Our Lady of Visitation Roman Catholic Church was built in 1882 by the Missionary Oblate Fathers of Texas, whose civilizing presence here pave the way for many of the older communities in the Rio Grande Valley on either side of the border between Texas and Mexico.
Although boarded up at this time (2015), the community continues to hope and pray for the restoration of their historic church.
A state historic marker nearby reads as follows:
"OUR LADY OF VISITATION CATHOLIC CHURCH
A rare South Texas snowstorm marked the cornerstone laying ceremonies for this church building, Dec. 29, 1880. The Gothic Revival edifice was constructed of bricks made at nearby El Rancho de Santa Maria, owned by L.J. Hynes, who gave land for the church. Built from plans drawn by Father Peter I. Keralum, O.M.I., the structure was dedicated June 29, 1882. The wooden steeple was blown off during a 1933 hurricane. Residents of Bluetown, Santa Maria, and neighboring communities worshiped here.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark 1972"
While Blasterz were Researching this waymark, we discovered the following newspaper article from the morning edition of the Valley Star in Harlingen TX: (
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"Hope emerges for restoring Our Lady of Visitation
Posted: Saturday, February 7, 2009 12:00 am
Mary Torres/Harlingen Happenings
How many of you have passed the hauntingly beautiful little church on the side of the road on the Old Military Highway in Santa Maria and wondered about its history and current condition? If you have, you are not alone. There are many individuals and groups to whom this church, Our Lady of Visitation, is a precious jewel that must be restored and preserved for future generations as part of the rich history of the Valley.
Our Lady of Visitation Church, with its Gothic-style architecture, was built as a house of worship for the people of Santa Maria, Bluetown and the surrounding community and is part of the Diocese of Brownsville. It is located on property donated to the Catholic Church by L. J. Hynes of Santa Maria from his holdings in the original La Feria land grant of 1776 and built from plans drawn by Father Peter I. Keralum, O.M.I who also was the architect and builder of the Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral in Brownsville. According to historical documents, the first cornerstone for the church was laid on Dec. 29, 1880, during a rare South Texas snowstorm. The building was constructed by local people under supervision of the "Monks on Horseback," the Oblate Fathers of Mary Immaculate, a missionary order of the Catholic Church, utilizing bricks made at the nearby El Rancho De Santa Maria and wood that came from trees along the Rio Grande River.
The church was completed in 1882 and fell into disrepair in the early 1900s due to a shift in population one mile to the west. It was rededicated on Dec. 1, 1907. In 1968, The Quinton Stockwell Chapter of the Daughters of the American Colonists sponsored a State of Texas historical marker for the church. Services were offered until the 1970s. After that the church was open occassionally for tourists and visitors. Mrs. Eddie Gathing McNail and her husband, La Feria residents, served as caretakers of the church until her death in 1991. Over the years time and weather have taken their toll and the church was closed permanently in 1995 for safety reasons.
On Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008, a group of individuals gathered at the church for a memorial service to celebrate its 128th anniversary. The Rev. Thomas Matondo, parish priest, conducted the service which was attended by people from the local community as well as Deacon Salvador Saldivar, Larry Lof, Chair of the Cameron County Historical Commission and Mark Clark, Brownsville artist, who presented two of his paintings that will adorn the church.
This is but a brief glimpse of the fascinating history of Our Lady of Visitation. Many efforts have been made in the past to restore the church.
Presently, The Diocese of Brownsville, The Cameron County Historical Commission, The Brownsville Historical Association, the Sam Maverick Chapter, DAR, the Lt. Thomas Barlow Chapter, DAR and The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution who had a planning session in January, are working with the local communities to restore and preserve the church. The next time you drive by the church you will notice that it now has a new roof that was made possible by funds from a grant received by the Diocese of Brownsville.
The Cameron County Historical Commission, which is making the restoration of this church their major project, will hold its bimonthly meeting at 2 p.m. today (Sunday, Feb. 8, 2009) at the Harlingen Public Library at 410 '76 Drive in Harlingen. The current status of this project and a tentative time frame for completion and rededication of the church will be discussed. Come join us for this meeting and learn what other projects the Commission is working on and how you can help save this part of our Valley history and perhaps learn more about the history of your family as well."
Another interesting newspaper story from the Brownsville Herald about the churches of this area features some details on Our Lady of Visitation, and can be read here: (
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Area churches full of history
By Travis M. Whitehead
ROMA, April 20, 2003 Its Easter Sunday, and some parishioners at Our Lady of Refuge Catholic Church have put in long hours getting things ready for the weeks activities.
The Oblate missionaries are an obscure, but vigorous Catholic order that came to the Rio Grande Valley in 1853 as the Cavalry of Christ. The old churches they founded which includes those at Santa Maria, Roma, Brownsville, and the chapel at La Lomita have a long history interwoven with the tapestry of local ranch life and urban growth fostered by these traveling priests.
So important was the church's role in peoples lives, that ranchers sometimes built churches themselves for the service of the Catholic Church. The church at Toluca Ranch is a testament to the iron will of early pioneers to maintain their spiritual lives amid the toil and adversity of ranch life.
Ramirez and other members of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary are continuing the traditions of service to the Catholic Church and the community that was begun more than a century ago by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
"They would go to the ranches by horseback," said 92-year-old Evita Ramirez. "The cornerstone of our church, Our Lady of Refuge Church, was laid the 18th of September, 1854. The people at that time were not as pious as they are today. They didnt have continued service like we have today. The priests were passing by."
However, respect for priests was still paramount.
"People always considered them divine representatives," Ramirez said. "The people then were very respectful."
Valley churches were an important part of the community in the early days, said Glenn Housley, another local historian.
