Article featured in The Monitor newspaper on February 11, 2013 regarding Mata-Garcia Architects renovation of Our Lady Of Guadalupe Catholic Church project. Photos and renderings by MGa.
MISSION – Drivers heading down Mission’s main drag in the last few weeks may have missed a familiar landmark
looming above.
Workers took down the dome that
adorns the top of one the area’s oldest churches near Conway Avenue as a part
of the more than $2.5 million project to repair and expand the 86-year-old Our
Lady of Guadalupe Church. Crews removed the three ton dome with a large crane
as students from the church’s Catholic school watched in awe about two weeks
ago, said Father Roy Snipes, the pastor of the congregation.
The old wooden dome had termites,
dry rot and other structural issues that could have caused it to collapse
during strong winds, Snipes said. Without a reason to examine it, church
leaders had no idea the dome was in such bad shape.
“It’s a real blessing (we decided
to expand),” Snipes said. “There were a lot of things in the church that needed
repair we didn't know about.”
The decision to expand came about
after the ornate brick church with many stained glass windows could not support the growing
population. The parish currently hosts eight weekend masses with between 500 to
600 people attending each one.
“We have a lot of new
parishioners, from the old timers to the new ones,” said church member Arturo
Guerra, who was baptized in the church when it first opened and has been a
faithful member since. “At one time I used to know everybody, now I don’t know most of them. They’re all
new.”
With the expansion the church
will be about double the size and able to accommodate up to 1,000 people while
keeping many of the same features.
The first Our Lady of Guadalupe
was built in 1899 as a daughter church to the La Lomita mission, Snipes said.
The wooden Our Lady of Guadalupe burnt down and the brick one was built. The
famous black and white Calvary of Christ picture featuring priests belonging to
the Oblates of Mary Immaculate on horseback was
taken in 1911 on the Our Lady of Guadalupe lot.
“It’s just been a different
process to try to marry a new building to a historic building,” said George
Noser, the owner of Noser Construction, which is completing the project.
The process involved researching
to find the exact same tile to be laid on the new floors, finding very similar
brick, expanding the altar and adding stained glass windows that depict the beginnings of the
Catholic Church in Texas. It also means replacing the wooden dome with one made
of durable fiberglass. The church will have new restrooms, replacing the one
toilet that was only added about 20 years ago.
Snipes said the architect visited
Austin to get recommendations from the Texas Historical Commission on how to add on to the church and keep its
historical integrity intact.
In the end, the small details
that keep the church the same and the big repairs have added up. Initially the
congregation planned to spend about $2 million, which is what had been saved
up, but then they had to borrow additional money from the Diocese of Brownsville.
“I think everyone is going to be
real happy and we’re going to be real broke,” said Snipes as he toured the
construction site with Noser and two of his many rescued dogs.
The goal is to be finished by Mother’s
Day, about a year after the project began, but Snipes said he would be happy
with Father’s Day or even later in the summer as well. He noted that some
brides are eager for the project to finish so they can have weddings in the
church.
Our Lady of Guadalupe has seen
“hundreds and thousands of baptisms and weddings” and Snipes wants to keep
those traditions alive for many years to come.
“The ideal is when you drive up
and walk in you will see what you always saw, it will just be roomier,” Snipes
said.
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Gail Burkhardt covers
Mission, western Hidalgo County, Starr County and general assignments for The Monitor .
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