Pope Benedict XVI, in observance of the anniversary, bestowed the Apostolic Blessing upon the priests, deacons, and parishioners of St. Monica’s Catholic Church.
Among the slate of local dignitaries scheduled to attend, state Sen. Steve Ogden, R-College Station, will be keynote speaker. Ogden has introduced a Senate Resolution commemorating the special event. Lunch will be served in Simon-George Hall, followed by a program and reception.
St. Monica’s Parish of about 600 families will lose Father Coleman at the end of June. He will return to his native Ireland and serve the parish of St. Bridgett in Castlehaven. Coleman has been in the United States for 32 years.
The new pastor will be the Rev. Juan Carlos Lopez from St. William’s Parish in Round Rock. A church history, complete with names, dates and special times during the parish’s 125 years in Cameron, is being published to commemorate the anniversary.
St. Monica’s parish began in 1883 with Mass led by Father Lauth of Austin in the home of Mr. and Mrs. David Meyer. The priest spoke words of encouragement to the members assembled, remarking that the number was small, but he hoped and prayed the number would be much larger in the near future. Following services, the couple prepared a meal for the worshipers. The Meyers donated five acres for the church to be built and two acres were set aside for burial purposes. Meyer was not a Catholic, but his wife was kind and generous to the Catholic community.
Services were conducted in the homes of Joseph Mondrik, Anton Kunz, August Moraw, and John Hollas as well as in the Milam County Courthouse, Elm Ridge School, Marak School, and Ad Hall School.
In 1886, Father P.M. Lennarth was appointed pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Temple, and the mission Church of Cameron was placed under his jurisdiction. Lennarth realized the need for a church because of the increasing enrollment. The brick church was completed in 1890, and placed under the tutelage of St. Anthony of Padua, but no records exists of the church being dedicated. In 1896, St. Anthony’s School was established and operated in the church building until classrooms were built in 1904.
That same year, a new church was built with the goal to have the building completed in time to host the Staats Veriband Convention, or The Catholic League State League Convention. The church was dedicated Dec. 13, 1904. The parish continued to grow during the early part of the 20th Century, and at one point, some Masses were celebrated in the Czech language.
The church burned in 1927, and was replaced by the current building. This building exhibits influences of Palladian and Italian Romanesque architecture, an unusual combination for a Roman Catholic Church in Texas.
The building was designed with a Doric portico, and Lombard Romanesque styled bell tower. The repaired stained glass windows from the burned church were used in the new church, and parishioners or groups bought additional large stained glass windows depicting Biblical scenes.
The two bells in the tower are inscribed, one with “In memory Jos. & Philomena Jistel” while the other reads “Laudo Deum Verum, Plebem Voco, Pestem fugo, Festem decoro, Rev. Geo Apel Pastor.” This Latin inscription translates to: “I praise the true God, I summon the people, I lament the dead, I chase away the pestilence, I embellish festivity.”
--jwilliams@temple-telegram.com
