Welcome to all new parishioners!
St. Mary Catholic Church - Schulenburg
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Visit Us
2833 FM 2672
Schulenburg, TX 78956
Phone: 979-743-3117
Mass Times:
Weekends
Sundays - 10:15 a.m.
Wednesdays
5:30 p.m
.Hall/Pavillion Rental
Leo "Buddy" Dittrich, Jr.
979-561-8403
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Who We AreAt St. Mary Catholic Church, we seek to provide spiritual guidance and support to our community. Our message of hope, healing, love and compassion is spread through our services and our community involvement.
We welcome everybody to join us for masses, community gatherings, and community volunteerism.
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St. Mary Catholic Church is nestled in the community of High Hill, Texas, just 3 miles north of I-10 in Schulenburg. The area, rich in a German-Czech heritage, was established more than 150 years ago.
With its ornate design, paintings and stained-glass windows, St. Mary is known as the Queen of the Painted Churches on The Painted Churches of Texas tour and is visited by hundreds of visitors every year.
The St. Mary parish also holds one of the larger picnics in the area every year on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Our parish picnic features a home-cooked German-style meal, the sounds of area German and Czech bands, a live auction, a country store, a souvenir booth, bingo, games for the kids, and much, much more. The day starts off with a Polka Mass and is topped off with an evening fireworks spectacular! This event attracts hundreds of parishioners and guests every year.Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
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European immigration in the mid-1800s brought several families of Austrian and German descent to High Hill. They were looking for religious freedom and opportunities in the New World. The High Hill community began when three settlements (Blum Hill, Wursten and Oldenburg) were combined into one in 1858. Father Gury came from Frelsburg to celebrate mass with the Catholics in High Hill, and the first mass was celebrated in 1861 in the Andreas Billimek home.
The name High Hill came about when someone suggested they choose a "high hill" type of name to remind them of the mountains they left behind in Germany and Austria.
The St. Mary parish played a significant role in the development of the German and Catholic heritage of Texas. The Catholic State League was formed here, and many of the church's clergy and leadership were raised in High Hill.
The first St. Mary church was built in 1869. A larger church was built in 1876, and the original building was used as a school. This newer church featured stained-glass windows donated by the people of the parish. When the present-day church was built, these beautiful original stained-glass windows were moved to the new and larger building, which was constructed in 1906 and painted in 1912.
The current church is known as "Queen of the Painted Churches" and is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places.
Industrialization allowed the community of High Hill to grow. They had saw mills, blacksmith shops and a post office, but cotton farming was the primary way of life for most landowners in High Hill. The residents did not want a railroad built through their community; therefore, High Hill continues to be a small community to this day.Bishop Celebrated Mass in Honor of 150th Anniversary
Bishop David Fellhauer celebrated mass at St. Mary on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011, in honor of our 150th anniversary. He blessed the conservation/restoration work, as well as the newly remodeled rectory. Following the mass and blessings, parishioners shared a meal together in the parish hall. May the Lord continue to bless our Parish!
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The St. Mary community is proud to showcase our church on the Painted Churches of Texas tour. In 2011, we completed a major conservation and restoration project with artist Robert Marshall of R. Alden Marshall & Associates LLC, an art conservation, sculpture and gilding studio based in La Grange. Mr. Marshall and his associates have completed work for churches, museums, state, local and national government properties, universities, as well as corporate and private collections. We are pleased to have him here working with the St. Mary community.
Conservation & Restoration Work
- Conservation of the artwork of the ceiling, which is oil on canvas mounted on wood, and murals on plaster
- Restoration of faux painting and stencils on walls, sculptures, wood altars and shrines, and all interior gilding
- Stabilization of plaster walls and recovery and documentation of historic decorative wall art
Artist Robert Marshall at work in
St. Mary Church, spring 2010
Painting Conservation of Angels, Lamb & Archway
By Robert Marshall
The removal of over paint applied in a past restoration involved determining the proper solvents and dwell times to soften the coatings and not damage the original paintings. After investigation of and removal of the over paint from the angel on the proper left of the arch, in which the viewers right hand would be to the south, the original art work was found to be damaged and was inpainted successfully as was the face or bust of the proper right angel. The robes of the PL angel were uncovered, and it was determined that to remove the over painting over the entire surface would have not so much of a dramatic change in the quality of the work from what is now visible. Though the faces are done in a fine portrait quality, the balance of the work/painting in the testing areas was found to be of similar quality of the over painting on the original work with little change other than slight color changes.
