About St. Mary · Umbarger, Texas
St. Mary's Catholic Church in Umbarger, Texas is a small rural parish of the Diocese of Amarillo serving the farming community of Umbarger in Randall County, Texas. Founded in 1909-1910 by German-American Catholic settlers from the Texas Hill Country, the parish is most famous for the extraordinary interior artwork created by Italian prisoners of war from nearby Camp Hereford in 1945. The current brick church, built in 1929, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and today draws visitors and art historians from across the country. The parish also serves the mission church of Holy Name of Jesus in Happy, Texas, and is led today by Fr. Alvin Tshuma as Administrator.
- Established
- 1909
- Patron
- The Blessed Virgin Mary
- Rector
- Fr. Alvin Tshuma (Administrator)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Amarillo
Why belong here
St. Mary's is a small, historic farming-community parish where the entire congregation knows one another, but it punches well above its weight in beauty and culture. Worshippers find a daily Mass schedule (Sunday plus four weekdays), weekly Sunday confessions, First Friday adoration, First Sunday Divine Mercy devotions, and the parish Totus Tuus summer program for youth. The parish also serves the mission church of Holy Name of Jesus in Happy, Texas. Beyond the liturgy, visitors are welcomed into one of the Texas Panhandle's most extraordinary cultural treasures — the 1945 Italian POW murals, the carved Last Supper, and twelve stained-glass windows — and into beloved parish traditions like the annual German Sausage Festival on the second Sunday of November.
Mass times at St. Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM
Adoration times
- Friday 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM (First Fridays only)
History of St. Mary's Umbarger
St. Mary's parish traces its founding to the wave of German-speaking Catholic families who began moving into the Randall County farming community of Umbarger from the Texas Hill Country around 1902. With the help of Bishop Edward J. Dunne of the Dallas Diocese, the community formed its own parish around 1909-1910 under its original German name, Marienkirche. Father John J. Dolje led the parish for nearly thirty years beginning in 1916, oversaw the construction of the present brick church and rectory in 1929, and is still remembered as the parish's primary founder. In 1927 the bishop of the newly created Amarillo Diocese changed the parish name from Marienkirche to its English translation, St. Mary's.
- Founded c. 1909-1910 as Marienkirche with help of the Dallas Diocese
- Rev. Joseph Reisdorff, first pastor
- Rev. John J. Dolje, pastor 1916–1944
- Current brick church and rectory completed in 1929
- Parish name changed to St. Mary's c. 1927 under the new Amarillo Diocese
The 1945 Italian POW Project
In the closing months of World War II, Italian prisoners of war held at Camp Hereford were transported about 20 miles to Umbarger to decorate the sanctuary of St. Mary's. For six weeks, October through December 1945, nine artists and two helpers worked forty-one days inside the church — painting three monumental murals of the Annunciation, the Visitation, and the Assumption of Mary, carving four angel figures, sculpting a bas-relief of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, carving four altarpieces, painting Marian banners and symbols, and creating ironwork for twelve new stained-glass windows. Their work transformed the drab white walls into a pale-yellow sanctuary with mauve trim and is considered one of the rarest and most extensive examples of POW art in the United States.
- Captain Franco Di Bello, Captain Dino Gambetti, Major Achille Cattanei — principal painters
- Sergeants Caro Santivo and Enrico Zorzi — carved altarpieces and the Last Supper bas-relief
- Sergeants Amedeo Maretto and Antonio Monetti — ironwork for stained-glass windows
- Driver/guard: Army Sgt. John Coyle of Pennsylvania
- Artwork nominated for the National Register of Historic Places in the early 1980s
- Restoration of the murals and Stations of the Cross began in December 2011 by artist Chriss Clifford and a team
Parish Staff and Clergy
The parish contact page lists Fr. Alvin Tshuma as Administrator of St. Mary's. Fr. Tshuma is a native of Zimbabwe, was ordained on July 14, 2012 at Our Lady of Lourdes in Bulawayo, came to the United States in 2019, and serves the Diocese of Amarillo. He describes his hobbies as tinkering with technology, fixing computers, playing guitar, theatre and acting, and being a 'petrolhead' who reviews cars. His ordination theme — 'all we have are five loaves and two fish … bring them here to me' (Matthew 14:17-18) — has guided his ministry.
