Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church
107 N. William Street

In 1872 the Rev. Jean Baptiste Teitien was appointed as an assistant pastor at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Victoria. There he realized the need for a separate parish to serve the area's German-speaking community. He received permission to begin a new church from the Rt. Rev. Anthony Dominic Pellicer, first Bishop of the Diocese of San Antonio, and traveled to his native Germany to collect funds for the construction of a church building. He returned to Victoria with enough money to begin construction, and in 1875 he let the first worship services in the completed building for Our Lady of Lourdes parish. After serving as pastor for sixteen years, Teitien resigned to return to Germany, where he died in 1923. Another minister who served Our Lady of Lourdes was the Rev. F. X. Heck (b. 1864), who succeeded Teitien and left in 1905 to become pastor of St. Mary's Church in Victoria. The original church building was destroyed by fire during the pastorate of the Rev. Lawrence Etschenberg (1870-1946) and was replaced with the current structure in 1924. The history of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church is an important reminder of the cultural heritage of Victoria County.