Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight with a little something extra in the pacing. This is the story of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, out in Lacoste, Medina County. Now, before 1911, if you were a Catholic living in that part of Texas and you wanted to attend mass, you were making a trip to Castroville.

Every single time. Rain, dust, summer heat, didn't matter. Castroville was where you went, because there was simply nowhere else to go.

But somebody got tired of that arrangement. In 1910, a petition went out, a formal ask to build a Catholic church right there in Lacoste. And that petition worked.

The church was established in 1911. Now, a petition gets you a promise, but it takes land and labor to get you a building. Emil Zinsmeyer stepped up and donated the land, not just for the church, but for a school and a cemetery too.

That's a considerable gift, and the community knew it. Work got done, and when it was finished, that red brick, gothic-style building had a name: Our Lady of Grace. Over the years it's also been called St.

Mary's, Mother of Grace, and Mary Mother of Grace. Three names, one enduring church. And enduring is the right word.

This is the oldest and largest church in the greater Lacoste area, and it has served that community for over a hundred years. Then there's the festival. Every second Sunday in June, since 1925, the community gathers.

The marker calls it the largest event in the community, and you don't hold that title for that many years by accident. You hold it because people keep comin' back. Some stories are built in a single year and then they just keep going.

This is one of those.

What the marker says

This church was established in 1911 after a petition to build a Catholic Church in Lacoste was made the previous year. Prior to this church, area Catholics had to travel to Castroville to attend mass. Emil Zinsmeyer donated the land for the church, school and cemetery. Work was completed on the red brick, gothic-style building in 1911 and named Our Lady of Grace. It has also been called St. Mary's, Mother of Grace, and Mary Mother of Grace. This church is the oldest and largest church in the greater Lacoste area and has served the community for over 100 years. An annual festival, held on the second Sunday in June since 1925, is the largest event in the community.