NEW PICTURES OF THE DEDICATION MASS POSTED ON RIGHT (click on top photo gallery) ----->
Howdy Ags and friends,
On October 19th of this year Saint Mary's celebrates the 50th anniversary of the dedication of our chapel. Fifty years of masses, holy hours, marriages and ordinations, confessions, prayers asked and prayers answered.
On October 5th, the Bishop Gregory Aymond of Austin, along with his brother bishop Kevin Vann of Fort Worth, celebrated mass and dedicated the new altar of our church. This was a beautiful celebration of 50 years in our church building as well as the completion of our renovations to the church.
Here are some of the changes that have taken place in the past year.
- Leaks in the roof and in a water line have been repaired.
- Work on the leaks that have plagued the bell tower from the beginning.
- Last summer we repaired broken window panes.
- We replaced two rotted exterior doors
- Painted the exterior of the chapel.
- Repaired other woodwork in the interior.
- Painted the interior of the church from ceiling to floor.
- Raised the front altar two steps higher for better sight-lines.
- Put marble tile in the sanctuary of the church.
- Hung new light fixtures.
- Refurbished the ambo.
- Placed niches around both statues.
- New stations of the cross.
- New front altar.
Still left to do:
- Hang the new curtain/screen behind the crucifix.
- Improve the sound system speakers.
- Replace the organ console and system.
- Install handrails outside the church on the front steps.
We worked with a company named Heritage Restoration and Design that specializes in church restoration and design. You can see them at www.heritagerd.com.