About St. Ann - Kosciuszko · Kosciusko, Texas
St. Ann's Catholic Church is a small, historically Polish-American parish serving the rural community of Kosciuszko in Wilson County, Texas, about nine miles south of Stockdale. It belongs to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio and is one of the oldest Catholic parishes in the area, having been founded by Silesian Polish settlers who first arrived in 1880 and dedicated their first church in 1898. The parish remains the spiritual and cultural center of this small Polish community, with 224 families counted at its 1998 centennial. Today the church is administered by Rev. Grzegorz Szewczyk, S.D.S., a priest of the Society of the Divine Savior (Salvatorians), who continues the century-old Polish-Catholic tradition at the rural crossroads on FM 541.
- Established
- 1898
- Patron
- St. Ann (Saint Anne)
- Rector
- Rev. Grzegorz Szewczyk, S.D.S. (Administrator, Society of the Divine Savior / Salvatorians)
- Diocese
- Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio
Why belong here
St. Ann's is a small, welcoming rural parish where Mass is still celebrated in the intimate, traditional Polish-American Catholic style of its founders. The community keeps alive the Silesian Polish heritage through devotion to St. Ann, regular recitation of the Holy Rosary before daily Mass, the Mother of Perpetual Help novena on Tuesdays, and first-Saturday/first-Sunday Eucharistic Adoration. With weekday and weekend Masses, frequent opportunities for Confession, and a tight-knit congregation of farming families in Wilson County, it offers a rooted, multi-generational parish home for Catholics in the Stockdale–Kosciuszko area.
Mass times at St. Ann - Kosciuszko
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 5:00–5:20 PM (before 5:30 PM Vigil Mass)
- Sunday 7:30–7:50 AM (before 8:00 AM Mass)
- First Fridays 5:00–5:45 PM
Adoration times
- First Sundays 7:15–7:45 AM (before 8:00 AM Mass)
- First Saturdays 4:45–5:30 PM (before 5:30 PM Vigil Mass)
History of St. Ann's Catholic Church, Kosciuszko
St. Ann's is one of the oldest Catholic parishes in Wilson County, Texas, with deep roots in the Polish-American immigrant experience. About sixty families of Silesian Poles first settled the area in 1880 and named their community Kosciuszko after General Thaddeus Kosciuszko. The parish's story — school in 1892, first church in 1898, parish cemetery in 1901, Sisters' convent in 1918, enlargement in 1933, and the present modified-Gothic church in 1951 — tracks the growth of this tight-knit rural Polish community.
- 1880 — Sixty Silesian Polish families buy land; community named Kosciuszko
- 1892 — First Polish Catholic school (St. Ann's) opens; Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word teach
- October 27, 1898 — First St. Ann's church dedicated (80' × 40' wooden structure); mission of Czestochowa
- 1901 — Rectory and cemetery established
- 1918 — First convent for the Sisters of Charity built
- 1933 — Parish reaches 146 families; original wooden church enlarged by 25 feet
- 1951 — Current modified-Gothic church built (two sacristies, baptistry, large sanctuary)
- October 25, 1998 — Centennial celebration; parish has 224 families
- 1999 — Texas Historical Commission marker (No. 12311) placed at the church
Polish Heritage and Founders
The parish was built by Silesian Polish immigrants who preserved their language, faith, and devotional traditions for more than a century. Polish choirs and parish societies organized at St. Ann's in the early twentieth century, and parishioners 'continue to practice the traditions of their ancestors,' as the 1999 Texas Historical Commission marker notes. A visit from a delegation from Poland was hosted at the church on June 7, 2012, by Father Franciszek Kurzaj.
- Silesian Polish founding families
- Named for Polish-American hero General Thaddeus Kosciuszko
- First Mass built by the community under Rev. Stanislaus Przyborowski
- Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word staffed the school from 1892
- Polish choir and parish societies active through the 20th century
Parish Leadership and Clergy
The parish is currently administered by Rev. Grzegorz Szewczyk, S.D.S., a priest of the Society of the Divine Savior (the Salvatorians), who is listed as Administrator of St. Ann's. The Salvatorian Fathers have a long tradition of ministry in Polish-American communities in South Central Texas and beyond.
- Administrator: Rev. Grzegorz Szewczyk, S.D.S. (Society of the Divine Savior / Salvatorians)
Devotions
Devotional life centers on the Holy Rosary, recited before every Mass, and the weekly Mother of Perpetual Help novena on Tuesday evenings. First Fridays feature the Anointing of the Sick Mass.
- Holy Rosary before every daily and weekend Mass
- Mother of Perpetual Help Devotion: Tuesdays 7:00–7:30 PM (after 6:30 PM Mass)
- Anointing of the Sick Mass: First Fridays at 6:00 PM
Visit and Contact
St. Ann's is a small rural parish on FM 541 East in Kosciuszko, about nine miles south of Stockdale in Wilson County. Visitors are warmly welcomed at any of the listed Masses or devotions.
- Address: 8161 FM 541 East, Kosciuszko, TX 78160-6554
- Phone: (830) 745-2541
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://www.stannskos.com
- Directions: Hwy 87 to Stockdale, then TX-123 south ~9 miles to FM 541, west ~1 mile
Archdiocese of San Antonio
St. Ann's is a parish of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio, which oversees Catholic parishes across South Central Texas. As a historic Polish-founded rural parish, St. Ann's continues to serve its mission within the Archdiocese.
- Diocese: Archdiocese of San Antonio
- Rite: Roman-Latin
- County: Wilson, Texas
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Stanislaus Przyborowski1898 (church built under his direction)
Then-pastor of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Czestochowa, who oversaw the building of the first St. Ann's church in Kosciuszko while it was a mission of Czestochowa.