St. Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes in Caldwell celebrates 125 years

By Alfredo E. Cardenas | Correspondent

St. Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Caldwell is celebrating its 125th anniversary under the banner “Cultivating our Faith, Growing in Holiness Together.”
Father Melvin Dornak, the pastor of St. Mary Parish, said this milestone anniversary is not a mark in time, but rather affirming a parish alive with faith. Through the shared memories of its 585 families, the parish is celebrating the many moments of grace administered at the parish through the beloved sacraments of our faith, he said.
James and Sherri Chmelar are co-chairs of the anniversary committee. Events previously scheduled to celebrate the big anniversary were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they said.
On Aug. 9, the parish will celebrate a special Mass at 10 a.m. Following the Mass, festivities will continue on the parish grounds. The anniversary will wrap up Sept. 19-23 with a parish mission presented by Paulist Father Bruce Nieli. These events are dependent on the state of the pandemic, Chmelar said.
Catholics first came to the Caldwell area when Franciscan missionaries traveled on “El Camino Real” on their apostolic missions between San Antonio and East Texas. The parish is located on this route, known as the Old San Antonio Road. Inspiration for the parish began in 1892, when Father Charles Kacer came once a month from Frenstat to celebrate Mass in a decommissioned store. In 1895, parishioners built a small wooden church and the first Mass there was celebrated on Aug. 1 of that year. Four years later, the parish purchased 3 acres adjoining to the church grounds and built a cemetery, which remains in operation today.
The following year tragedy struck. On Sept. 8, 1900, the remains of a massive hurricane that came inland at Galveston razed the small sanctuary. A painting of Our Lady of Lourdes, brought from France, was miraculously the only item salvaged. A farmer found it in a nearby field completely intact; today it remains prominently displayed in the nave of the church.
Because the storm destroyed the crops as well as the church, parishioners were not in a financial position to rebuild. Thankfully, Bishop N. A. Gallagher raised funds from communities in the north and east sections of the country and a new chapel was built in 1901. Bishop Gallagher dedicated the chapel on Sept. 18, 1901.
In the 1930s, Father Frank D. Urbanovski led the construction of one of the parish’s most unique and impressive additions — the Lourdes Grotto. Parishioners built this magnificent structure, which is still a centerpiece on the grounds of the church, entirely with petrified wood collected by area farmers. At the center of the grotto are statues of Our Lady of Lourdes, donated by the KJZT (now KJZT Family Life), and St. Bernadette, a gift of the Polanski brothers and sisters.
In 1984 the congregation demolished the 1901 church, and two years later erected the present church. Bishop John McCarthy dedicated the new sanctuary in April 1987. They added a free-standing bell tower to the front west side of the church, which Bishop McCarthy dedicated in April 1997. After adding paved parking lots in 2003, the parish made the final payment on the debt incurred to build the new church and held a ceremonial “note burning,” on Feb. 13, 2005.
Several priests and religious sisters have come from St. Mary Parish. Most recently Father Ed Karasek, ordained in 1987, is pastor of St. Mary Parish in Lockhart and Father Jesse Martinez, ordained in 2017, is associate pastor of St. Louis Parish in Austin.
The parish remains a vibrant faith community. In addition to Father Dornak, the church has three deacons, Ernesto Valenzuela Jr. and retired deacons Glen Wearden and John W. Young Jr. There are about 21 ministries active in the parish.
“We are growing together in holiness,” Father Dornak said. The parish currently has 585 registered families totaling 1,376 parishioners. Before the school year ended, there were 171 children enrolled in religious education, including 75 in first through sixth grades and 96 high school students.
While the church is seeing some “new families,” it remains “pretty much stable,” Father Dornak said.
For more information about St. Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Caldwell, visit www.stmaryscaldwell.com.