The removal of the over paint of the proper right angel produced the top of the angels face with the jaw line and neck missing due to plaster damage. Here is this photo the damaged areas are being inpainted with gouache but are far from done. Several small areas of loss were found in the face area but were inpainted with out much trouble.
We will be repainting and re gilding most all of the arch and adding ribbons and a seventh seal to the seals on the book of life. As well the entire lamb was repainted to a lighter more “spotless” lamb. I will be altering the colors back to some of the original colors found namely the sky and clouds around the angels, the robes of the angels. The scope of work in this treatment also requires the re-gilding of damaged or lost areas.
The artwork of the arch is now more closely resembling that of the original artist. My inpainting is located at the faces and hair of the angels and over painting most everywhere else. Total time used to execute this was 124 hours. Materials added were mainly artist oil colors as well as some fine gouache using a barrier coat of wax free blond shellac then sealing with the oil born acrylic conservation varnish by Golden. The gold was applied and painted with detail as before with gouache directly on the gold surface. No sealer was used over this gouache or gold so that the gold shines and reflects the light as it should.
Painted Canvas
We removed loose dirt and debris with fine brushes and a HEPA vacuum and washed the surface with a weak solution of distilled water and ammonia. We then used a .03 % solution of H2O2 to bleach out mildew stains on the canvas. We found that most of the canvas was barely attached to the wood ceiling due to the failure of the original wheat paste size/adhesive. We adhered the loose canvas with a poly-vinyl acetate by injecting it behind the loose fabric and working it in, then used heated irons and silicone release paper. We heated the canvas working the areas to solidly reattach the canvas to the wood without removal of the canvas. The canvas, wheat paste and wood were all glued together with this PVA. Many areas showed bare canvas, having lost paint in the lighter background areas over the years, and it was decided to over-paint these backgrounds, as well all the colors of the ceiling were duplicated with artist oil colors and the entire ceiling was inpainted. The gilt trim was repaired or replaced as needed and new gesso and base finishes were applied followed by 23.75 kt gold leaf from Bavaria. The repaired surfaces of the painted canvas were covered with a coat of a clear satin conservation varnish used for paintings. The walls were treated by removing the loose coatings of paint and exposing the remnants of the original decoration, powdering plaster was consolidated and cracks patched. The original decoration then restored to reflect the original and the 1940s photos.
The project took nearly 12 months with a crew of as many as nine, working 40- to 60-hour weeks.
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St. Anne's Society
The St. Anne's Society was founded in 1881 by Anna Wick as the St. Anne's Mother's Society. Today the St. Anne's Society functions as the altar society for the St. Mary Parish at High Hill. Members see that fresh flowers are on the altars and articles required to meet the needs of the priests are purchased. They also tend to linens and vestments.
Members of the St. Anne's Society pray the rosary before each Saturday evening mass and at funeral masses/rosaries. They also help with the social following burials. The St. Anne's Society takes care of votives in the church and the sale of religious articles. They have one annual fundraiser, usually a plant sale and country store held in April.
In honor of St. Mary's 150th anniversary (1860-2010), we collected "old family recipes," as well as family histories, stories, and pictures, and compiled them all into one book. We advertised in newspapers, made a lot of phone calls, sent e-mails, etc. and after many months and a lot of cooperation, we are pleased to present this book: "Recipes & Remembrances of High Hill: A Collection of Pictures, Stories and Recipes." The book will be on sale at the souvenir booth at our annual parish picnic in September and will be sold at local businesses, including The Flower Box, The Apothecary, Willie Joe's Processing Plant, Frank's Restaurant, and the Schulenburg Chamber of Commerce.
