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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The life of an esteemed priest and community |
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advocate drew to a close with the passing of Father Stephen Jasso of |
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Fort Worth on February 12, 2021, at the age of 88; and |
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WHEREAS, The son of Domingo and Leonor Jasso, Stephen Jasso |
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was born in Waco on November 26, 1932; he was raised in the Catholic |
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faith, and he and his family were employed as migrant workers in |
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Texas, Indiana, and Michigan; he obtained a high school diploma |
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from the U.S. Armed Forces Institute and served with the U.S. Army |
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during the Korean War before joining the active reserve; and |
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WHEREAS, Father Jasso made his first communion and |
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confirmation at St. Francis on the Brazos Catholic Church in Waco; |
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he entered the Mexican Franciscan order, the Mexican Third Order |
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Regular of St. Francis, Viceprovomcoa de Santa Maria de Guadalupe, |
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in 1957; after receiving his undergraduate degree at Saint Francis |
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College in Pennsylvania, he began seminary studies in Majorca, |
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Spain; in 1965, he was ordained to the priesthood at the Pontifical |
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University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome; and |
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WHEREAS, Early in his career, Father Jasso spent four years |
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as a missionary in Peru; he was next assigned to Mexico, where he |
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served for many years at a parish and with the Third Order Regular |
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community; in 1994, he transferred to St. Thomas the Apostle |
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Catholic Church in Fort Worth, and shortly thereafter he embarked |
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on a 23-year tenure as pastor for All Saints Catholic Church in the |
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Northside community of Fort Worth; and |
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WHEREAS, Father Jasso was a tireless champion for immigrants, |
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the disenfranchised, and the Latino community, and he was |
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passionate about education; he played a key role in helping the All |
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Saints parish school to avoid a shutdown, and the Father Jasso |
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Tuition Assistance Fund was put into place for parish families; his |
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legacy of service extended to Texans of all faiths, and he supported |
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such entities as the Fort Worth Mayor's Faith Leader Cabinet and the |
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Race and Culture Task Force; he retired in 2018 after more than six |
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decades in the ministry; and |
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WHEREAS, Father Stephen Jasso was a source of spiritual |
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guidance, comfort, and inspiration to countless people, and his |
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legacy will live on in the hearts of those who were fortunate enough |
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to know him; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Father Stephen |
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Jasso and extend deepest condolences to all who mourn his passing; |
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and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Father |
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Stephen Jasso. |