In September 1963, 12 families gathered at the Carrollwood
School for the first mass of the newly formed St. Paul Parish. Our parish
started as a mission of St. Lawrence Church. The start-up years involved
congregating at the Carrollwood School, then at the Carrollwood civic Center. In
September 1966, Father John F. Lima, M.M. was named as our first pastor. Through
his efforts, we were able to start construction of our first church at the Dale
Mabry - Stall Road site in 1969. Dedication followed in June 1970.
Father Austin Mullen became our second pastor in June 1973. In September 1979,
the Parish Center was completed and dedicated.
"To become a Christ-Centered Family" was established as
our goal and mission statement in April 1982. In April 1982, the present rectory
was finalized. St. Paul Parish was instrumental in the formation and development
of neighboring St. Timothy Parish, which was formed in 1985.
A major milestone was reached in 1990 when the first mass was held in the new
church, with seating for over 1,100 parishioners. St. Paul's continued to grow
in stature and numbers throughout the early 1990'2. In March 1995, we dedicated
our new Family Center. In 1996, we said goodbye to Father Austin, our pastor for
23 years and welcomed Monsignor John F. Neff as our new pastor.
During his time, construction and renovation of the Parish Center began in May
1997 and was completed in January of 1998. Several of our parishioners were
ordained as Permanent deacons at St. Jude Cathedral on June 28, 1997. In August
of 1998, a new upgraded computer system was installed and the beginning of
stpaulchurch.com domain and a new website. Monsignor Neff retires as pastor of
St. Paul on June 30, 2002.
On July 1, 2002, our current pastor, Father Len Piotrowski, was appointed. We
have grown from 12 families in 1960 to over 4,900 in 2009. There are over 80
ministries available to our 15,000+ parishioners. St. Paul continues to prosper
in spirituality, growth, and most important, as a
"Christ Centered Family". Enjoy all that St. Paul has
become thanks to the hard work and dedication of our past and present priests,
deacons, staff, and parishioners like you.
 Take a stroll through the "Path of Peace"
that starts out by the statue of St. Francis or by our butterfly garden in the
back. You might want to have a tree planted in memory of a loved one and have
their name placed on the "Tree of Life" memorial plaque located in the narthex
of the church. We have also been afforded the opportunity to add additional
candle stands and a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the church. we have
added niches to prominently place our refurbished statues in the chapel, and
thanks to an Eagle Scout project, we have added a rosary path and a statue of
the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the outdoor Stations of the Cross. The Family
Center, which is used for many of the events that take place in our parish
throughout the year has had many beautiful statues and artwork added that
further enhances our life at St. Paul's.
All of these and much more are signs of our growth. We thank our parishioners
for playing such an important part in our parish family and invite others to
come visit us at St. Paul's and experience first hand the
Spirit of St. Paul's.
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