome.

Fr. John Flanagan was appointed pastor in August of 2001 and served until his passing on July 9, 2013. Father Flanagan was a pastoral pastor; expanding the Eucharist Ministry, Altar Servers, RCIA and Pastoral Council. He touched many lives through his first Friday devotions and visits to the sick. In 2002, St. Jerome parish fully established the ACTS ministry for men, women and teens. With his leadership and support, the community of St. Jerome participated in the groundbreaking of the new church on May 2, 2010, and the building of a 20,000 square foot, 800 seat church in 2011. Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller dedicated the new church August 7, 2011. 

Renovation of the former church building was completed in the fall of 2012 and was named Flanagan Administrative Center after Monsignor John Flanagan. It now houses administrative offices, a spacious meeting room with kitchen and restrooms. Fr. Alberto Colin-Marin was appointed Parish Administrator on July 8, 2013 and served for four months until the appointment November 8, 2013, of Fr. Rodolfo Caballero, LC. The St. Jerome Prayer Garden, fully funded by generous donations of parishioners, was dedicated by Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller on April 6, 2014. 

As the St. Jerome community continued to flourish, renovations to the CCD facilities took place over the summer 2014 break from Religious Education classes with the addition of new restrooms, new water line, new air conditioning, new windows, new ceilings, resurfacing and painting of walls, floor covering repairs, teacher workstations and renovations to the CCD office, workroom, library, existing restrooms and classrooms.  A  2-story brick home located at 7959 Real Road was purchased in 2016 for use as the parish rectory.  The rectory is a 4-bedroom, two and a half bath home. 

July 1, 2016, marked the welcome of Father Scott Janysek as Parish Administrator, following the reassignment of Fathers Gustavo and Rodolfo.

On July 1, 2020, Fr. Scott Janysek was assigned to Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Helotes, Texas.  At that time, Fr. Krzysztof Pawlowski was appointed as adminstrator to serve the community of St. Jerome Catholic Church.