- Fr. Alvin Tshuma, Administrator
Faith Formation and Youth Ministry
The parish website promotes Totus Tuus, the popular Archdiocese of Omaha-style summer catechetical program for youth, with downloadable bulletin flyer, daily schedule, and registration form available on the home page.
- Totus Tuus summer program — bulletin flyer, daily schedule, and registration form posted on the parish site
Evangelization and Media
The parish website features a Word on Fire embedded video — the evangelization ministry founded by Bishop Robert Barron — indicating that the parish actively promotes Catholic media formation as part of its outreach.
- Word on Fire video featured on the home page
Holy Name Mission in Happy, Texas
St. Mary's Parish also serves the mission church of Holy Name of Jesus in Happy, Texas (317 W Main St., Happy, TX 79042), about 33 miles southeast of Umbarger.
- Holy Name of Jesus, Happy, TX — served by St. Mary's parish
- Holy Name parish established 1910
Fall German Sausage Festival
Each year on the second Sunday of November, St. Mary's hosts the Umbarger German Sausage Festival in the parish hall — a tradition dating to the early 1950s. The festival serves German sausage, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, applesauce, and homemade bread, and at its height drew more than 3,000 attendees. The 2024 (73rd annual) dinner required 2,500 pounds of sausage, 2,500 pounds of sauerkraut, 1,200 pounds of potatoes, 100 gallons of green beans, 80 gallons of applesauce, and 250 loaves of homemade bread. All proceeds go to upkeep of the 1929 brick church. The day's events include a children's train ride, a raffle drawing for donated items, takeout plates, and tours of the 1945 Italian-POW-decorated sanctuary.
- Held annually on the second Sunday of November since the early 1950s
- 74th annual festival held November 9, 2025
- Meals served 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM in the Parish Hall
- Tickets $20 each; uncooked sausage and sauerkraut sold by the pound
- Includes tours of the historic church interior
Contact, Location, and Directions
St. Mary's Catholic Church is located at 22830 Pondaseta Road in Umbarger, Texas, with mailing address P.O. Box 105, Umbarger, TX 79091. From US Highway 60, turn right onto Pondaseta Road to reach the church. The parish office may be reached by phone at (806) 499-3531 and by email at [email protected]. The parish uses Flocknote, Facebook, and X (Twitter) for parish communications.
- 22830 Pondaseta Rd., P.O. Box 105, Umbarger, TX 79091
- Phone: (806) 499-3531
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://stmarysumbarger.com/
- Directions: US Hwy. 60, right onto Pondaseta Rd.
- Communications via Flocknote, Facebook, and X (Twitter)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Joseph Reisdorffc. 1910 – c. 1916
Founded the parish under the original German name Marienkirche with the help of the Dallas Diocese; originally tried to name the community Bethlehem.
- Rev. John J. Dolje1916 – 1944
Longest-serving pastor; remembered as the primary founder of the Umbarger church. Led the community for nearly thirty years until his death in 1944; oversaw the name change to St. Mary's (c. 1927) and construction of the current brick church and rectory (completed 1929).
- Rev. John H. Krukkertc. 1945 – c. 1950s
Newly appointed postwar pastor who recruited the Italian POW artists from Camp Hereford in 1945; he offered them 'I can't pay you, but I can feed you.'
- Fr. Daniel Dreher
Referenced as St. Mary's pastor in Houston Chronicle reporting on the Fall German Sausage Festival; described as 32 years old at the time of that article.
- Fr. Alvin Tshumapresent
Current Administrator; native of Zimbabwe, ordained July 14, 2012, came to the United States in 2019; comes from a background in tech and theatre as well as ministry.