Father Ralph Jones, priest in charge of Stella Maris, spends a moment of reflection in the chapel, which is most likely the oldest building in the diocese and has remarkable links to the French legacy of Catholicism in the state.

Stella Maris chapel, nestled in a shady grove of oak trees in Lamar, is more than a quaint reminder of the past. It is a testament to the strong faith of a pioneering people and that faith lives on in the community who call the little chapel their church home today.

"We have almost doubled our attendance at Mass," said Father Ralph Jones, who serves as priest in residence at the chapel.

He is proud of the success of the small historic place of worship, which is most likely the oldest building in the diocese.

"We began with a Mass on Sunday. Now we have a vigil Mass on Saturday, daily Mass and daily adoration of the Blessed Sacrament." Many members of the congregation live in the area, while others are weekend visitors and some are winter Texans.

Father Ralph, a cancer survivor, is known throughout the area for his devotion to St Peregrine, the patron of cancer patients. He is sensitive to the needs of all who suffer and makes himself available for counseling.

The chapel is presently adjacent to the historical Lamar Cemetery where many of the early settlers of the community are interred.

It is a beautiful and peaceful spot bound by a white picket fence, but it is not the place where it all began.

Its origins can be traced back to the days of the Republic of Texas. The first bishop of Texas was French born, Jean Marie Odin, who began the legacy of the French propagating the faith in Texas.

Bishop Odin, a Vincentian, was appointed by the Vatican to lead the first diocese of the new Republic of Texas. His diocese encompassed the entire state.

Bishop Odin and subsequent four French bishops are credited with re-establishing Catholicism in Texas. When he arrived, the Franciscan missions were abandoned and in ruins, there were only four priests in Texas. Two of those left. He also found two Irish priests from Kentucky living with a group of American immigrants.

The new bishop stayed at the French Legation in Austin as he worked to secure the titles to the missions from the new Republic of Texas.

In 1841 the Texas Congress passed the Church Bill meant to return the churches and missions to the Catholic Church. Using his French connections he began to bring priests and religious women from France to the diocese to "work in the Mission fields of the Lord."

Eventually over two hundred French missionaries, and nuns, religious and secular arrived. The Ursulines, the Oblates, and the Incarnate Word Sisters were among those who arrived and who had enormous impact on the diocese from founding educational institutions to the health care systems we know today.

With them also came French architects and builders, who put up some of the most significant buildings in the state.

Various documents show that the little chapel at Lamar seems to have had a unique place in the foundation of the new diocese.

Bishop Odin's niece, Harriet Odin, daughter of his brother William, had married James W. Byrne. The couple lived in Lamar with their young son. Incidentally, Byrne was born in Ireland but educated in France. Byrne deeded to the bishop two acres of land on which to build a church.

He is reported to have engaged the services of a French architect by the name of D'Alsure to supervise the building of the shellcrete (a shell aggregate masonary) structure.

Other sources record the building was done by John D'Abadie, a French Carpenter who is listed in the Lamar census of 1850. Much of the work was done by Seth Balleau and his slave Moses Balleau.

Architectural historian Stephen Fox of Rice University refers to the chapel as being a southern vernacular church house. These small houses of worship could be put up fairly easily in areas where resources were scarce.

Many times the local priest had enough training to be able to complete such a building. Dates of the building vary from 1854 or 1859.

Early Lamar resident, Captain Peter Johnson is said to have had his marriage blessed in the chapel "by the priest" in 1854. The couple were devout Catholics, the wife Wilhelmina was also a native of Alsace, an interesting connection with the French.

Peter A. Johnson, grandson of the Captain records that Bishop Odin celebrated Mass in the chapel during his visits to the Byrne family. He related these events to Refugio County historian Hobart Huson who published them in his book A Texas Coastal Bend Trilogy.

The church is also mentioned earlier in other records. In a report sent by Bishop Odin to his superiors in 1847 he records there are ten churches serving Texas. St. Joseph in Refugio County is listed as one, as is Our Lady of Refuge in the same county.

Stella Maris was originally known as St. Joseph and it is believed that is was the same church that is now in Lamar.

A Catholic Directory of 1849 lists St. Joseph along with other area sites as being served by Rev. James Fitzgerald from Victoria.

Though tiny, the chapel holds about 50 people at most. It measures 22 by 38 feet. It has withstood the rigors of storms, abandonment, and neglect. It was badly damaged during the hurricane of 1919 after which it was shuttered and abandoned.

It was not until 1931 that Bishop Emmanuel B. Ledvina undertook to restore it and return it to its former use as a chapel. It remained as a chapel on diocesan property for many years.

Later the Schoenstatt community bought the property. In 1972 Dennis O'Connor donated funds to restore the interior, but it has remained basically the same since the 1931 renovation. However, the Stella Maris chapel did not fit into the Schoenstatt Community's plans as they utilize another style of chapel particular to their devotions. It needed to be moved.

In 1986 The Aransas County Historical Society undertook the moving of the ancient chapel to its new and present location within the town site of Lamar.

The project required significant fund raising on the part of the society to cover the costs of the move and subsequent restoration of the building.

Jackie Shaw the great-great grand daughter of Capt. and Mrs. Peter Johnson was one of the leaders of the project both with recording the history, raising the funds and saving the historic building. She is an active member of Stella Maris today.

Father Gregory Deane, a former pastor at neighboring Rockport was also very involved in saving the structure.

"We were afraid that it would not survive the move," said long-time Lamar resident and Stella Maris parishioner, Jonette Childs, "but it did."

Before its return to the diocese in 2005 the building served as an ecumenical chapel but without a resident congregation it didn't flourish as such. It was given to the Knights of Columbus at Rockport for a time. They eventually returned it to the Diocese of Corpus Christi.

"When I was assigned here, Bishop Carmody told me he hoped that someday it would become like a parish," said Fr. Ralph. "It appears well on the way. You know the chapel doesn't have a confessional, says Fr. Ralph with a twinkle in his eye, I hear confessions at the picnic table under the oak tree. It works out just fine."