DUANE
Duane's take
Well, the way the marker tells it, here's the story of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Victoria County. Pull up a chair, because this one's got an ocean crossing, a fire, and about as much quiet determination as Texas ever asked of one man. It starts in 1872, when the Rev.
Jean Baptiste Teitien arrived at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Victoria as an assistant pastor. Now, Teitien was an observant man.
And what he observed was this: the German-speaking community in the area had no parish of their own. Not a separate one, anyway. He saw the need, and seeing it wasn't enough — he went and did something about it.
He got permission from the Rt. Rev. Anthony Dominic Pellicer, first Bishop of the Diocese of San Antonio, to begin a new church.
Then Teitien did something you don't see every day. He got on a ship and sailed back to his native Germany — not to stay, not to rest, but to collect funds for a church building on the other side of the world. He came back to Victoria with enough money to begin construction.
And in 1875, he led the first worship services in the completed building for Our Lady of Lourdes parish. He stayed on as pastor for sixteen years. Sixteen years of building something from nothing more than a need he noticed and a trip he was willing to make.
Then he resigned and returned to Germany, where he died in 1923. After Teitien came the Rev. F.X.
Heck, born in 1864, who succeeded him as pastor. Heck eventually left in 1905 to become pastor of St. Mary's Church in Victoria — the very church where this whole story had begun.
Then came the Rev. Lawrence Etschenberg, born in 1870 and died in 1946. And during his pastorate, the original church building was destroyed by fire.
Just gone. The building that Teitien had crossed an ocean to fund, that had stood since 1875 — fire took it. But it was replaced.
The current structure went up in 1924, and Our Lady of Lourdes carried on. The marker calls this congregation an important reminder of the cultural heritage of Victoria County. And it's hard to argue.
One assistant pastor, one recognized need, one very long voyage to Germany and back — and a parish that outlasted the building, outlasted the fire, and is standing still.
What the marker says
In 1872 the Rev. Jean Baptiste Teitien was appointed as an assistant pastor at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Victoria. There he realized the need for a separate parish to serve the area's German-speaking community. He received permission to begin a new church from the Rt. Rev. Anthony Dominic Pellicer, first Bishop of the Diocese of San Antonio, and traveled to his native Germany to collect funds for the construction of a church building. He returned to Victoria with enough money to begin construction, and in 1875 he led the first worship services in the completed building for Our Lady of Lourdes parish. After serving as pastor for sixteen years, Teitien resigned to return to Germany, where he died in 1923. Another minister who served Our Lady of Lourdes was the Rev. F.X. Heck (b. 1864), who succeeded Teitien and left in 1905 to become pastor of St. Mary's Church in Victoria. The original church building was destroyed by fire during the pastorate of the Rev. Lawrence Etschenberg (1870-1946) and was replaced with the current structure in 1924. The history of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church is an important reminder of the cultural heritage of Victoria County. (1984)