Click here to become a Sponsor today!

Martha and Larry Schroeder will be honored as "unsung" heroes of St. Austin Catholic School at the Saints & Scholars Gala on January 14, along with the heroes at each of the 19 other Catholic schools in the Diocese of Austin. 

Larry and Martha are two of St. Austin's most prominent longtime parishioners. Together, they've served our church and school for decades and continue to do so through their various liturgical ministries and stewardship. Martha and Larry are the essence of what Parish and School life should be. Their pastoral outreach knows no bounds.
 
Larry started attending St. Austin in 1970 when he came to UT. Later, at St. Austin, Larry married Martha, a cradle St. Austinite. Both learned the value of volunteering from their parents who were very involved in their community parishes. "It was never 'do you want to volunteer?' It was always 'what are you going to volunteer for now?' It is in our DNA makeup!" Martha said. "We help where help is needed."

Larry is a dedicated member of the Knights of Columbus, Council 10776 and the 4th degree, Bishop Harris assembly. He is a Eucharistic Minister and a greeter. More importantly he has ALWAYS been Martha's silent partner, doing whatever necessary to support her volunteer work. "I could never take on these projects without his absolute help and support," Martha said.

Larry also has done work over the years with their son's Boy Scouts pack and then was commissioner of the St. Austin troop. He volunteers with The Texas Navy Association, an organization that promotes and preserves the history of Texas Navies.

Martha and Larry's dedication to each other and their important work is a prime example of God's work in action. On behalf of your St. Austin family, we thank you for your many years of volunteer service! We hope their story inspires you to support our St. Austin school and church activities. To learn more about upcoming events like next year's Saints and Scholars dinner celebrating Catholic education, visit our SACS page.

Support Catholic SchoolsSACS

Josie Luna Barrett knew at early age that her faith would be a huge part of her life. She grew up on the westside of San Antonio where she attended Mass with her mother and grandmother who were active members of St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church.

"My heritage comes from seeing two strong, faith-filled, intelligent and independent women," Josie said.

Along with attending religious education classes and working at the church, Josie and her siblings also went to Catholic school at St. John Bosco. Obtaining an education was very important to Josie's mother who encouraged her and her siblings to pursue college. 

"My mother was not educated, but she was very smart and very wise and she steered us toward good values, even though we were a family of modest means," Josie said.

After graduating high school, Josie enrolled in Our Lady of the Lake University where she double-majored in English and Spanish. She worked all throughout college until graduating in 1969 and becoming a teacher then an admissions counselor. 

In 1974, she moved to college admissions which led her to St. Edward's University in Austin where she met her husband through the campus's ministry. They became active members of St. Austin after enrolling their daughter in the church's Catholic school.

Josie worked at St. Ed's for 10 years before moving on to take a job with the College Board for 20 years. 

Josie traveled a lot for work and would often-times find herself the only Latina and mother in a room. Despite her busy work life, Josie always made time to go to Mass wherever she landed, staying true to her faith-filled roots.

"You learn to be one with who you are," Josie said. "Women did not work in those environments, and I was the only Hispanic."

She faced a lot of obstacles as a first-generation Latina educator, but she never gave up on her dreams and always allowed her faith in God to guide her wherever she was.



Josie retired in 2017 and now serves as chair of the Pastoral Council. She said she is most excited to continue to live out the word of God by collaborating with the St. Vincent de Paul Society to "give hope to the poor."

"What feeds my faith is my work," Josie said. "My privilege to serve the altar - that nourishes my faith and the people I get to serve with who get things done."

• Where in San Antonio are you from? What's your home parish? Where did you go to school? 

  I'm from the northside of the city, but I went to school on the southside where my grandmother took care of me after school. My home parish is St. Joseph South San Catholic Church where I served as an altar server for eight years. I graduated from Harlandale STEM Early College High School in 2019 with my associate's degree in science and then continued my education at Texas State University, where I graduated in 2021 with a bachelor's degree in Electronic Media and a minor in Spanish.

