The Story of St. Victor's Chapel

History (1956-2003)

Before the Chapel existed, the residents of Medina Lake had to travel as far as Bandera, Boerne, or Helotes to attend Mass. When Rev. Charles Schmidtzinsky became pastor of St. Stanislaus in Bandera, Mr. & Mrs. Charles Mazurek saw their chance for a Catholic church closer to home. They inquired about establishing a chapel at the lake. As a result, a meeting was held at Adolph's Store, Medina Lake, on January 15, 1956, with 29 people in attendance; 13 families registered.

The first Mass was celebrated on Sunday, February 12, 1956, in the store, a space of 18'x63', housing the first congregation with an attendance of 61 people. Picnic benches served as the pews. The store was later bought for $3900 from Gilbert and Letha Mazurek.

Since, Fr. Victor had been so supportive of the chapel, permission was granted to name the church after him. The original St. Victor was the first Black Pope and was from Africa. He became Pope in 189 A.D.

Many improvements have been made to the original rock store. The first pews were donated by St. Anthony's Shrine, and later ones were donated by St. Paul's Parish, both of San Antonio. The first vestments were made by Mrs. Florence Mayer, and the first altar furnishings were donated by Mr. & Mrs. H.H. Wagner. The first Call-to-Church bell was donated by Mrs. Helen DeLange. 17 additional lots were acquired by the chapel for future use.

Over the years, we have had several organs for the chapel, but only two organists, Gus Wegmann, who has gone to Lord, and Dorothy Riley who has retired as Music Minister. Since then, Diana & Jeffrey Edwards and family have provided us with music.

In the past years, pavillions have been erected, one of which has been converted to a large air conditioned hall. One new building and a used building have been added to house the growing CCD program, and other uses such as meeting rooms for various committees.

Recently, new windows were installed in the chapel along with new curtains, allowing in more light. All of these improvements have materialized through the benevolence of some of our dearest parishoners. We hope in the future to build a new church since more lots have been acquired to allow for this space.

The Spring Festival, held every year on the first Sunday in June, and the Turkey Supper, held on first Saturday of November, have been a great support for the chapel. We are happy to have Fr. Stanislaw Oleksy with us of late to bring us to where we are today.