Mission church in Riviera: a story of hope and transformation

Father Varghese Ethappiri and Gloria Martinez stand in front of the newly renovated mission church in Riviera. 

Jerry Martinez for South Texas Catholic
 

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Father Varghese Ethappiri, pastor at Our Lady of Consolation in Vattmann, was working to renovate Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission in Riviera, when the cost of construction and materials in south Texas suddenly doubled in price. He asked parishioners to put their heads together to come up with a solution.

Enter a modern day hero to the rescue: Deacon Michael Valenzuela, who not only has a family owned contracting business, Gulf Coast Installations, but he agreed to complete renovations at the mission for a reasonable price.

“The church was on a tight budget and the bids we received were just outrageous. We only had funds for a quarter of the prices quoted, but we got it done for less than a third of the cost,” recalled Deacon Valenzuela. “Our company completed the renovations using what funds we had.”

Deacon Michael Valenzuela is assigned to Our Lady of Consolation in Vattmann.

Born in Corpus Christi, but raised in Riviera, Deacon Valenzuela said it was heartwarming to help restore the mission where he received his sacraments as a child. Deacon Valenzuela is also currently assigned to Our Lady of Consolation in Vattmann.

“Basically, we built a brand new church with new walls, plumbing, air conditioning, ceiling, everything,” Deacon Valenzuela added. “Before our renovations, the church looked the same as when I went there as a child. It was great to see it transformed into something better than its original state.”

A grant from the Kenedy Foundation covered much of the repairs. Parishioners also contributed money to a second collection to ensure the renovations were completed.

“It was important to keep this mission operating because there are families who have not known any other church their entire lives. They grew up here, their families were baptized here, they were married here, but the structure was not safe and we needed to rebuild it almost from the ground up,” Father Ethappiri said.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission was originally built back in 1915. A severe drought and a major hurricane the next year almost immediately destroyed the church, but even over 100 years ago, parishioners were determined to keep the church operating. By 1916, the two natural disasters adversely affected the livelihood of neighboring parishioners and many families moved away.

Over the next several decades, it was decided the church could not sustain itself financially and it became a mission under the direction of Our Lady of Consolation in Vattmann, along with another mission, Sacred Heart in Ricardo.

“The communities surrounding these missions have a special love for their churches. There is a special bond among the parishioners here. Whatever is needed for the church, the community makes sure it gets done, whether it’s new hymnals or a few tables; everyone takes ownership of their mission,” Father Ethappiri noted.

Renovations to Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission were expansive: the ceiling was replaced, along with the pews, new walls were erected, a public restroom was added, along with a small storage area and a sacristy where the priest prepares for Mass and stores vestments.

“The pews look brand new but were actually from St. Gertrude Church in Kingsville and were refinished. The communion railings are original from the first church. And when we pulled up the old carpet during the renovations, we were surprised to see beautiful oak hardwood floors from the original building in 1915,” added Father Ethappiri. “We sanded and varnished them and they are stunning.”

Julia Strubhart was born and raised in Riviera. Her great-grandfather was the architect for Our Lady of Consolation in Vattmann, which was dedicated in 1920.

“All parishioners made bricks from the Baffin Bay sand to help build the inside of the current church in Vattmann. The original church was blown away in 1916 leaving only the bell. It is now located in the bell tower of the current church,” she said.

Strubhart said when they took Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission’s bell to be sandblasted and refurbished, they were surprised to see it was engraved with “1915” on it. Today, the bell is operational again in specially built bell tower next to the church. It is used every Sunday before Mass.

“I live three miles from Our Lady of Guadalupe, and I can clearly hear the bell ring every Sunday at 10:30 a.m.,” marveled Deacon Valenzuela. “So when they ring that bell, everyone in the little town of Riviera can hear it.”

Renovating the mission has rejuvenated attendance at the church, and Strubhart sees this as the first step in building up a community of Catholics for generations to come in this area.

“It’s a real journey of faith for a lot of people who are coming back. Some had gone away to non-denominational churches, and now they are starting to come back, slowly, added Strubhart. “I think it’s about people finding God in their lives again, in a special way.”