Church of the Visitation

    On a windy Monday morning, July 29, 2019, a spark from an undetermined source ignited our beautiful, historical church and within an hour the wooden structure had burned to the ground. 
    Shortly thereafter, a building committee was elected by the parishioners and began working with the diocese to construct a new church edifice.  A contractor, K4 Construction, LLC of Waco was secured for the design and building of the church.  K4’s President and owner, Keith Helpert, and his architect, Julie Ellison, along with liturgical consultant Michael Raia of Studio io, worked closely with the Austin Diocese and the building committee to design a new structure that is 9,283 square feet (1,400 larger than the original) which has a capacity of 448 occupants. 
    The building committee, with input from the community, presented a basic set of requirements for the new church in an effort to replicate the old church as much as possible:  it should be in the shape of a cross, contain a wooden floor, stained glass windows, large, ornate altars, two bell towers, a loft, statues and stations.  
    The new design includes all these and incorporates additional area for restrooms and narthex, baptismal font at entry, fire suppression, an expansive plaza, easily accessible handicap parking and fire lane, along with all the updated standard foundation, steel, electrical, air conditioning and plumbing code requirements.
    With initial approval of specifications and costs completed, Bishop Joe Vasquez of the Diocese of Austin broke ground for the building on September 9, 2020.  Final approval was granted in early December of 2020 and construction began January 25, 2021.  The building phase will take approximately 14 months and parishioners hope to be attending Mass in the new church by the summer of 2022.