In 1998 parishioner Thad Podbielski invested a great deal of time compiling the history of Our Lady of Lourdes into a booklet for its Golden Jubilee. Below is a condensed version.
A Mission Church
As with most Catholic parishes and missions in Texas, Our Lady of Lourdes was a product of necessity. For many years preceding World War II, the only Catholic church in Central Texas, west of Interstate 35, was St. Mary's of the Immaculate Conception in Lampasas. Although only a mission church itself, St. Mary's served as the Mother Church for Catholics scattered over 3,200 square miles. Today, this area includes the counties of Bell, Coryell, Lampasas, Hamilton, Mills, San Saba, and Burnet. Regular participation in the Mass and reception of the Sacraments was a logistical impossibility. Given time and distance, the pastor of St. Mary's offered Mass in the various communities, when he or another priest could be made available, very often using a private home or even a store. As the United States entered World War II, St. Mary's also became responsible for counseling and serving the approximately 80,000 soldiers who then swelled the population of Central Texas at Fort Hood. This merely exacerbated an already impossible pastoral obligation.
In an effort to bring the Church to those Catholics who were too distant from Lampasas Father William F. Roach, the pastor of St. Mary's obtained the permission of the Most Reverend Christopher E. Byrne, the Bishop of Galveston, to develop several missions throughout Central Texas. Between 1939 and 1945, Father Roach planned and built five large churches of native stone and limestone. Our Lady of Lourdes was one of these mission churches of St. Mary's. Established in 1943, it was the first Catholic church in Coryell County.
In 1948, concurrent with the development of the Diocese of Austin, the first bishop of Austin, the Most Reverend Louis Joseph Reicher, designated Our Lady of Lourdes a separate parish with the responsiblity for ministering to the Catholics at the State School for Boys in Gatesville. Pastors assigned to Our Lady of Lourdes during the years 1948 through 1955, also served as Pastor to St. Mary's. Thus, Our Lady of Lourdes' first Pastor, Father Dore, was also the Pastor of St. Mary's of Lampasas.
Those were rough years. The parish had a church building, but no rectory. The pastors continued to live at St. Mary's in Lampasas. Though a parish in name, Our Lady of Lourdes still did not have the luxury of a resident priest.
The Beginnings of a Real Parish
From the start, parishioners took great pride in their church. Early descriptions of the stone church built by Father Roach refer to it as "the little Chapel" and one of the "prettiest". Early parishioners took great pride in its appearance. Father Roach benefited from the commitment and generosity of parishioners such as Mrs. Daisy Hampton, Mr. & Mrs. James Pritchett and Miss Kate Glass who enriched and decorated "the little Chapel" with an altar, altar linens, statues, communion rail, window drapes and pews. Daisy Hampton donated the land for the church. Daisy was one of 11 Perryman children, a long-time Gatesville family, all of whose girls were educated at Sacred Heart in Waco, even though the family was not Catholic.
The white rock, or Austin stone, as some parishioners refer to it, church building was situated on what was originally the western edge of Gatesville. At the time, there were only two or three houses in the area. It was located just left of the present church, where the lawn is today. From the front, it was designed to look like an early traditional Spanish mission found throughout Texas but was actually shaped like a "T". Its exterior was stucco.
In 1953, Father Victor B. Llorente, a diocesan priest, was the Administrator of St. Thomas Church in Hamilton. Even though he was not responsible for Our Lady of Lourdes, he recognized the need for a rectory and a resident priest at the church in Gatesville. He, in that year, applied to the Catholic Church Extension Society for a grant to construct a rectory. Granted in 1954, new living quarters (which in actuality was an approximately 10' x 10' room with a bath) were built onto the original church building. In 1955, Bishop Reicher appointed Father Llorente pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes and also gave him the responsibility to minister to the inmates at the State School for Boys. Now, it was possible for the Catholics of Coryell County to have a regular contact with their pastor. Father Llorente served as pastor from 1955 until 1964. The small parish began to grow.
The "little Chapel" was, however, proving to be too small and inadequate for the needs of the parish. In May 1966, the present church and adjoining rectory were erected. Situated on approximately two acres of sloping land with a 200-foot frontage on Main Street (Highway 84) the property reaches back 350 feet.