"They had a totally different meaning to people than they do today," said Housley, 79, of Weslaco. "There was more reverence, they were more respectful. They (priests) held special masses, weddings, funerals, baptisms and communion.
"It was very important, of course, to the founders of the area."
One of the first structures built after the Roma church was La Lomita, according to L.B. McDonald, 72, of Edinburg. Completed in 1865, it is a simple construction made of rough stone.
"La Lomita was one of the way stops," McDonald said. "It was considered a mission for the people there.
"All the construction in those days was made of sillares stone (compressed caliche) and plaster on the outside."
Many of the other churches built by the Oblates were designed in the Gothic style by the Rev. Peter Keralum, who was a French architect before he joined the priesthood. Keralum designed churches in Roma, Santa Maria, Brownsville and other places throughout the region.
Keralum was a traveling priest who often visited Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, which was built by Antonio Cano in the mid 1800s, according to Canos great-great-great grandson, Manuel Cano of Mercedes.
Antonio Cano built the church on his Campacuas Ranch in northeastern Hidalgo County. The ranch became a center of activity in the 19th century for people who would meet there to sell their livestock, said Manuel Cano, 71.
However, the ranch also became another center of activity for the Oblates, who utilized the church for numerous activities.
"They taught catechism and did marriages and baptisms," Cano said. "They had a big painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe over the altar."
Keralum had spent time at Campacuas Ranch when he left Nov. 12, 1872, on horseback for La Piedra Ranch. He was never seen again, but his remains were found 10 years later by ranchers looking for cattle. It is presumed he lost his way because of his poor eyesight.
Cano said Antonio Canos son-in-law, Florencio Saenz, in 1880 took over a part of the property called Toluca Ranch near present-day Progreso. In 1899, he erected a chapel as an act of thanksgiving for finding a well of sweet water at 60 feet, said local historian Fran Isbell, 78, of Weslaco.
"His little Church of Saint Joseph followed plans left by the French Oblate architect-priest, Father Peter Keralum," Isbell said. "Don Florencio and Doa Sostenes (his wife) gave the church an acre of land, reserving only access to the well, to the Roman Catholic diocese through Bishop Peter Verdaguer, in 1905."
The same year Saenz took over Toluca Ranch, the cornerstone for another small Catholic church Our Lady of Visitation Catholic Church was laid at Santa Maria, just a few miles down the river from Toluca Ranch. It was completed in about two years. Isbell said the church was built in Keralums style, although he was already dead.
Santa Maria was a very active community, and the church there became an integral part of peoples lives, Housley said.
"The river came to within half a mile of the church," Housley said. "There was a river port there. The steamboat made regular calls. There were docks for offloading supplies."
The church is also the focus of an interesting tale.
"Theres a story (that) there was a tunnel from the church to the Rabb Ranch across the road to escape from bandits," he said.
Later, however, different forces took their toll on the little church.
"In 1933, the hurricane blew the steeple off of it," Housley said. "And of course that was during the (Great) Depression. It was a long time getting money to put the steeple back on."
Although the Santa Maria and Toluca Ranch churches are no longer active, other churches like Our Lady of Refuge Catholic Church continue to serve the community. The La Lomita chapel is still a popular site for those seeking spiritual renewal.
Keeping the steeple on Our Lady of Refuge Catholic Church in Roma was extremely important to its parishioners when the Rev. Severino Varona decided in 1963 they needed to build a new church.
"He got us involved in building the new church," Ramirez said. "When he came, he said, I am ashamed to see this church. I know you wouldnt have benches like this in your living room."
The parishioners agreed.
"It was very poor," she said. "Everything was so worn. It had been used for so long. The benches were crude, the floor was splintered, you had to step down two or three steps from the main section before getting to the front door."
The new church, she said, is much nicer.
"It has beautiful benches, very wide spacious aisles," she said.
And something more a reminder of the early days of the Oblates in the Valley.
"He decided to let us keep the tower steeple," she said.
The tower a tall, white-painted brick structure with two levels of windows, plus a cupola, a spire and a cross seems to reach toward the bright blue sky as if in homage to all who have served there.
The inside of the tower leads into the small, but spacious church, where long, solid wooden pews sit on a tiled red and blue confetti-print floor. Sunlight pours in through stained-glass windows, depicting renditions of the Pieta, Nativity, Annunciation and other scenes in bright, bold tones of red, blue and purple. Plaques depicting different stations of the crucifixion hang along the beige brick walls.
An older man, taking a few moments from his days labor, steps in, dips his hand in holy water, crosses himself and kneels. He remains there in quiet meditation for a few moments, then continues with his day.
The work of the Oblates is evident even today.
"We have been blessed with an Oblate priest and an assistant," Ramirez said. "Since all these priests were here, weve always had the help of the Oblates."
Ramirez is also a member of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, which was organized in 1948 by the Rev. Frederick Caldwell, to "promote the prayer of the holy rosary."
"This is the 55th year of service to the church," she said. "Every week, the confraternity takes care of preparing the sanctuary of the church for the weekly mass. We bring flowers for special festivals of the church, and we are always doing the cleaning of the sanctuary. Every year, we give it a spring cleaning from ceiling to the floor."
The confraternity isnt the only Catholic organization working for the good of the community.
"Three times a year, theres a special mass for the elderly," Ramirez said. "The Catholic Daughters of America take care of that. They prepare the mass for the elderly from the daycare centers.
"And then the Catholic daughters have favors for them, like scapulars religious emblems we wear on a string that shows we are supposed to have last rites when we die."
Ramirez said she and other confraternity members, and the parish, continue to work for the improvement of economic and social conditions of the community.
"The spirit of the Oblates of South Texas remains alive," Ramirez said. "We continue to nourish the faith in our youth."