About St. Catherine · Blanconia, Texas
St. Catherine (formally Saint Catherine of the Angels) is a historic Catholic mission church in the tiny ranching community of Blanconia, in southeastern Bee County, Texas, on FM 2441 (Hwy. 2441) southeast of Beeville. It belongs to the Diocese of Corpus Christi and is currently served from the Tri-Parish Community that includes Our Lady of Refuge and St. James the Apostle in nearby Refugio. According to GCatholic, the community was first organized as a chapel in 1855, became a mission in 1875, and was raised to parish status in 1926; its present-day Saturday evening Mass at 7:30 PM (with confessions 6:45–7:15 PM) keeps alive one of the oldest continuous Catholic presences in the Coastal Bend.
- Established
- 1855
- Patron
- St. Catherine of Alexandria
- Diocese
- Diocese of Corpus Christi
Why belong here
St. Catherine is a small, storied mission with deep roots in the Irish Catholic ranching families of the Texas Coastal Bend — descendants of founders like Thomas O. McGuill and Michael Fox still live in the area. The mission offers the faithful a Saturday evening Mass with confession beforehand, and it stands as one of the oldest Catholic sites in Bee County, surrounded by a pioneer cemetery where the church's founder himself is buried. For visitors exploring the region's history or families tracing McGuill, Sullivan, Fox, Murphy, Lambert and West ancestry, it is a living link to 140 years of Catholic life on Blanco Creek.
Mass times at St. Catherine
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 6:45 PM – 7:15 PM
History of St. Catherine Mission
Catholic life in Blanconia begins in the years just before 1885, when Irish immigrant Thomas O. McGuill donated land along Blanco Creek and built a log chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary at his own expense. McGuill also gave a small plot for a cemetery and was himself the first person buried there. The original congregation included the McGuill, Sullivan, Fox, Murphy, Weir, Dorsey, McGrew, West and Lambert families. As the community grew, McGuill built a second, larger frame church that was enlarged twice and stretched to about sixty feet. In the 1920s a third church — the present building, Saint Catherine of the Angels — was erected on land donated by Michael Fox with funding channeled through the Catholic Extension Society. It was dedicated by Bishop E. B. Ledvina. The mission has been served from Our Lady of Refuge in Refugio for more than a century, and was reassigned to the care of St. James the Apostle (Refugio) after that parish was built for Spanish-speaking Catholics.
- Original log chapel: Our Lady of the Rosary, built before 1885 by Thomas O. McGuill on the bank of Blanco Creek
- Second frame church built nearby and enlarged twice, reaching about 60 feet in length
- Present church (Saint Catherine of the Angels) built in the 1920s on land donated by Michael Fox
- $3,000 donation from Mrs. Catherine Barnard of Detroit through the Catholic Extension Society
- Statue of Our Lady of the Rosary from the original log chapel still preserved in the present church
- Dedicated by Bishop E. B. Ledvina, second Bishop of Corpus Christi
Founding Families & Irish Heritage
St. Catherine was built by and for the Irish Catholic families who settled along Blanco Creek when Texas was still part of Mexico. Their descendants — the McGuills, Sullivans, O'Briens, Bauers, Barbers, McGrews, Lamberts, Wests, Hornys, Haynies, Lockharts, Friedrichses and Murphys — remain in the area, and a McGuill family reunion is held in Blanconia every two years, drawing hundreds of descendants of founder Thomas McGuill.
- Thomas O. McGuill — donor of the land and builder of the first log chapel
- Michael Fox — donor of the land for the present church
- John Sullivan, Dan Murphy, William Weir, John Dorsey, John McGrew, Solomon West, Nicholas and Patrick Lambert — original Irish Catholic parishioners
- Father Martin McGuill — a priest descended from the founding family
The Pioneer Cemetery
When Thomas O. McGuill built the first log chapel on Blanco Creek he also set aside a small plot of land for a Catholic cemetery — and he himself, many years later, was the first person interred there. The cemetery remains on the original parcel adjoining the mission.
- Cemetery established by Thomas O. McGuill with the original 1880s log chapel
- McGuill himself was the first burial
Diocese & Pastoral Care
St. Catherine belongs to the Diocese of Corpus Christi, which has oversight of the mission since the diocese's creation in 1912 out of the old Vicariate Apostolic of Brownsville. Today the mission is pastored as part of the Tri-Parish Community of Our Lady of Refuge, St. James the Apostle and St. Therese of the Little Flower, all headquartered in Refugio and Woodsboro. Father Bill Marquis, a current priest serving the community, is himself a descendant of C.J. McGuill, the longtime Refugio rancher and county employee.
- Diocese of Corpus Christi (est. 1912)
- Tri-Parish Community: Our Lady of Refuge, St. James the Apostle, St. Therese of the Little Flower
- Current cluster priest (Refugio cluster): Father Bill Marquis
Architecture & Building Features
The standing church is the third house of worship on or near the original Blanco Creek site. Built in the 1920s with Catholic Extension Society funding and remodeled by the parish in 1957 at a cost of $2,700, it retains the original 1880s statue of Our Lady of the Rosary inside, a tangible link to the McGuill-era log chapel.
- Third Catholic house of worship at Blanconia
- Built 1920s; remodeled 1957 ($2,700, donated by parishioners)
- Retains original 1880s Our Lady of the Rosary statue
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father E. A. Antoineuntil c. 1890
Served from Our Lady of Refuge in Refugio
- Father T. J. Flynnuntil 1893
Served from Our Lady of Refuge
- Father Joseph Gilman1893
One year at Blanconia mission
- Father H. A. Milmountil 1898
Served from Our Lady of Refuge
- Father A. J. Ylld (of Goliad)c. 1898–1900
Came from Goliad while Refugio was without a pastor
- Father B. J. Donaho (later Msgr.)early 1900s
Pastor of Refugio who also tended Our Lady of the Rosary at Blanconia
- Father Michael Puig1929–1933
Served both St. James (Refugio) and Blanconia
- Father Anthony Easing1933–1936
Served both St. James and Blanconia
- Father John Lucassen1936–1948
Served both St. James and Blanconia
- Father Theodore Kaiseruntil 1949
Served both St. James and Blanconia
- Father Ferdinand P. Strueder
Served both St. James and Blanconia (mid-20th c.)
- Father Stephen Devine
Served both St. James and Blanconia (mid-20th c.)
- Father Donovan
Served both St. James and Blanconia (mid-20th c.)
- Rt. Rev. Msgr. William Henneldied April 4, 1973
Pastored Blanconia alongside St. James, Refugio
- Father Chilen1973
Assistant pastor at Refugio, given charge at Blanconia after Msgr. Hennel