St. Mary, Brenham celebrates jubilee with joy, thanksgiving

By Alfredo E. Cardenas | Correspondent

St. Mary Immaculate Conception Parish in Brenham is celebrating its 150th anniversary for a whole year with many activities planned throughout 2021. On Nov. 19, Bishop Joe Vásquez celebrated Mass as he blessed the parish doors and opened them to kickoff the jubilee year for the parish.
St. Mary Parish began on Nov. 19, 1870, when the Bassett brothers of Brenham deeded an acre of land to Galveston Bishop Claude Marie Dubuis for a new church site. Up to that time, Brenham Catholics attended Mass at the home of Thomas Dwyer. Father William McSweeny served as the congregation’s first pastor. Under Father McSweeney’s guidance, parishioners constructed the first chapel in 1871. With the growth of the parish community, they built a larger church in 1896.
During the Great Depression, on July 12, 1935, Father Charles Weisnerowski borrowed $50,000 to build the current church, which was dedicated by Galveston Bishop Christopher E. Byrne on May 3, 1936. The building’s estimated cost was $75,000; plus the cost of the three marble altars and the 48 solid oak pews brought the original cost to about $100,000.
“Adjusting for inflation, the cost would be near $2,000,000 by today’s standards,” said Michael Derkowski, the parish business administrator. “Considering this was all accomplished during the Great Depression, reflects the love and dedication of our ancestors.”
Ancestral roots run deep for many families at St. Mary Parish, said Father Everardo Cazares, pastor of St. Mary Parish.
“Celebrating the 150th dedication of the parish with solemnity is an opportunity to honor our ancestors, recognize their efforts, and at the same time renew our commitment to spiritual wealth, not only in tradition but by inherited witness,” he said.
The sesquicentennial anniversary allows parishioners to connect with their community’s richness and the fullness of their faith. Father Cazares hopes this will, in turn, move them into the future with confidence and purpose.
Pope Francis has even blessed the project decreeing a Jubilee Year of Grace for the parish from Nov. 19, 2020 to Dec. 8, 2021 and granting access to a plenary indulgence for those who make a pilgrimage to the parish and fulfill the typical requirements (see Page 4).
In a Proclamation of Welcome, Bishop Joe Vásquez wrote that the doors of St. Mary Parish are open to pilgrims who wish to visit, pray, obtain the jubilee indulgence and celebrate this very special jubilee year.
“To pilgrims who enter through these Jubilee Doors, I offer my prayers for conversion of heart and a deepening experience of God’s merciful love. Please include the members of this parish in your prayers … May God grant us the humility to recognize our sinfulness and to seek his face of mercy in Jesus Christ,” the bishop wrote.
Father Cazares hopes parishioners will “intentionally reflect in this time of renewal” on the importance of unity, thankfulness, humility, faith, sustainability and spirituality.
“We want to deepen our roots in the Gospel. We want to rediscover the essentials. We want to nurture our spiritual lives to bear abundant fruit,” he said.
Every month the parish will provide parishioners a meditation topic and suggest accompanying activities. Prayer areas will be available for the faithful to come together and “pray, learn, practice and celebrate our lives together.” Everyone is invited to participate.
Father Cazares and parish leadership, including 35 active ministries, are committed to following the current protocols to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. They have designed events that prevent overcrowding, and they pray the recent vaccines will make it possible to wind up the year with “a great closure.”
There are many activities planned before the jubilee ends on Dec. 8. The parish intends to keep the congregation informed through its Sunday bulletin, website, social media and other means.
Derkowski invites fellow Catholics throughout the Diocese of Austin to make a pilgrimage to St. Mary, Immaculate Conception Parish and obtain the grace of the jubilee indulgence.
“We would be honored to have you as our guest,” he said.
For more information about the parish, visit www.brenhamcatholic.org or call (979) 836-4441.


More information about jubilee indulgence at St. Mary in Brenham

Bishop Joe Vásquez blessed the doors of St. Mary Immaculate Conception Parish in Brenham on Nov. 19. The doors of this parish are now open to pilgrims who wish to visit, pray, obtain the jubilee indulgence and celebrate the parish’s jubilee. Pilgrims and penitents are invited to pass through these holy doors as a gesture of crossing the threshold from sin to grace.
The door finds meaning as the believer associates the door with Christ. In the words of Pope Francis, “There is only one way that opens wide the entrance into the life of communion with God: this is Jesus, the one and absolute way to salvation.”
An indulgence is an act of faith by which a person may obtain release from the temporal punishment associated with sins committed, either for oneself or on behalf of another. Pope Francis has granted an indulgence to be available through Dec. 8, 2021. Here’s how to obtain the grace of the indulgence offered at St. Mary Immaculate Conception Parish in Brenham.
For able-bodied Catholics:

• Take a pilgrimage. Make a journey to St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, in Brenham, where “holy doors” have been designated has the parish celebrates a Year of Jubilee. Traveling to a pilgrimage site and crossing through a holy door is a spiritual journey that signals, as the Holy Father said, “the deep desire for true conversion.” The holy doors will be opened through Dec. 8, 2021.
• Go to confession.
• Receive the Eucharist while reflecting on God’s mercy.
• Make a profession of faith (the Nicene or Apostles’ Creed are good options).
• Pray for the pope and for his intentions. An “Our Father” and “Hail Mary” are traditional.
• Perform one of the Spiritual or Corporal Works of Mercy.

Please note: It is appropriate that the sacramental confession, Holy Communion and the prayer for the pope’s intentions take place on the same day of the pilgrimage, but it is not necessary. The sacramental rites and prayers may be carried out within several days (about 20 days) and at a place other than the pilgrimage site.

For the elderly/confined/ill:

• For persons physically unable to visit St. Mary Immaculate Conception Parish in Brenham, they may obtain the indulgence by living with faith and joyful hope.
• Receiving Communion or attending Holy Mass and community prayer, even through the various available means of communication (livestreamed Mass), will be for them the means of obtaining the indulgence.
• These persons may also perform one of the Spiritual or Corporal Works of Mercy as their abilities permit.

For information about the jubilee indulgence, visit www.brenhamcatholic.org.