History of Holy Trinity Catholic Parish in Big Spring, TX
In 1884: Big Spring, a growing tent city, was a mission parish for Marienfeld (present day St. Joseph’s church in Stanton). Mr. George Bauer deeded a block of land for the church. A small frame church was erected and named St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Services were conducted by Father H.A. Boniface in German, English, and Spanish.
In 1910: a larger church was erected at the cost of $9,000.00 and was named St. Thomas to accommodate the growing need of the area-wide church. At this time, St. Mary’s the original framed building, was moved to 500 Aylesford and was given to the Mexican community and dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. A school, St. Rita’s, was also attached to the church.
In 1916: the Sisters of Mercy opened a school at the St. Thomas basement.
In 1927: St. Thomas was officially named a parish with Our Lady of Guadalupe as its mission.
In 1930: Our Lady of Guadalupe was changed to Sacred Heart. In 1948 an Air Force barrack replaced the Sacred Heart church building.
In 1938: St. Joseph’s Church was built to meet the needs of the Catholic community in Coahoma. The new church building was completed in Coahoma in 1964.
In 1961: To keep up with the continued growth of the Big Spring area, Immaculate Heart of Mary was built on 1009 Hearn Street to accommodate the service people at Webb Air Force Base. Immaculate Heart of Mary had a school until 1984.
In 1972: the new Sacred Heart church was built at 508 Aylesford and replaced the old barrack.
In 1977: Webb Air Force base closed which reduced the population from 35,000 to 25,000.
In February 15, 2008: Bishop Michael Pfeifer consolidated the four churches into one new church, called Holy Trinity Catholic Parish. He named Monsignor Bernard Gully as pastor, and Father Ariel Lagunilla as parochial vicar.
The church in Big Spring began in one location at St. Mary’s church in 1884 and now the church community is again one church at Holy Trinity Catholic Parish. The community of believers are coming together and continuing to grow in our love and acceptance of one another.