Immaculate Conception Church in Skidmore once served as a center of rural ministry in Bee County area.
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In May 1900, Bishop Peter Verdaguer confirmed 41 at Immaculate Conception in Skidmore in a crowded church “to which many could not gain admittance,” wrote the Southern Messenger in its May 31, 1900 issue. The congregation had not yet achieved parish status–that would come in 1915–but had already been around for nearly a decade.
Father Tom Goodwin, at left, concelebrated Mass with Bishop Mulvey at Immaculate Conception in Skidmore and St. Francis Xavier in Tynan. Holding the Missal for Bishop Mulvey is Cameron Guerrero. Holding the crosier is Jesse Sabala and holding the bishop’s mitre is Dani Avarado.
Alfredo E. Cárdenas, South Texas Catholic
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On Sunday, May 10–110 years later, Bishop Michael Mulvey made a pastoral visit to Immaculate Conception and its Mission St. Francis Xavier in Tynan, and while the small church was not packed, there was an atmosphere of renewal.
“It has a rich history,” Father Tom Goodwin, administrator of Immaculate Conception, said. “Like all parishes, it has had its ups and downs, but today it is a story of renewal in the country.”
As early as 1893, the Southern Messenger mentions a faith community in Skidmore with pioneer priest Father Ferdinand Joseph Goebbels as its spiritual leader. It had its beginnings at nearby Olmos around 1891. In 1898, Father Goebbels ordered a bell weighing 200 pounds for the church in Skidmore. Six years later, in 1904, he celebrated the first midnight Mass in Skidmore. He preached in Spanish, English and German.
Twelve years after Bishop Verdaguer’s confirmation visit, the Messenger reported that Catholics in Skidmore had become indifferent because they had lost their priest. Not only did they not have a priest for a number of years, they learned that their beloved Father Goebbels tragically perished in a fire at St. Boniface in Corpus Christi early in 1912.
Many men had not been seen in church for some time. But in March 1912 Father Albert Stroebele from Hobson began tending to the flock and the faithful responded. The people surprised Father Stroebele, who traveled 60 miles every other Sunday to celebrate Mass, with “electric lights in church and a new picket fence.”
Two months later they had remodeled the altar, installed a statute of the Sacred Heart and another of St. Anthony, secured an enlarged tabernacle, built a place for exposition and purchased new vestments and banners. That year they had a first communion class of 40.
In 1915, Bishop Paul Nussbaum designated Immaculate Conception a full parish and named Father J.J. Steines as its first resident pastor. A fire in 1928 razed the rectory and the present church was built in 1942. Twenty-five years later, brick was used to cover the church.
For a decade, from 1958-1967, Immaculate Conception did not have a resident priest and the Altar Society maintained the church. In 1967 the priests with the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Holy Family took charge of the parish. In 1983 the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity began to minister to the parish and did so until 2001 when diocesan priests were assigned.
Bishop Mulvey also visited St. Francis Xavier in Tynan, a mission of Immaculate Conception in Skidmore.
Alfredo E. Cárdenas, South Texas Catholic
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Today, the parish has some 120 registered families and an enrollment of 50 students in its Religious Education program. Sixteen young people will be confirmed this year and a like number will make their first communion.
This year the parish will observe its centennial and plans are being developed for a celebration during its feast day on December 8. While the centennial celebration is still months away, Bishop Mulvey paid a visit to Immaculate Conception and St. Francis Xavier on a special day–Mothers Day.
“Special greeting to all your mothers who are here and who are not able to be here, and also in remembrance for those who have died and gone before us in faith,” Bishop Mulvey told the congregation.
He went on to explain the true meaning of love, which is lived by most mothers. Too often, the bishop said “we use the word love loosely” and it loses its meaning. The true meaning of love should not be confused with physical needs or lust. “That’s not love, that’s a distortion,” he said.
“True love is rooted in God; pure love is God,” Bishop Mulvey said. “So love is a sacred reality, whether it is the love between a husband and wife, between a mother and children, the love of children for their mother, it’s a sacred reality.”
He said love takes the initiative, without expecting anything in return, without any interest of getting something back. God does not expect anything from us but love in return. “A mother’s love exemplifies that. Mothers love unselfishly, in most cases, without expectations,” Bishop Mulvey said.
The early apostles, the bishop said, loved everyone. “We’re really not disciples of Jesus if we don’t...love is not true if we don’t at least try to love everyone,” the bishop said.
“Love isn’t something you can buy at the store, it is something we do,” he said.
He cautioned parishioners not to block people out of their lives, but to take the initiative to love people by extending a simple hello and spending time with them. “That is what love is; that’s what our mothers have done for us,” Bishop Mulvey said.
Father Goodwin, who celebrated his 29th anniversary as a priest on Sunday during the bishop’s visit, said that 63 percent of the census area in which Skidmore is located is Roman Catholic. At one time, he said, Immaculate Conception was a center for rural ministry and it can be again. With an active parish council and finance committee, the work at renewal is underway.