Our Lady of Refuge in Refugio, the oldest parish in the Diocese of Corpus Christi, is undergoing a facelift that will be ready for the centennial celebration of the diocese.
The church is 110 years old and has undergone renovations several times.
The parish traces its beginning to January 1795 when Father Manuel Silva, accompanied by soldiers from the mission Espíritu Santo, came to a high spot in the middle of a vast prairie, and near the banks of a small stream selected the site of a new mission. The mission was established to Christianize the Karankawa Indian tribes of the Texas Coastal Bend.
During the decade of 1820-30, the mission was abandoned and allowed to fall into total neglect.
New life came to Refugio with the arrival of Irish immigrants with the empresarios James Power and James Hewetson.
Since its founding, Our Lady of Refuge has had four buildings serve as its church. Two chapels were in the mission. The third church was called “The Rock Church” as it was build with the rock ruins of the mission.
Father B. J. Donada saw the need for a new church when he became the new pastor at Refugio in January 1900. Bishop Peter Verdaguer dedicated the current church in April 1901. The last renovations to the structure were done in 1975.
“We’re sure that all the parishioners of OLR are anxious to see the results of the restoration work that is being done to our church,” Father Philip J. Panackal pastor at Our Lady of Refuge said. “The Renovation Committee has been working diligently to get all the problems resolved that have been facing our church building for several years.”
Father Panackal said the committee knew that more problems would be found as the contractor started work and that has been the case.
One problem uncovered was with the fascia boards at the edges of the roof. Due to problems with the rain gutters, the boards rotted and need to be replaced. There was also a severe rotting problem with the skirts surrounding the bottom of the church, and engineers designed a venting system to keep the rotting problem from occurring again.
A major problem was found when the construction company began work on the confessional on the north side of the church. The door area around the confessional was in very bad shape and the actual north wall was compressing the rotten wood and was sagging badly.
Another problem was found when they examined the confessional structure, which was added onto the north wall about 35 years ago. It was built on top of an existing concrete foundation.
The problem now with the confessional is that the foundation is moving at a different rate than the church and that is literally making the confessional move up and down and tearing it away from the church structure.
On the side of the church, not the main entrance, the same problem is occurring with the concrete that was added when the confessional was moved from the southeast corner to the current location on the north side of the church during the last restoration in the middle 1970s. It is also moving separately from the main church structure and causing leaks and damage. The concrete is trapping water between it and the bottom of the church and causing rotting problems, Father Panackal said.
The committee decided to remove the north side confessional and make another exit to meet safety codes for the church, and then to move the confessional into the south side area that is now an entrance.
Father Panackal said this is actually the way the church was laid out before the last restoration took place in the 1970s.
“These structural changes that were deemed necessary for the ‘health’ of the church structure have caused another increase of over $73,000 for the restoration project and will delay the finish date until September,” Father Panackal said.
The total projected renovation cost has risen to $618,476 from an original estimate of $524,000.
The inside of the church has been repainted and treated, the carpet is ready for installation, the pews have been refinished and the roof is being replaced along with new gutters.
The air conditioning system is being replaced to make it more efficient, and the lighting for the church has been redone.
The stained glass windows will have new high strength clear plastic covers installed on the outside for protection against damage.
“When all the work is finished, it will be a beautiful church again and should last another 35 plus years without any major expenses or problems,” Father Panackal said.