Christ the King Catholic Church stands on Preston Road in the University Park area of north Dallas, a 1941 parish of the Diocese of Dallas whose cream-brick church and 140-foot bell tower are landmarks for miles around. Founded shortly after Bishop Joseph P. Lynch announced plans for a new parish north of Mockingbird Lane in October 1940, the community has grown to more than two thousand families and over six thousand members served by a K-8 school, a Community Center, and dozens of parish ministries. The parish describes itself as a welcoming Catholic community guided by faithfulness to the Gospel, the Magisterium, and the Catholic Church, and Pastor Fr. Anthony F. Lackland, named to the role in 2020, frequently reminds parishioners of St. John Paul II's words to "be not afraid."
Mass, Confession, and Eucharistic Adoration
The Sunday schedule begins the weekend on Saturday evening with a Vigil Mass at 5:30 pm. Sunday Masses are celebrated at 8:00 am, 9:30 am, 11:00 am, and 12:30 pm. Daily Mass is offered Monday through Saturday at 8:00 am in the church. Confessions are heard on Saturdays from 4:15 to 5:15 pm, and appointments with a priest can be made through the parish office for other times. The parish holds Eucharistic Adoration on First Fridays of the month from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, concluding with Benediction. On the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month, Oratio nights bring the parish into the church from 6:00 to 7:00 pm for Adoration and Confession, often with a priest leading a short meditation; the 3rd Tuesday continues with a young-adult speaker night called Revelation Night.
The Rosary is woven into the rhythm of the week. It is prayed Monday through Friday at 7:40 am, again on Mondays at 12:30 pm, and Saturdays after the 8:00 am Mass, all in the church. Visitors are warmly welcomed; an "I'm New" page on the parish notes that dress should be reverent, that those who have not been baptized or who are not in a state of grace are invited to receive a blessing by crossing their arms at Communion, and that no one will mind if a visitor is still learning the responses.
Inside the 1955 Church of Christ the King
The current church was dedicated on the feast of Christ the King, October 30, 1955, by Bishop Thomas K. Gorman, with Bishop Wendelin J. Nold, the founding pastor, preaching the sermon. The design is a "contemporary interpretation of Romanesque style," built of cream-colored brick with Indiana limestone trim and a red tile roof. The fourteen-story tower rises more than 140 feet above the sacristy floor and is crested with a tall cross-topped spire and three graduated crowns symbolic of Christ the King and the Blessed Trinity.
Inside, the sandstone interior was quarried by the monks of St. Meinrad's Monastery in Indiana. The vaulted ceiling soars forty feet above the nave and curves toward a sanctuary that measures forty by thirty feet with a fifty-foot ceiling. A ninety-foot Italian Vert Issorie marble Communion rail separates nave from sanctuary, with satin-finished aluminum gates centered on a gold crown-topped Chi Rho. Behind the altar, a twenty-foot-by-ten-foot dossal painting of Christ the King, painted on canvas by Leo Cartwright of Carmel, California, shows Christ in an English hunt-red robe with a jeweled crown, right hand raised in blessing, left hand holding a cross-topped orb. The high altar is built on Vert Issorie marble columns with a single slab of cream Tavernelle marble from Tennessee and contains the relics of Sts. Illuminati and Verecundi. Six stately statues of saints - Joseph, Peter, Paul, Wilfred, Thomas Aquinas, and John Vianney - stand in the reredos, and the stained-glass windows, designed by Cartwright and executed by T.C. Esser Company of Milwaukee, are illuminated by soft light filtered through imported European glass. Fourteen hand-carved Stations of the Cross line the side aisles. A transept on the north side serves as a chapel for the altar of the Precious Virgin, with three confessionals of its own.
Christ the King School
Christ the King Catholic School is a K-8 parish school that opened in the fall of 1947 under the supervision of the Ursuline Nuns and has been recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School. The convent was dedicated in 1959 for the Bernardine Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis. The school's mission statement describes its goal as the continuous formation of the Christian person through spiritual, moral, intellectual, social, cultural, and physical development. Today the building program is being reshaped by the $21 million "Living Faith, Igniting Hearts, Inspiring Minds" capital campaign, which includes a new 25,000-square-foot academic building with eleven classrooms, a library, a Technology Center, a Learning Resource Center, new counseling offices, administrative offices, and a playground. The school is led by President Dr. Patrick O'Sullivan and Principal Rosemary Kohut.
Becoming Catholic and Sacramental Preparation
Adults who wish to explore the Catholic faith are accompanied through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. OCIA meets on Tuesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 pm during the catechetical year, and a parallel OCIA Inquiry group meets on Monday nights at 6:30 pm year-round for those who simply want a question-and-answer forum. Sister Mary Paul of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth coordinates this ministry. Most candidates are received into the Church at the Easter Vigil.
For children, the parish prepares its youth for the three Sacraments of Initiation - Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation - through Faith Formation classes for those who do not attend the parish school. First Reconciliation and First Communion preparation is a two-year diocesan policy beginning in first grade, with First Reconciliation in the winter of second grade and First Communion in the spring of second grade. Confirmation is also a two-year preparation, ordinarily received in the eighth grade. The Coordinator of Youth Sacraments, Charlotte Dooley, works with each family to set a formation plan.
Family and Faith Formation for Children
The Family and Faith Formation Ministry serves the parish's youngest members from "littles" through young adults. CTK Littles, the re-branded Pre-K and Kindergarten program, meets during the 9:30 am Sunday Mass from September through April for potty-trained three-year-olds through kindergartners. Faith Formation for grades 1-6 meets on Sunday evenings from 5:00 to 6:30 pm, with an emphasis on making the church building itself part of the catechesis. Grades 7-8 gather at the same time for Confirmation preparation and youth ministry, with a Sunday evening format that includes snacks, a discussion of the Sunday Mass readings, a lesson from the Catechism, and a faith activity, plus quarterly service projects and two retreats each year.
