Who We Are
St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church is a parish in the Diocese of Fort Worth; we serve Catholics in Lewisville, Flower Mound, Highland Village, Lantana, and the surrounding communities. With a community of 3200 families located in one of the fastest-growing areas of the country, St. Philip's is currently in the pre-construction stages of a relocation project to move to a new campus close by.
Where We Began
In 1967, Catholic families in the Lewisville area began meeting together as a community for Mass and Religious Education. The pastor from St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Grapevine, Fr. Balthasar Szarka, said Mass for the people of the Lewisville community. Mass was held in neighboring churches and at Central Elementary school until the community had raised sufficient funds for a temporary church building. The parish (at that time known as St. Philip Benizi and later renamed St. Philip the Apostle) celebrated the first Mass in its own church, a pre-fabricated metal building on Jones Street, on November 29, 1970. The first pastor, Fr. Joseph Scantlin, was appointed in 1972 and the boundaries of the parish were established. In 1977, St. Philip the Apostle built the first church on the property we now occupy, the corner of Main and Kirkpatrick. This building served as the church until 1997, when the present church was built. The 1977 church now serves as the Community Life Center.
A Growing Parish
The limitations of our 5-acre campus have long been evident. Even when the current church was built, concern was expressed that the small location would not support a thriving parish. Now that St. Philip's has grown to over 3000 families, that concern has been confirmed by standing-room only Masses, overcrowded classrooms, limited facility space for group meetings and our youth, and a serious lack of parking. Not only can we not accommodate our current parish needs, we are in no position to do what Pope Francis has called us to do: reach out to the unchurched and fallen-away Catholics with the Good News of the Gospel. We are spiritually underserving the people of our community because we simply do not have room to grow.
Building a New Church
We have purchased 40 acres 4 miles west on Highway 1171 for a new parish campus. Here we will build a beautiful, identifiably-Catholic church to stand in witness to the glory of God and the timeless teachings of our Catholic Faith. See our New Church page for more information.