The Texas Painted Churches that Made Oprah’s Must-See List

You know you’ve hit the jackpot when you are endorsed by Oprah. Texas Painted Churches near Schulenburg was featured in the May 31, 2019 issue of O The Oprah Magazine for “50 Ways to Love Your Summer Our State-by-State-Guide”. The article highlights every state in the Union with one or two top attractions to visit for a summer vacation. The Texas Painted Churches were recognized for the state of Texas alongside Gruene Hall as a must-see in the Great State. Fayette County won’t know what hit them.

We booked our private-guided tour of the Texas Painted Churches through the Schulenburg Chamber of Commerce. Schulenburg is a small town with a population of 2,852. We picked up our guide in the morning to start our tour. Nina grew up in Schulenburg and was a delightful, informative chaperon.

*Note: Some of these links are affiliate links, meaning that if you book through my link, I will make a small commission (at no extra cost to you).

The First Czech Settlement in Texas

Dubina, St. Cyril & Methodius Church

First stop: Dubina. This area was settled in 1856 by the Czechs. The word Dubina is Czech for “oak grove”. Once the land was settled, people wrote to their relatives in the homeland to come over. Czechs began arriving in droves and Dubina became the stopover for Czechs coming to Texas.

The Czechs brought with them a deep Catholic faith and in 1877, the first church was finished. St. Cyril & Methodius was established in 1878. The current church was built in 1911 as a hurricane brought destruction in 1909. The churches are unassuming when you drive up to them—typical country churches with a gravel parking lot, trees, and a graveyard nearby. Entering the churches is when you get to witness their glory. All four churches on the tour are Gothic Revival style.

After completion of the current church at Dubina, the interior was painted with frescoes and stencilled for decoration. Dubina has faux marble pillars and 3,000 six-pointed stars on the ceiling. All the altars inside the church are from Europe. The stations of the cross are from Rome.

In 1952, the beautiful stencils surrounding the inside were whitewashed. The tragedy of the whitewash was corrected in 1983 by local artisans bringing the church back to its former splendour. In all, thirteen different stencils were uncovered during reconstruction.

Community is huge in Texas and the parish picnic is on the first Sunday in July. Over 3,000 people show up for fried chicken, sausage, and an auction. Imagine attending one of these picnics. Texas hospitality at its finest.

Sunday mass is at 8:45 a.m.

Resilient Immigrants Built the Texas Painted Churches

Ammannsville, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church

Second stop: Ammannsville. The founders of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church at Ammannsville were 90% Czech. This is the third church to be built in this location as the first was destroyed by a hurricane and the second one by fire. How hardy the early settlers were based on the extreme weather and obstacles they often suffered. The current church was built in 1919 and is the youngest church on the tour.

The stations of the cross inside the church are from Italy. The ceiling resembles an upside-down Noah’s Ark. This church hosts an annual Father’s Day picnic as well.

Small-Town Travel Tip: Stop in between church visits for lunch at Oakridge Smokehouse in Schulenburg. They have an excellent buffet with salads and different barbequed meats. Alternatively, you can order off the menu.

Where the Bell Tolls

Praha, St. Mary’s Catholic Church

Next stop: St. Mary’s Catholic Church at Praha. We arrived at the Praha church at the top of the hour, just in time to hear the bell sound. The ring of a church bell offers a soothing call—an echoing chime reminding you of God’s presence in creation. Music for the soul.

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Praha is the European spelling for Prague. The influx of Czech Catholic families immigrating to Fayette County was high. The original little chapel on these grounds became the first predominately Czech Catholic church in Texas. The congregation quickly outgrew their building. The church you now see was constructed in 1895 and is built of hand-cut, locally quarried stone.

The stained-glass windows in this church are particularly beautiful—simple, elegant designs with all different colours. Pay special attention to the pelican window. The pelican picks his breast to feed the chicks. This is symbolic of the Eucharist where the blood and flesh from God are given to save his children.

Pink and Blue

There are pink and blue angels in the church—the pink on the left side and the blue on the right side. We inquired to Nina why the different coloured angels were on separate sides. She said at one time the purpose was for the women to sit on the left and the men to sit on the right.

Take note of the three grottos outside the church. They are in remembrance of nine soldiers of Praha who lost their lives in World War II. Each grotto pays homage to three different soldiers. At the time, the nine men were 10% of the population of the town—a devastating loss to the community.

The annual church picnic is in August.

Saturday mass is at 4:30 p.m. and Sunday mass is at 8:00 a.m.

The Seventh Most Beautiful Church in the USA

High Hill, St. Mary Catholic Church

Free land brought Germans to the area at High Hill. They were also seeking religious freedom and opportunity in the New World. The parish of St. Mary Catholic Church was originally established in 1860. At first, life in the rugged new country was difficult and people had to travel to neighbouring communities to worship. Consequently, In 1869, the first church was built in High Hill. On September 8, 1870, the church was completed and blessed.

St. Mary’s, as it stands today, is the third church to be built in High Hill on the original nine acres deeded to the church in 1868. September 1906 is when the current church was blessed and the first cornerstone laid. St. Mary’s is in the National Registry of Historic Places and is known as the “Queen of the Painted Churches”.

The Only German Church on the Tour

While the other three churches were Czech, St. Mary’s is German. The architecture is classic Gothic Revival style while displaying late Victorian features and the European background of the German and Czech Moravian settlers.

Note the high altar has 52 red and green votives to light on Christmas Eve and six on the side altars. The church also has faux marble pillars. The use of turkey feathers as paint brushes create unique marble features on the columns. Nina told us St. Mary’s is named as the seventh most beautiful church in the US.

The windows in the church are from Berlin. The original 18 stained-glass windows from the second church are in the present church. All the painting on the walls of this church are on canvas and began to peel from the extreme heat of a Texas summer. As a result, the church is now air-conditioned and set at a constant temperature year-round to preserve the artwork. Restoration of the peeling ceilings was done with hypodermic needles and special glue.

Each year, St. Mary’s hosts an annual parish feast on Labour Day Sunday. This celebration includes a home-cooked, German-style meal, auction, bingo, dances, rides, and a country store.

Saturday mass 6:30 p.m.

Hats off to Texas Painted Churches

All the churches on the tour provide a relaxed, country atmosphere while reflecting the artistic beauty of the settlers. The parishes and the churches have stood for more than 150 years as a source of hope, strength, and faith to the local communities. The Texas Painted Churches are an outward physical symbol of the pride the settlers have in their home countries, their religion, culture, and heritage.

All pictures in this post are taken by Charlotte, yours truly, as always, unless otherwise stated.