• What brought you to Austin, Texas? 

  I'm pursuing my Master's Degree in Journalism at the University of Texas.

• What brought you to St. Austin's?

  I interviewed Fr. Chuck at the church office for one of my classes and it was there that I met Mitzi Eastman and Diane Zbasnik. A few weeks later, they emailed me about an opportunity to work at the church and after an interview, I was blessed to be offered this position!

A candidate for her Master's in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin, our parish's Communications Associate recently explored the impact of harsher winters and hotter summers on low-income communities of color for NPR's NextGeneration Radio. The brief video below is part of her piece for a series on the impact of climate change. As we observe the Season of Creation, Cristela's reporting introduces us to Clarence Prevo, a heavenly gardener, who offers us much to consider and hold in prayer. Read more at: 

Growing Faith

• Where in San Antonio are you from? What's your home parish? Where did you go to school? 

  I went to St. Cecilia's Catholic School (K-6) Incarnate Word (7 - 12). St. Cecilia's was our extended family's spiritual home and within it's borders, across the street from our house on Felisa Street were Mission Concepción and St. John's Minor Seminary.  

• What brought you to Austin, Texas? 
  A career move brought me to Austin, much closer to home than my first post of duty with the Internal Revenue Service in McAllen, Texas. 

• What brought you to St. Austin's?

  When our children came along, the children of several friends at work attended St. Austin's. They recommended it highly. We wanted to continue the legacy of Catholic education that my parents, aunts, and uncles invested in for all the children of my generation. We registered with the parish around 1990 and since then St. Austin Parish & School have been well worth the ride! 

Recently, Mike Hayes interviewed Mitzi for the Paulists' 5 Questions series. Her responses to his questions explore her current engagement with the parish and how St. Austin's and the Paulists who've served here have influenced her spirituality. If you haven't, we invite you to watch the interview. 

On August 9, 2022, Bishop Joe Vasquez hosted his annual Convocation Mass, celebrating the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, at St. William's Catholic Church in Round Rock. In attendance were over 600 faculty, staff, administrators and pastors representing all Catholic schools within the Diocese of Austin. Mrs. Tara Cevallos, Principal, received a certificate of recognition to honor St. Austin Catholic School's banner 105th year of service to the Austin community. 

Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Sisters of Houston in collaboration with the Paulist Fathers who had begun their service to Austin and the University of Texas at Austin community nine years earlier, St. Austin Catholic School is a parochial school steeped in faith, culture, history, and tradition. At our founding, the Dominican Sisters relocated Holy Rosary School (1915), a school for Mexican immigrant children, to a one-roomed house at 1911 San Antonio Street. A year later, the school became known as Newman School, reflecting the  Paulists presence at the University of Texas Newman Club. With the addition of an eighth grade in 1941-1942, our name changed to St. Austin Catholic School. During the 1950s the original house was razed and a new elementary school built in its stead on the original parcel of land, where it remained for 70 years until, once again razed in 2021 to prepare for our new state of the art school and parish buildings. Though the Dominican Sisters departed in the late 1970s, the school has flourished under the ministry of the Paulist Fathers. Today students attend St. Austin Catholic School from across the greater-Austin area to join in our shared beliefs, mission, and academic achievement. 

Please celebrate with us this year at Mass, Sporting, Community, and Fundraising events. Stay tuned to hear updates on new events, including a Founders Day Celebration. St. Austin Catholic School is currently accepting applications for admission.
 

Please e-mail [email protected] for more information. Thank you for your continued support of our School and Parish. To enrich our school with a monetary gift, please 

Give to St. Austin School

 We're very grateful for our Cheerful Givers!

Bishop Joe Vásquez and Misty Poe, Superintendent of Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Austin, present the certificate honoring St. Austin's 105 years to Mrs. Tara Cevallos, Principal. 

Mary McMaster, First Grade Teacher, was celebrated
for her 25 years of service.

Taylor Garcia, Administrative Assistant, was recognized
for her five years of service.