During visit to Turkey, Pope Leo blesses stone for Dallas church

During his trip to Turkey, Pope Leo XIV blessed a brick Nov. 28 that will be a part of the new St. Augustine Catholic Church in Dallas, Texas.

“This stone would like to be the first stone of the new church that we want to build in the parish of St. Augustine in Dallas,” Father Paolo Capra, pastor of St. Augustine Church, said, according to KVUE.

Fr. Capra was in Turkey as part of a pilgrimage to Istanbul celebrating the 20th anniversary of Redemptoris Mater Seminary in the Diocese of Dallas-Fort Worth.

“When we decided on the dates for this trip, we had no idea that this was actually going to be at the same time as the Pope’s first Apostolic Visit,” Father Luca Simbula, rector of the seminary, said, according to Vatican News.

Fr. Capra stood near the entrance to the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul with several other priests from his diocese, including Fr. Simbula, when the Pope approached them. He spoke briefly with the priests before blessing the stone.

St. Augustine’s current church building is too small for the community’s needs. The church, which holds Mass in English and Spanish, is attended mainly by immigrants from Mexico. The current building seats 500, but Fr. Capra said that the parish is hoping to build a church that can accommodate 900.

Fr. Capra also said that he hopes the new church will be more beautiful, according to Dallas News.

Vatican News reports that Fr. Simbula said being in Lebanon at the same time as the Pope was “a great blessing.”

“It’s a great gift that he is coming here precisely at this time and in this land, which is really a Holy Land,” he said. “There are so many roots of our Christian faith.”