Holy Cross Catholic Parish

Many Catholic Czechoslovakian immigrants settled in the prairies near East Bernard in the 1880s, and visiting priests served their religious needs. In 1900 the settlers began establishing a parish by purchasing cemetery property in East Bernard. The first Holy Cross Church, a small frame structure, was built in 1905 by Valentine Kozelsky on two acres of land donated by Jan and Anna Vacek. A rectory was built in 1921 for the first permanent resident pastor, the Rev. Joseph C. Kunc, and Holy Cross Catholic School was organized in 1922. A new church building was constructed in 1925 by R. H. Reese of Eagle Lake to a Spanish Colonial Revival design by Houston architect M. J. Sullivan. It featured a 70-foot belfry and imported Czechoslovakian adornments, including statues, painted copper wall hangings, and 10 large stained glass windows of Roundel design. A new school and convent were built in 1928 in the same architectural style, and the school operated until 1967. The Pioneer Chapel, a model of the original church, was built in 1994. Holy Cross Catholic Church is now the oldest Catholic church in continuous use in Wharton County.

East Bernard, Texas · United States