About Blessed Virgin Mary · Washington, Texas
Blessed Virgin Mary is a Roman Catholic mission church in the Post Oak community of Washington, Texas, in Washington County. It is served by Saint Ann Parish in Somerville within the Diocese of Austin and is widely recognized as the oldest African American Catholic community in Texas and the oldest Catholic community in the Diocese of Austin. The mission offers Sunday noon Mass and a monthly Thursday Mass for the farming families of Washington County, with Deacon Limus Sweed as a daily presence and visiting priests from Saint Ann's rotating to celebrate the Eucharist. The parish traces its origins to a log-cabin chapel built in 1847 by the Spann family near the Brazos River and remains a living witness to 175+ years of Black Catholic faith in Texas.
- Established
- 1847
- Patron
- Blessed Virgin Mary
- Rector
- Rev. Uche Obikwelu (Administrator, per public listings)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Austin
Why belong here
Blessed Virgin Mary is a small but remarkably enduring mission community where a visitor can experience more than 175 years of continuous Catholic worship in rural Washington County. The parish is served by Saint Ann Parish in Somerville, with Deacon Limus Sweed as a steady daily presence, so newcomers find a deeply rooted, family-style faith community that has carried the Sweed family and their neighbors through every era since the log-cabin Holy Rosary of 1847. Visiting the mission also means standing on a Texas Historical Commission–marked site — the oldest African American Catholic community in Texas — and worshipping in a community the Diocese of Austin has called 'an example of faith'.
Mass times at Blessed Virgin Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 11:30 AM–12:00 PM
- After Sunday Mass or by appointment
Our Story — The Oldest African American Catholic Community in Texas
Blessed Virgin Mary is a small Catholic mission church in the Post Oak community of Washington County, Texas, with roots that go back to 1847. In that year the Spann family — Catholic migrants from South Carolina — built a log cabin chapel near the Brazos River and named it Holy Rosary. The Spanns catechized the people they enslaved in the Catholic faith; among them were Abraham and Elicy Sweed, founders of the family that still anchors the parish today. As the Diocese of Austin wrote in its 75th-anniversary feature, Blessed Virgin Mary is both the oldest Catholic community in the diocese and the oldest Black Catholic congregation in Texas, now in its 175th year.
- Original chapel: Holy Rosary (a.k.a. Spann's Chapel, Old Spann Chapel), a log cabin near the Brazos River, 1847.
- Origin family: the Spanns of South Carolina, Catholic slaveholders.
- Founding enslaved Catholic family: the Sweeds (Abraham and Elicy Sweed).
- Recognized by Texas Historical Commission as the oldest African American Catholic community in Texas (1996 marker).
Three Churches, One People
The community has worshipped in three successive buildings under two names. After decades in the log cabin Holy Rosary and a long stretch of irregular priestly visits, Father George Elmendorf built a new church on Highway 105 in 1935–36; Bishop Christopher E. Byrne dedicated it as Sacred Heart on May 3, 1936. In 1969, descendants of the Sweed family donated land at Post Oak and a metallic chapel and parish hall went up on Sweed Road. Parishioners renamed the new chapel Blessed Virgin Mary — a name recalled by Deacon Sweed as inspired by Martha Sweed Walker, who had 'seen an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a cloud.' A further new church building was completed in 1995 to serve African American Catholics in the Brenham area, descendants of the original Sweed families.
- 1847 — Holy Rosary (log cabin, near the Brazos River).
- 1936 — Sacred Heart (Highway 105), built by Father George Elmendorf with parishioner labor.
- 1969 — Blessed Virgin Mary Chapel (metallic structure and parish hall) on Sweed Road, Post Oak community.
- 1995 — Current church building completed in Washington to serve the descendants of the original Sweed families.
Priests and Pastoral Lineage
Holy Rosary became the 15th church in Texas to have a priest in residence when Bishop John Odin named Father John Gonnard as pastor in 1854; Father Jean Louis Bussant was the last resident priest before a long priestless stretch. Father Martin Francis Huhn organized a separate African American mission in 1888. Father George Elmendorf built Sacred Heart in the 1930s, and in 1964 Father Robert Mahoney of Saint Ann Parish in Somerville assumed responsibility, beginning a pastoral tie that continues today. After 1987 Bishop John McCarthy organized a rotating team of priests — Fathers Ralph Brennan, Patrick Zurek, Patrick Dougherty, Gregory Patejki and Eugene Shepherd — to keep Sunday Mass present at Blessed Virgin Mary.
- Father John Gonnard (1854) — first resident priest under Bishop Odin.
- Father Jean Louis Bussant (1867–1869) — last resident priest for many decades.
- Father Martin Francis Huhn (1888–1915) — organized the African American mission.
- Father George Elmendorf (1935–36) — built Sacred Heart.
- Father Robert Mahoney (from 1964) — St. Ann's pastor who took over Sacred Heart / Blessed Virgin Mary.
