On July 29, 2019, a tragic fire took what was once the largest wooden structures west of the Mississippi River, months shy of its 125th anniversary. The rebuilding effort began right away, beginning with assessment of the damages and early planning efforts as 2019 drew to a close, and a ceremonial groundbreaking allowed Bishop Joe Vásquez to affirm his commitment to rebuilding and bless the site the following September. As of early 2021, site construction is well underway, with an expected dedication in the spring of 2022.
A major part of the loss was the building’s contents, ranging from German hand-carved altars and stations of the cross to Munich stained glass – common elements of churches in German-American settlements, especially in Texas. With 15 generations of German woodcarvers in their patrimony, Albl Oberammergau was the perfect fit to reconstruct the historic furnishings that were lost, while taking the opportunity for collaboration to design custom furnishings (altar of sacrifice, ambo, presidential chair, and font) to match. Albl went one step further, providing a generous offer to replace the previous plaster statuary (some 24 figures in total) with hand-carved, hand-painted, custom wood statues matching the originals from photographs. Below are some progress images from their work, which will draw to a close this fall as items are prepared to be shipped over and stored prior to installation. A special treat for the Christmas season of 2020/2021 was an early deliver of a replacement Nativity scene from Albl’s special collection, which brought joy and excitement for the next stages of the project.
Below are links to photos on the parish’s website, some of which are included in the gallery below. Please consider making a donation to assist with the building fund or contents (furnishings/statuary) here.
