Our Mission & History

St. Stephen Church was founded on Mother’s Day, May 14, 1989.
 
In response to a group of Salado families, Bishop John McCarthy asked Father Charles Davis, Pastor of Christ the King Church in Belton, to establish a mission in Salado with Deacon Jordan Pfuntner as the Pastoral Administrator. At Bishop McCarthy’s request the Mission was named for Saint Stephen, the first deacon martyr, because this parish was a pioneer effort by the Diocese to assign a Deacon as Pastor.

Mass was originally held at the Tablerock Amphitheater and later at Thomas Arnold Elementary School before moving to the present site. The original church building (seen below) was donated by the Temple Area Federal Credit Union and, after extensive renovations, the first Mass was celebrated on Easter Sunday, April 19, 1992. 

Deacon Jordan spent five years at St. Stephen, during which the church grew from a small mission to a full parish. Msgr. Arthur Michalka, Pastor of Holy Trinity Church at Corn Hill, served as the Canonical Pastor. In 1997, Deacon John Petter took over as Pastoral Administrator.
 
From July 2000 to the summer of 2008, Reverend Charles Davis was pastor of St. Stephen. Under his leadership the parish continued to grow. He was suceeded by Father Gregory McLaughlin upon his retirement, who served until June 2012. Father Aloysius Nzekwe MSP became the pastor on July 1, 2012. Under his leadership the present church was erected on the property of St. Stephen and the original church renovated into additional classrooms.

On November 1, 2015 Fr. Jude Uche MSP became the pastor and remains so to this day.

Original Church Building from 1992-2015