Our Community

Father Anthony "Fr. Tony" Lackland

When Pope St. John Paul II was elected to his pontificate, my Catholic aunt, Louise said that he was a “very holy man.” Though I was not at that time Catholic myself, her statement intrigued and inspired me. I became a Roman Catholic in 1982 at Ft. Jackson in South Carolina while serving in the United States Army and Pope St. John Paul II has not ceased inspiring me, especially with the exhortation to “be not afraid.”

After military service, I studied voice and piano performance and received a Bachelor of Music from the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas. I went abroad as a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar to Germany, where I received a diploma in the German Language Program from Sprachinstitut in Tübingen, going on to further studies of German at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität and musicology at Staatliche Hochschule für Musik, both in Freiburg im Breisgau. After my time in Germany, I returned to the USA and had the great pleasure of being Director of Music and Music Educator at Prince of Peace Catholic Community before discerning that God had something else in mind for me.

I answered the call to the priesthood and entered seminary studies at the Theological College of the National Seminary of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. I was ordained to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ on June 3, 2006. My first assignment was Parochial Vicar at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Richardson, Texas followed by the position of Chaplain and Director of the Catholic Campus Ministry at SMU (and Priest in Residence here at Christ the King Catholic Church) and concurrently functioning in the role of Associate Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Dallas.

After completing Executive Education at the Cox School of Business at SMU, receiving certificates in both Management and Leadership, in July of 2013, I was assigned as Pastor to the All Saints Catholic Community in Dallas. There I continued my pursuit of leadership formation, receiving a diploma from Stagen Leadership Academy in Dallas, taking part in an intensive 52-Week Integral Leadership Program. In July of 2017, I accepted an assignment to Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas, taking on the role of Vice-Rector and Director of Student Life.

In 2020, I was named Pastor of Christ the King, which has been a kind of coming home. It is a vibrant community with deep faith and a National Blue Ribbon School as well. I am so excited to be here. Words cannot express it. I also feel a deep responsibility to foster the community life of our parish, to see us serving with even greater fervor, deepening our spirituality, and calling on our wider community to join us in the worship of the true God, Christ, our King. Let us approach him boldly as we walk the road of faith together. I make the words of Pope St. John Paul II my own: “be not afraid.”

Father Alex Fry

I was born and raised in Ennis, Texas, known for the National Polka Festival and its beautiful bluebonnets! Proudly a fifth-generation Ennis-ite, I loved growing up in this small town rich with Czech and Mexican cultures. I have two siblings: my older brother Austin, whose two little sons, Liam and Oliver, have brought much life to our family, and my twin brother Evan, who is a lawyer in Austin. (A priest and a lawyer — well played Mom and Dad!)

My “Galilee moment” was at the Pines Catholic Camp in the piney woods of East Texas, where I first encountered the living God in the sacraments and in the community of believers, and decided firmly to follow him wherever He would lead. Faith in Christ opened up an exciting world of possibilities for me, and at thirteen years old I first felt called to the priesthood – I never looked back. After graduating from Ennis High School in 2014, I packed my things and headed to Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving.

In 2018, after completing my Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, I was sent by Bishop Edward Burns to study theology at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. There I completed a Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology (STB) at the Pontifical Gregorian University and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), writing my dissertation on the topic of “Secular Ideologies as Pseudo-Religions.”

I was ordained a priest on May 20, 2023. My first year as a priest has been amazing, and I cannot wait for my next chapter to begin at Christ the King Parish.