St. Mary's Catholic Church Page: 2
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Page 2
its existance is the St. Mary's Catholic Church,
St, Maryts Church, in Marfa Texas, has a history
that dates back to the turn of the century,
in 1895. St. Mary's began as a mission
in the later part of the 19th bntury, The
only established OCtholic (hurch was to be
found in Ft. Davis. Father Maas, pastor of
Ft. Davis parish, would come once or twice a
month to Marfa to say mass for the Cttholics
in the Marfa area. Father Maas was assigned
to work in Marfa, Redford, and the many villages
that then lined the Rio Grande. With
the passing of time the Bishop of San Antonio
sent Father Maas to Marfa to establish a permanent
parish.1
Marfa was then in the San Antonio diocese, presently St.
Mary's in Marfa is in the diocese of El Paso.
In 1895, a building which stood on the site
of the present church, was rented by the Cttholic
population for Mass; however, it was not
used for religious services for three years
being used as a wool warehouse from l895 to
1898. After Fr. Maas left, Father Planchette
came as pastor. After Fr. Planchette three
priests came to Marra. These were: Father Rtcardo,
Father Garriga, presently Bishop of
Qbrpus Christi, and Father Peter Baque. They
were secular priests from the diocese of San
Antonio. During their time, work was begun
on a new rectory, a parish hall and school,
this being in the year 1917.2
As the years went by the school, the hall, and the convent
were established. The picture on the following page shows
the Church in the late 20's before it was completely renovated,
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Hernandez, Lionel. St. Mary's Catholic Church, paper, January 14, 1974; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth39401/m1/3/: accessed June 14, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Marfa Public Library.