St. Matthew Catholic Parish

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. This is the story of St. Matthew Catholic Parish in Atascosa County.

When Jourdanton came into being in 1909, it wasn't long before the Catholic families who'd settled there started looking at each other across the supper table and asking the same question. They were Hispanic families, Irish families, Polish families, German families, all drawn together by faith, and all of them wanting a place to practice it under one roof. So they made their interest known, and it reached all the way to San Antonio, where Bishop J.W.

Shaw came out personally to help get things moving. Now that's the kind of thing that tells you something about how serious these folks were. When a bishop makes the trip, you know the community meant business.

The Central Townsite Company donated the land, and in 1912 the church held dedication ceremonies for a mission-style brick building. Mission style, brick, donated land, and a bishop involved in the planning. Not bad for a young town.

For the next decade, the parish grew rapidly, guided by Rev. Manuel Moreno and other priests working in the area. One leader, a Father Kasper, took particular note of the Czech parishioners and helped them establish two organizations, the K.J.T. and the K.J.Z.T., fraternal organizations for Czech men and Czech women respectively.

That's the kind of pastoral attention that builds a parish from the inside out. Then came 1925, when Rev. Smith became the first resident pastor, meaning for the first time there was a priest who actually lived there in Jourdanton, right alongside the people.

The first rectory followed, and in 1926 the first Parish Hall was built. Father Smith left his mark in other ways too. He organized the first 4th of July picnic, and he founded a group called the Children of Mary.

The kind of traditions that, once you start them, tend to keep going long after the person who started them is gone. Under Father Benz's leadership, a second parish hall went up in 1934. Then came what might be the most ambitious chapter yet: a Catholic school, which opened its doors in September of 1937.

That school carried real hope with it. And then, in 1940, it was forced to close. The marker doesn't elaborate, and neither will I, but some silences say enough on their own.

The parish kept going. It always kept going. In May 1961, under Father Lieb's direction, a new church was built, and here's the detail that stays with you: they used the original cast iron bell.

That bell had rung out over Jourdanton since the mission-style brick building of 1912, and when the new church rose in 1961, they made sure it rang again. By 1979 a new parish hall had been added to the grounds. And all the while, St.

Matthew was woven deep into the life of that community. Czech Sokol gymnastics in the early 1940s. The Sociedades Guadalupanas for Catholic Women.

The Knights of Columbus. The Ladies' Altar Society. The Catholic Daughters of Americans.

Youth organizations. The full breadth of what a community can be when it gathers around something it believes in. And today, St.

Matthew Catholic Parish runs a soup kitchen and a thrift store, still serving neighbors, still described on the marker as a beacon of light in the community. From a donated plot of land in 1912 to that old cast iron bell still calling folks in, this parish has been ringing through Jourdanton for over a century. Some stories don't end.

They just keep on.

What the marker says

Following the establishment ofJourdanton in 1909, many catholic families of Hispanic, Irish, Polish, and German descent expressed interest in building a church. Bishop J.W. Shaw traveled from San Antonio to assist in preparing a new church building. In 1912, the church held dedication ceremonies for the mission-style brick building on land donated by the Central Townsite Company. For the next decade, the parish grew rapidly and received guidance from Rev. Manuel Moreno and other priests in the area. One leader, Father Kasper, assisted the Czech parishioners by helping to establish K.J.T and K.J.Z.T. Organizations for Czech men and women. In 1925, Rev. Smith became the first resident pastor and the first church rectory and Parish Hall was built in 1926. Father Smith contributed much to the parish, including organizing the first 4th of July picnic and founding the group, Children of Mary. Under Father Benz's leadership, a second parish hall was built in 1934, and a catholic school opened in September 1937, but was forced to close in 1940. In May 1961, under Father Lieb's direction, a new church was built utilizing the original cast iron bell. A new parish hall was built in 1979. The St. Matthew Catholic Parish contributed to many aspects of the community, including participating in fraternal, cultural, and religious groups such as a Czech Sokol gymnastics group in the early 1940s, the Sociedades Guadalupanas for Catholic Women, Knights of Columbus, Ladies" Altar Society, Catholic Daughters of Americans, and youth organizations. The church continues to serve their neighbors with a soup kitchen and thrift store, and remains a beacon of light in the community.