Summer brings two signature programs. Vacation Bible School is a four-day, high-energy immersion for potty-trained three-year-olds through rising fourth graders, coordinated by the St. Anne's Society and featuring song and dance, crafts, games, and Bible story time. CTK FAST - the Christ the King Faith and Service Tour - is for rising fifth through eighth graders and combines a short daily teaching with field trips to agencies around the Dallas area, including St. Joseph's Residence, Catholic Charities, White Rock Lake, Brother Bill's Food Distribution Center, and the North Texas Food Bank.
High School Youth and Young Adults
Upper Room is the parish's Sunday high school youth ministry, gathering from 6:00 to 7:30 pm in the youth room of the Community Center - affectionately called the "Bat Cave," with three big-screen TVs, a full kitchen, a sound system, and an air hockey table. The evening typically begins with dinner and socializing, followed by a talk, small group time, and often Eucharistic Adoration. The program is open to all 9th-12th graders, regardless of school, and includes regular community service projects, retreats, weekend excursions, and summer mission trips.
CTK Young Adults is a community for Catholics in their twenties and thirties centered on Oratio, the Tuesday night Adoration and Confession gathering. Happy hours follow the 1st Tuesday Oratio at a local restaurant, and Revelation Nights follow the 3rd Tuesday Oratio in the Parish Center with a theological talk from a fellow young adult, dinner (often Chick-fil-A), and discussion. Quarterly brunches, a Spring Retreat, an annual Young Catholic Professionals Wine Tasting, and a Summer Social round out the calendar.
Liturgical Ministries and Music
Lay faithful serve the liturgy as ushers, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, lectors, altar servers, rosary leaders, and music ministers. Altar servers can begin in the fourth grade with training offered as early as the spring of third grade. The parish's Music Ministry is led by Director of Music and Principal Organist Jordan Peek, a native Texan and Baylor-trained organist who also serves as assistant organist at All Saints Catholic Church in Far North Dallas, and Assistant Organist Albert Bellefeuille, who holds degrees in organ and harpsichord performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and is completing a PhD in musicology at Rutgers. The King's Choristers is a parish choir for boys and girls in fourth grade and up that rehearses on Tuesdays during the school year. The Dottie Thompson Concert Series brings concerts to the parish several times a year.
Community Life: Altar Society, St. Anne's Society, and Kingsmen
Three community organizations knit the parish together. The Altar Society aids in the spiritual advancement of its members, supports the practice of spiritual and corporal works of mercy, and cares for the upkeep of the church. The St. Anne's Society is a fellowship and social organization for the parish women, providing enriching activities that support the Catholic community, strengthen faith, and create lasting friendships. The Kingsmen represent the men of the parish and school, with co-presidents Andrew Ludwig and David Kennedy leading the 2026-27 year. The Kingsmen build community through social events, deepen members' Catholic spirituality through speakers and retreats, and serve the broader community, gathering monthly at the Parish Center.
Service Ministries and Outreach
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a worldwide lay Catholic organization that, since 1833, has served the poor, the suffering, and the deprived through home visits that provide material assistance and friendship. Christ the King has also enrolled as a Stephen Ministry congregation, training lay ministers for one-to-one, confidential, Christ-centered care for those experiencing grief, divorce, medical crisis, or job loss. Other ministries include the Walking With Purpose women's Bible study, the That Man Is You men's program, the Married Couples Ministry, a monthly Grief Support Group led by Director of Community Life Andrew Petiprin, and Walking With Purpose for women meeting Monday evenings and Thursday mornings.
Weddings, Baptisms, and Funerals
Couples preparing for the Sacrament of Marriage are accompanied by Marriage Minister Simone Walzel and her husband Scott, who also lead the Married Couples Ministry. Weddings are scheduled on Saturdays at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm, with rehearsals on Friday evenings, and the parish asks couples to contact them one year in advance but no less than six months. Marriage preparation includes an initial meeting, pre-nuptial questionnaire, freedom-to-marry affidavits, the FOCCUS survey, a sponsor couple or marriage formation day, and annotated baptismal certificates. Weddings at Christ the King are $1,150, including a wedding coordinator, organist, and use of the church.
Infant baptisms require that at least one parent be a practicing and active Catholic, that Catholic parents and godparents complete a baptismal preparation program within the past four years, and that godparents be at least 16 years old, fully initiated Catholics in good standing, and not the child's mother or father. A funeral pre-planning form is available so that families can document the wishes of the deceased ahead of time.
The Capital Campaign
The "Living Faith, Igniting Hearts, Inspiring Minds" campaign is raising $21 million to elevate parish and school facilities. Beyond the new academic building for the school, the campaign will deliver a new chapel honoring Mary Queen of Heaven, a remodeled Parish Center for fellowship and ministries, a new Church Office, a remodeled bride's room and new groom's room, and upgrades to the aging campus electrical infrastructure. Pledges may be paid over up to five years by check, donor-advised fund, gift of stock, electronic check, or credit card; named and anonymous gifts are both possible, and naming opportunities range from the academic building to playground benches and inscribed bricks in the school courtyard.
Joining the Parish
Becoming a registered parishioner requires being a baptized Roman Catholic, attending Sunday Mass regularly at Christ the King, being registered for a minimum of six months, being actively engaged in the parish community, and having a record of financial contributions through online banking or the envelope system. Registration is done through a form on the parish site. The parish office at 8017 Preston Road can be reached at (214) 365-1200.