BEAUMONT, Texas — Members of the catholic community in Beaumont held a peaceful protest Sunday to show their frustration after a prominent figure within the community was asked to step down.
Upset parishioners gathered at the Cristo Rey Catholic Church after the founder of the church, Father Luis Urriza, was asked to step down by the Diocese of Beaumont.
Urriza has served the community at the church for 75 years and celebrated his 100th birthday with a celebratory mass at the end of August.
The news of Urriza's impending leave caught both him and his parishioners off guard.
Urriza said Bishop David Toups told him on Sunday that he has to leave the Parish he helped found by October 16.
Urriza, who's originally from Spain, came to Beaumont in the 1940s and literally built Cristo Rey Catholic Church from the ground.
Some of those in the Hispanic Catholic community said he united the group at the time when they were divided.
Urriza started his formation with the Augustinians in Spain. It’s a religious order that he has remained obedient to despite working for the Diocese of Beaumont.
The Diocese said they have no control over the order from the Augustinians but are grateful the religious order let Urriza stay in Beaumont for all these years.
The diocese told 12News the move is equally as heartbreaking for them as it is for his parishioners.
Urriza said it's a hard pill to swallow, but he loves his church members and will always remember them, even once he returns to Spain.
"I'm sorry I have to leave. Really, I don't like it, but I have to accept it," Urriza said.
