Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church

105 N Wiliam St.

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In 1872, the Rev. Jean Baptiste Teitien was appointed as an assistant pastor at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Victoria. During his stay at St. Mary’s Church, he realized the need for a parish for the German-speaking Catholics. He returned to his native Germany to raise sufficient funds (partly collected and some of his own) to begin building a small carpenter Gothic church with a seventy-five foot spire. In 1875, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church was established on Diamond Hill at the corner of South William and Murray streets, five blocks south of the present church. In August 1887, a storm blew down the spire with the bell tower.

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On December 13, 1905, the Rev. Lawrence Etschenberg assumed the duties of pastor. Under his leadership, improvements were made at the church: electric lights replaced the coal oil lamps, updates began in the parish house, and a debt on the church organ, amounting to $460, was soon paid off.

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On November 9, 1915, a fire broke out and the wood-framed church burned to the ground. Most of the church building and its contents were destroyed. Rev. Etschenberg and the entire congregation soon began to make plans for a new house of worship, working long and hard to raise funds for the new building. They purchased the lot on North William Street from Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Gramann for $700. The groundbreaking for the new church was held on June 1, 1923. The contract price was $41,300 and the result was a brick and mortar Romanesque edifice with two symmetrical towers seventy feet high. One tower houses an 802-pound bell that was donated to the church by Rev. Etschenberg in memory of his

parents.

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You can find additional information on Our Lady of Lourdes in The Historic Homes of Victoria, Volume II, available here online through our SHOP or at the Victoria Preservation, Inc. office.

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