A longtime fixture in the North Side Fort Worth community, Father Stephen Jasso died Friday, according to the Fort Worth diocese.
Father Jasso had battled with ALS also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
Father Jasso, a priest at All Saints Catholic Church served the North Side Catholic parish of All Saints for 23 years before his retirement in 2018.
Bishop Michael Olson released a statement Friday saying:
"Father Jasso’s service extended beyond the confines of All Saints parish to men and women of all faiths in Fort Worth and throughout Texas. He was a vigilant advocate for immigrants and the disenfranchised in our community."
Educated in Rome, trained in Mexico City, Jasso served on the Fort Worth mayor's faith leaders cabinet and met with a number of politicians advocating on issues like immigration for the growing Hispanic community.
Education was the priest's biggest focus, especially in the Catholic school attached to All Saints, where students greeted him like a celebrity.
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"I think the future is going to depend on us being well-educated, well-trained," Jasso said in a 2017 interview with NBC 5.
In that interview he added, "There's no doubt in my mind that this was a calling from the good Lord, and I don't deserve it. I really don't deserve that, but I'm doing my best."
