Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Victoria, TX
Organized: 1875
Church Complete: 1924
Architecture: Romanesque
Recorded Texas Landmark: 1984
 
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church was established in 1875 as a mission church of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, renamed St. Mary’s Catholic Church in 1903. After Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836, most of the original Mexican families in Victoria fled to Mexico and Anglo-Americans quickly resettled the area. As a result, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church was abandoned until it was reorganized in 1840 by Father Odin, first Bishop of Texas.
 
In 1872 Father Jean Baptiste Teitien became assistant pastor for Our Lady of Guadalupe (Saint Mary’s) and in 1875 requested and received permission to build a German-speaking Catholic church to serve the large German community in Victoria. With his personal money and money collected from his family and friends, Father Teitien was successful in building a small carpenter Gothic church building highlighted by a 75-foot spire. The edifice was dedicated Our Lady of Lourdes and was located at the corner of South William and Murray Streets, five blocks south of the present church.
 
On August 20, 1887 the church was severely damaged by a storm which blew down the spire; however, the damage was repaired.
 
In November 9, 1915, during the pastorate of Father Lawrence Etschenberg (1905-1946), the wood-frame church burned to the ground. After 40 years, the congregation had to find a new place to worship. For the next eight years the parish met in a first floor room of the O’Connor-Proctor building located at the corner of Main and Forrest Streets. Only the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes was saved from the fire.
 
Also during the pastorate of Father Lawrence Etschenberg, on March 25, 1924, Bishop Drossaerts of San Antonio dedicated the present church, a brick and mortar Romanesque edifice with two symmetrical towers 70 feet high. One houses an 802-pound bell donated to the church by Father Etschenberg in memory of his parents. Architect M. J. Dielman and contractor A. W. Fuessel, both of San Antonio, were commissioned to design and build the new structure.
 
The windows were originally clear glass, but over the years magnificent stained windows from Emil Frei Art Glass Factory of Munich, Germany and St. Louis, Missouri have been donated to the church by parishioners. These priceless works of art were created from mouth-blown full leaded crystal glass imported from Munich Germany, and at his St. Louis factory Emil Frei designed, fabricated and kiln fired the windows to create their beautiful patterns and vibrant colors. The last windows were installed in the 1950’s. Originally, the windows opened for ventilation, but when the church was air-conditioned the windows were sealed. The outside protective glass for the windows was installed in 1975. The original mural of Our Lady of Lourdes behind the altar was painted during a 1954 renovation.
 
On September 1, 2010, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church became a territorial Parish and Reverend Celestino Say (1995- present) became the parish’s first pastor. At the time, it was decided to restore the beautiful old church to her 1924 majesty. Although the original high altar was removed in 1955, a reconstruction of the high altar and flanking altars to Our Lady of Lourdes and Saint Joseph were commissioned in 2012 and installed in 2012. Ukrainian artist Bogdan Chernetskiy was hired to re-paint the mural and the church. At the time of this writing, the renovations are ongoing.
 
 


History summarized by Bill Schaefer
Emil Frei Stained Glass Factory Website, www.emilfrei.com
Church Publication, Notes on Tour of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, April 21-22, 1990
Diocese Publication, Diocese of Victoria Texas 1982-2007, Rev. Ty J. Bazaar
Texas Historical Commission Marker, 1984
Personal Communication, Ms. Emily Yeary
 
 
 

Our Lady of Lourdes Parish hosted a teaching and exposition of Sacred Relics on December 10, 2016. Fr. Carlos Martins brought over 150 relics, some believed to be as old as 2,000 years. Among the treasures are the relics of St. Maria Goretti, St. Therese of Lisieux (the "Little Flower"), St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Faustina Kowalska. For more information, see http://treasuresofthechurch.com