The building was designed by Architect Walter Cocke, Jr. of Waco, and was constructed by Contractor James Dixon at the cost of $60,000. The church was dedicated in February 1967 by Bishop Louis Reicher. A plaque honoring Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Kies of Chicago, Illinois, was placed in the church, in memory of their generous contribution toward financing the new church through the Catholic Church Extension Society.
Today the church facade still retains a somewhat modern version of the traditional Spanish appearance which characterized the original church. As you enter the church and face the altar, a large half-life-sized crucifix adorns the altar wall reminding all of whose home this church really is. The altar stands away from the sanctuary wall, facing the congregation. Two statues, Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus, flank the altar along the sanctuary wall on either side of the Tabernacle. Along the side walls are located the Stations of the Cross. Prominently displayed to the left of the altar is a statue of the Blessed Virgin, after whom the parish is named. In her hand, she holds the rosary extolling us to pray and to remember that we are all her children. On the right is a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patroness of the Americas. It is a fitting reminder to all, that as a people of God, everything we do and all our prayers are offered to Jesus through the intercession and love of his Mother. It also reminds us of the roots of the parish. When Father Roach established Our Lady of Lourdes, his ministry reached out to the many farmers and ranchers of Mexican heritage who traditionally venerate and honor Our Lady of Guadalupe.
In 1987 due to a lack of repairs and maintenance during the previous 25 years, some parish projects could not be avoided. New roofs were placed on the rectory and sacristy, the church building air conditioning system was upgraded, new pews and carpet were installed, and a new parking lot built. Building on this momentum a decision was made to build a religious education center, now known as the Aaron Center. The center, built in 1990, was the first major building project since the church was built in 1966. Up to this time, children received their religious education in whatever space could be found, resulting in classes in virtually every room of the rectory and in the old dilapidated three-room house behind the rectory. Classes during cold weather were almost like being held outdoors as the building was not insulated and unheated.
The Catholic Church Extension Society again assisted the church, as it had been when the first rectory was built in 1954. A grant in the amount of $25,000 was presented by the Society to Bishop John C. McCarthy to help in this effort to build a new building. A special Mass and blessing of the center by Bishop McCarthy was celebrated on December 2, 1990. Despite its excitement over having its own center, flooding problems were discovered during heavy rains. Some were so severe that Sunday school had to be canceled on various occasions. At an additional cost of $10,000, a French drain was installed around the building. Despite this helpful remedy, the flooding did not stop.
Even though, and maybe in part because of the difficulties facing the parish, the men of the parish organized themselves into Knights of Columbus Council 10294. Named after a former priest, Father Anthony J. Weber, the Council as part of District 49, was founded February 4, 1990 with 30 members. Organized to provide an outlet for camraderie among the men of the parish, its primary purpose is to provide general support of the church.
Now that the parish had invested much time, effort and love in upgrading its physical plant, and finally had the space to organize and run its religious education program, came the difficult task of paying off the debt. The combined cost of the Aaron Center and parking lot exceeded $150,000. Various fund-raising ideas were tried. The parish's first Finance Council, separate from the Parish Council, was formed in an effort to focus on ways of advising the pastor in reducing the debt.
The flooding problem with the Aaron Center continued. Only then did the parish discover that at the time of the construction of the parking lot in 1989, the old clay sewer pipe, which was to have been replaced, never was. Instead, it was patched and covered with soil, and was now causing flooding of the Aaron Center during heavy rains. One major section was found to be crushed, probably the result of compaction from the heavy construction machinery. Despite the crisis the hard-working people of Our Lady of Lourdes saved the parish much money by digging out and relacing the broken clay pipes with appropriate PVC sewer pipe. Several anonymous donations from caring parishioners paid for the material.
Our Lady of Lourdes Today
At the time of this writing the parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes are waiting for the end of the COVID-19 era. This unprecendented virus literally closed churches just before Easter in 2020. Through this time the faithful continued to support the parish through their time, talents and treasures. Looking forward to their 75th anniversary the parishioners are once again working on projects that have been long overlooked.
Spiritual Shepherds of Our Lady of Lourdes