Church of the Immaculate Conception - Panna Maria TX
N 28° 57.439 W 097° 53.921
14R E 607315 N 3203756
The Immaculate Conception Church in tiny Panna Maria TX was built in 1875. It is the third church at this site, if you count the 1856 church that burned and the Live Oak trees (still on the grounds) that sheltered the first worshippers in 1854.
Waymark Code: WMF863
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 09/08/2012
Views: 2
Panna Maria (meaning Virgin Mary) is the oldest Polish settlement in the United States.
Panna Maria was founded by Father Leopold Moczygemba, who was born in the Silesian area of Poland. He came to TX in 1852 as a priest assigned to the German colony of New Braunfels. He was struck by how similar the land in Texas was to that of his homeland. He wrote letters back home encouraging his friends and family to leave the dire economic conditions and oppression by the Prussian goverment to start new lives of prosperity and freedom in Texas, as he had seen the German emigrants in New Braunfels do.
Several hundred emigrants, including four of Fr. Moczygemba's brothers, sold everything and made the long journey to Texas. They arrived by boat in Galveston, then had to make their way by ox-cart to San Antonio. Fr. Moczygemba met them there and brought them to the place he had picked out for the settlement in newly-organized Karnes County TX. He named the settlement Panna Maria, which means "Virgin Mary" in Polish.
The emigrants arrived in Panna Maria in late December. They celebrated the first Mass in the community, the Vigil of Christmas, on 24 Dec 1854 under a giant Live Oak tree that still stands today on the church grounds. Several other groups of Polish immigrants from Silesia arrived over the next few years, and the colony began to grow.
Life on the frontier was very hard, though. The emigrants grew angry with Fr. Moczygemba, who they felt had exaggerated the positive attributes of the land and climate. Eventually, Fr. Moczygemba was forced out of Panna Maria. He moved to Detroit Michigan, where he established a Polish Catholic Seminary. He died in Dearborn Michigan in 1891, and was buried on the seminary grounds.
Meanwhile, Panna Maria struggled on. Residents built the Church of the Immaculate Conception, in 1856. When that church burned in 1875, they rebuilt a new, larger church. That church still stands today. They built a school, and businesses. Panna Maria applied for and got a post office (which still operates out of the Snoga store), and persevered.
Panna Maria had always been small, but it almost died out completely in the 20th century. A resurgence of interest in the Polish heritage of Panna Maria began in the mid-1960s. Ten thousand people visited Panna Maria for the millenium celebration of Polish christianity in 1966. That year, the community received a beautiful mosaic of Our Lady of Czestohowa from President Lyndon Johnson. The state of Texas also erected a historical marker to the community.
By 1974 the hard feelings against Fr. Moczygemba had cooled. His body was exhumed from his resting polace in Michigan and reinterred at Panna Maria, under the very Live Oak where he said his first Mass here.
Although bypassed for a papal visit when Pope John Paul II came to San Antonio in 1987, the residents of Panna Maria were invited to a private reception with the Holy Father, himself Polish, who spoke in Polish of how everyone in Poland well knows the history of Panna Maria Texas, the first permanent Polish settlement in the US.
Today Panna Maria retains its rural character, but tourism and events are integral to the town's economy. Several Bed and Breakfasts operate here, and a large new event space has been built. The church operates a small gift shop across the street in the historic Pilarczyk store building.
Type of Church: Church
Status of Building: Actively in use for worship
Date of organization: 12/24/1854
Date of building construction: 01/01/1875
Associated Shrines, Art, etc.: Our Lady of Czestohowa (inside)
Archdiocese: San Antonio TX
Diocese: San Antonio TX
Address/Location:
Farm Road 81
Panna Maria, TX US
78144
Relvant Web Site: [Web Link]
Dominant Architectural Style: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
To log a visit to this waymark, you must post at least one original photo of the site, give the date and a brief description of your visit.