Cookbook committee members include Maria Bohac, Debra Blansitt, Barbara Cernoch, Joyce Dittrich, Kathy Kutac, Denise Trojacek, and Nancy Winkler. The committee thanks all of the St. Anne's Society members and all contributors to this book.
St. Joseph's Society
The St. Joseph's Society was established in 1879 and is now in its 133rd year of service to the parish. The parish society promoted the founding of the Catholic State League in 1900.
May, The St. Joseph Society helped the St. Anne's Society host the Couples Anniversary Project. Seven couples were honored.
In 2009, the group completed refurbishing (sanding and resealing) the benches and footrests of the bleachers used in the pavillion. The project started in late May and continued through mid-June with volunteers working an hour and a half or so every weekday. Members and parishioners who participated include Kenneth Berger, Elroy Demel, Leo Dittrich Jr., Harlan Hilscher, Otto Kocian, Elmer Meyer, Emil Pauler, Leon Popp, James Prihoda, Francis Ripper, and Willy Schmidt.
On June 5, 2009, the St. Joseph's Society, the Catholic Life Br. #1, and the St. Augustine KJT Society participated in a JOIN HANDS DAY PROJECT at St. Mary. The group repaired, cleaned, and painted buildings, benches, fences, old pavilion poles, removed leaves, and pressure-washed the walks on the south and east side of the hall. In late June, 2009, the St. Joseph's Society will begin repairing porch benches around the hall, painting old bingo tables used at the auction, and other items that need renovation in preparation for the parish picnic in September
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Built in 1906, St. Mary Catholic Church is known as the Queen of the Painted Churches.
Below are links to articles that will provide details about the many beautiful painted churches in central Texas.- Texas Hill Country
- Texas Escapes
- Blue Sky Traveler
- Travel Texas
- The Day Tripper
- Gold Country Cowgirl
- The Catholic Travel Guide
To check the calendar for tours of the Painted Churches, please visit the Schulenburg Chamber of Commerce:
The Greater Schulenburg Chamber of Commerce
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Music Ministry Contacts
Choir Coordinator
Denise Trojacek
(979) 561-6155
Organist
David Hollas
(832) 517-1583About the Choir
The choir is composed entirely of local volunteers who are members of the parish community and a few friends and family who visit for special occasions. Each week, these volunteers graciously give their talent and time for Saturday evening mass and other Holy Days (such as Christmas and Easter). We thank all of our choir members for their generosity and service!
The choir is always looking for more joyful voices and instruments to enhance the liturgy. If you are interested in joining, or know someone who could contribute, please approach any choir member after a service to discuss the possibilities, or contact us using the information below. No formal musical training is required – all are welcome!
About the OrganThe choir loft is prominently graced by a beautiful and historic pipe organ. It was built by the Brown Organ Company of Wilmington, Delaware in 1908. This organ was originally installed in a church in Gainesville, Texas, but was moved to St. Mary’s High Hill in 1935. An organ of similar vintage and age is located in the nearby church at Praha, Texas, but is no longer functional.
The High Hill instrument contains over 400 individual pipes and operates on pressurized air blowing through these pipes – there are no speakers or amplifiers. Electricity is only used to operate the bellows, which provides the compressed air, and lights for the organist sitting at the organ bench. Keys and stops are mechanically operated with a system of wooden components connected by leather straps and metal pins. When a key is pressed, these mechanisms allow air to flow into the select pipe valve, creating a sound unique to that stop. Couplers also allow combinations of stops and manuals to be played at once.
The instrument was significantly restored by Russell Franklin in 1986. A photo montage commemorating that restoration is hanging in the parish hall. Other minor repairs and maintenance have been conducted in the time since, as the parish continues to maintain this instrument in working condition; it is still in regular use today. In an era when the Church relies ever more heavily on electronic and modern instruments, this organ serves as a testament to the dedication of the High Hill parish community for preserving its rich history and traditions.Organ Stop List
Great
- 8' Dulciana
- 8' Open Diapason
- 8' Melodia
- 8' Stopped Diapason
- 8' Violin Diapason
- 4' Violina
- 16' Bourdon
- Great to Pedal
- Swell to Pedal
- Swell to Great
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Where to find us
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