- Rotating team from 1987: Fathers Ralph Brennan, Patrick Zurek, Patrick Dougherty, Gregory Patejki, Eugene Shepherd.
- Father Thaddeus Tabak — celebrated Mass twice a week at the mission in the early 2020s.
Deacon Limus Sweed and the Sweed Family Legacy
The Sweed family — descended from Abraham and Elicy Sweed, who were enslaved by the Spanns — has carried the parish through every chapter of its history. After the last resident priest left in 1869 the Sweed matriarch Elicy Sweed kept the community together by hosting regular rosaries and catechism in her home, and again after Father Huhn's death in 1915 and the burning of Holy Rosary. Today Deacon Limus Sweed Sr. is the daily presence at the mission and the keeper of its memory; he and parish volunteers restored the Spann–Sweed cemetery in the 1990s.
- Abraham and Elicy Sweed — founders of the Sweed Catholic line in Washington County.
- Elicy Sweed — held the community together with the home rosary in the late 1800s and again after 1915.
- Deacon Limus Sweed Sr. — longtime daily presence and parish historian.
- Martha Sweed Walker — longtime parishioner whose reported vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary inspired the parish's current name.
Service With Saint Ann Parish, Somerville
Since 1964 the mission has been closely tied to Saint Ann Catholic Church in Somerville, whose resident pastor took on pastoral responsibility for Blessed Virgin Mary. Today the mission shares Saint Ann's bulletins and is shepherded by visiting priests from that parish, with Deacon Limus Sweed serving as the on-the-ground pastoral presence.
- Served from Saint Ann Parish, Somerville (since 1964).
- Bulletins shared at saintann-somerville.org/bulletins.
Spann–Sweed Catholic Cemetery (Old Catholic Cemetery)
Next to the original Holy Rosary chapel site sits the Old Catholic Cemetery — also called the Spann–Sweed Catholic Cemetery or the Spann Family Catholic Cemetery. Spanns and Sweeds lie side by side there, and Deacon Limus Sweed Sr. along with parish volunteers restored the burial ground in the 1990s. It remains in active use and is in immaculate condition today, marked by the Texas Historical Commission as part of the African American Catholic Community historic site.
- Includes Spann, Sweed, Holy Rosary Church, and Sacred Heart burials.
- Still in use for current burials.
- Restored in the 1990s by Deacon Limus Sweed Sr. and parish volunteers.
Historical Recognition and Heritage
The site is officially recognized as the oldest African American Catholic community in Texas by the Texas Historical Commission, which placed a historical marker (Atlas No. 5477008288) in 1996. The Diocese of Austin also profiled the community in its news service as a 'resilient mission community' and 'an example of faith,' noting the parish's 175-year history. The cemetery is documented under multiple historic names, including Sacred Heart and Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church Cemetery.
- THC Atlas Number 5477008288; Marker Number 8288; Marker Year 1996.
- Featured by the Diocese of Austin as a resilient mission community.
- Marker addresses: 17320–17370 Sweed Road, Washington, TX 77880.
Contact and Stay Connected
Because Blessed Virgin Mary is a mission without its own parish office, day-to-day contact is routed through Saint Ann Parish in Somerville. A community Facebook page also keeps the parish connected with the wider Spann and Sweed family networks.
- Phone: (936) 878-2910
- Fax: (979) 596-2857
- Bulletins and announcements: https://saintann-somerville.org/bulletins
- Facebook: St. Ann Catholic Church – Blessed Virgin Mary TX
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father John Gonnard1854
Named pastor by Bishop John Odin; Holy Rosary became the 15th church in Texas to have a priest in residence.
- Father Jean Louis Bussant1867-1869
Last resident priest assigned to the community for many decades.
- Father Martin Francis Huhn1888-1915
Organized the mission specifically for the African American community in 1888, celebrating monthly Mass in the log chapel.
- Father George Elmendorf1935-1936
Built new church on Highway 105 with parishioner labor; Bishop Christopher E. Byrne dedicated it as Sacred Heart on May 3, 1936.
- Father Robert Mahoneyfrom 1964
Resident pastor of St. Ann Parish in Somerville who took pastoral responsibility for Sacred Heart / Blessed Virgin Mary, beginning the long St. Ann's–Blessed Virgin Mary tie.
- Father Ralph Brennanfrom 1987
Had pastoral responsibility for Blessed Virgin Mary under Bishop McCarthy's rotating-priest plan.
- Father Patrick Zurekfrom 1987
One of the priests who rotated in celebrating Sunday Mass at Blessed Virgin Mary.
- Father Patrick Doughertyfrom 1987
One of the rotating Sunday Mass celebrants; pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Navasota.
- Father Gregory Patejkifrom 1987
One of the rotating Sunday Mass celebrants at Blessed Virgin Mary.
- Father Eugene Shepherdfrom 1987
One of the rotating Sunday Mass celebrants at Blessed Virgin Mary.
- Father Thaddeus Tabakearly 2020s
Celebrated Mass twice a week at the mission; featured in the Austin Diocese article on the community's resilience.