Rev. Monsignor Mark Deering, Pastor 1964-2000

 

Rev. Monsignor Mark Deering was born in Rathvilly, Country Carlow, Ireland, in 1921.  He is a graduate of St. Alphonsus College and was ordained at St. Kieran’s College in Kilkenny, Ireland on June 6, 1953.

 

Father Deering was assigned to St. Mary’s of the Assumption Catholic Church in Waco from 1953 until 1963.  He was appointed director and chaplain of the Regis Retirement Residence in September of 1963.  On September 1, 1964, Father Deering became the first pastor of St. Louis Catholic Church, the new parish in Waco.  For four years until 1968, when the new church was completed, church services were held in the St. Louis School cafeteria.

 

Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new church were held in 1967.  The first mass was held on June 9, 1968, and the church was dedicated on January 26, 1969.  Father Deering was made a Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 1976.  And he also received the Cougar Medallion for Excellence from Reicher Catholic High School.

 

On December 28, 1976, Father Deering was named monsignor by Pope Paul VI, and was invested as Monsignor by the Most Reverend Vincent M. Harris, Bishop of the Diocese of Austin, on March 12, 1977.  The next year, Monsignor Deering celebrated his Silver Jubilee as a priest on June 11, 1978.

 

Early in his career in Waco, Monsignor Deering taught classes to ministerial students at Baylor about the Mass and the Catholic Church.  In September of 1995, Monsignor was proclaimed “Alumnus by Choice” of Baylor University by the president, Robert B. Sloan, Jr.  In 1997, the Baylor Alumni Association presented him with the W.R. White Meritorious Service Award in recognition of noteworthy service to Baylor University.

 

Monsignor Deering has been president of the Waco Ministerial Alliance, the Rotary Club of Waco and the Waco Conference of Christians and Jews.  He is a charter member of the Waco Conference of Christians and Jews and received the honor of Waco’s “Humanitarian of the Year” Award in 1989.  In 2001, the Association of Fundraising Professionals awarded him the Lifetime Achievement Award.  A founding member of Crimestoppers of Waco, he served on its board for six years.  He is also a member of the Advisory Board of Providence Hospital.

 

On March 15, 2000, groundbreaking ceremonies were held on the campus of Reicher Catholic High School for the new Monsignor Mark Deering Activity Center.  Monsignor announced his retirement in October of 2000.

 

The parishes of St. Louis and St. Mary’s Catholic Churches and the community of Waco, Texas, are indebted to Monsignor Deering for his forty-seven years of active service.  However, those who know Monsignor know that he is still very active in the Waco community, in the church, and at Reicher Catholic High School.