SINCE 1982...
FREDERICKSBURG’S OLD ST. MARY’S CHURCH,
A HOLY PLACE OF REFUGE, HEALING & PILGRIMAGE
Written by Ken Knopp
In the mid 1900’s Archbishop Francis Furey of San
Antonio, the archdiocese in which Fredericksburg
belongs, declared Fredericksburg’s historic Church
of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, as an
official place of holy pilgrimage in the Hill Country.
The church replaced the small log cabin church built
by the first German Catholic pioneers on the same
grounds in 1848. when Fredericksburg was founded
on May 8, 1846, the Catholics and the Lutherans
worshipped inside the Adelsverein’s Vereinskirche,
the community church, constructed in the middle of
San Saba Street which was the main street at that
time. Later the Vereinskirche was torn down and rebuilt where it is today on the Northeast side of the
Marktplatz. Gradually, as the denominations grew
because of the continuous coming of immigrants,
they withdrew from the Vereinskirche to build their
own churches.
Today the Vereinskirche is a
museum, a part
of the Historical
Society’s Pioneer
Freilichtmuseum
complex.
Old St. Mary’s
was completed
on the corner of
South Orange and West San Antonio Streets in 1862, the second year
of the Civil War, by Benedictine missionary priests from St. Vincent Abbey of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, who were the first resident pastors for the
Catholics of Fredericksburg. It was a holy place of refuge during the war
since most of the people of Fredericksburg and the Hill Country sided
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with the Union and voted
against secession and joining the Confederate. Many
people of the area were murdered by Confederate sympathizers for being true to
the Union.
The Van Der Stucken family
of Fredericksburg donated
the bell for the church. The
privilege of ringing the bell
to call the worshippers to
Mass on its dedication day
was given to a young Comanche Indian boy whose family
was friendly with the pastor.
On recent years, when St.
Mary’s Church underwent
a complete restoration, a descendant of the Comanche
family living near Fredericksburg and were members
of the church in Oklahoma
again came to Fredericksburg to ring the bell.
By being designated as a Pilgrimage Church the archbishopacknowledgesthatthe
church has a long history as a special place in the spiritual life of the
people and is open daily or special prayer, meditation, studying scripture.
Today it is also an Adoration Chapel with Explosion of the Blessed Sacrament and is open throughout the day and evening so long as there are
individuals present. Several hundred volunteers pledge their presence in
prayer each day. A Book of Prayer attests to the blessings the pilgrims have
experienced by making their pilgrimage to Old St. Mary’s
THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION is the particular dedication to
the Blessed Virgin Mary which this church is devoted. A church can be
dedicated to other saints and charismas that encourages members in their
daily strivings toward holiness and to be Christ-like. A ministry that has
developed through the years at St. Mary’s is the particular concern in
behalf of girls and women who find themselves pregnant and who need
special counseling and help in this regard. THE GABRIEL PROJECT is
part of the Respect for Life Ministry coordinated by Rhonda Dickson. She
can be contacted at (830)997-2239 and will be happy to explain the
Woman
TEXAS
FREDERICKSBURG