Catholicism has had an official home in the Schleicher County city of Eldorado for 100 years. Though records of baptisms date to 1905, Masses were originally celebrated in pastures, homes, public buildings, or churches of other denominations until the first building for Our Lady of Guadalupe Church was constructed in the city’s barrio in1925. Later a larger building was purchased and renovated, with the current church building hosting its first Mass on May 13, 1962.

Though there has been an ebb and flow of membership over the years, things were looking bright at the time of the centennial celebration of the first Catholic Mass in a Catholic church in town. At the beginning of a Mass to mark the anniversary, Bishop Michael Sis said he was “most thankful for the way this parish is coming back to life” after a decided ebb in attendance over the last few years.

In his homily the evening of Sept. 27, Bishop Sis said, “We are celebrating the good things God does through the Holy Spirit,” citing several examples visible in the Eldorado parish. First, the Holy Spirit, called the “giver of life” in the Creed, gives life to the Church. “Now that Father Felix (Archibong) is your pastor,” he said, “this is a time of renewal.” Much like blowing on the coals the next morning to revive a dying campfire, the Holy Spirit is bringing the local church back to its full glory.

The bishop also pointed out other actions done by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps the poor, as seen in the day’s reading of the parable of Lazarus. The Holy Spirit transforms the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, which was given for the first time later in the Mass to two girls receiving their first Communion. The Holy Spirit also fills the faithful with special gifts at confirmation, which was also bestowed in the Mass by the bishop on two young men who are seniors in high school.

Bishop Sis credited current pastor Father Felix Archibong with helping the local renewal at the church. Lucia Guajardo, who moved to Eldorado when she was 6 and began attending Our Lady of Guadalupe when she was 15, has seen “a big difference” since the new pastor arrived in July of this year. “It’s been a blessing for us,” she said. She has three grown children, Jorge Arispe, Luiz Martinez, and Cynthia Cerda (née Arispe). “All had all their sacraments here,” Guajardo reported.

Playing the guitar and leading the music for this special anniversary Mass was Guajardo’s daughter, Cynthia Cerda. Born in 1972, she received her baptism and sacraments of initiation at Our Lady of Guadalupe. She was married in the church in July 1995. Though she lives inLubbock now, Cerda has many vivid memories of the parish in Eldorado. She remembers Father Mark Woodruff, who was pastor of the parish in 1978 and returned to concelebrate the centennial Mass. She was standing in the same spot where she played guitar at the anniversary Mass the first time she saw her husband (and knew she would marry him). She recalls her youth ministers, Deacon Tom and Maxine Giovannitti, who she says “introduced me to the Lord” and taught her to play the guitar — despite not knowing how to play themselves.

She also has many memories of attending Mass with her grandparents, Dionicio and Eliza Fuentes and Miguel and Juanita Arispe, sitting between her grandmothers. In one humorous (in hindsight) event, Cerda remembers her grandmother, while volunteering to clean the church, telling her that the Eucharist would make her holy. Hoping for holiness, young Cynthia took sleeves of unconsecrated hosts home and tried eating them, feeling no holier for the effort. When it came time for her first confession with then-pastor Father Bernard Gully, she fessed up to what she thought she had done: stealing Jesus. While he told her that she shouldn’t take things that don’t belong to her, Father Gully let her know that since the wafers were not consecrated, all she’d stolen was bread. “I fell in love with confession that day,” Cerda said.

One man who has worked closely with many of the church’s pastors is Deacon Victor Belman. He was baptized in the pre-1962 church building and has been a parishioner for over 70 years, the last 21 years as a deacon. “Our numbers have increased,” Deacon Belman said. “With Father Felix’s leadership as our shepherd, it seems like people are wanting to get involved in ministries,” he said. “The youth are starting to come back.” Religious education classes have resumed after a two-year hiatus.

Father Archibong’s start as the parish pastor in July of this year coincided with some diocesan changes in pastoral responsibilities at the church. Previously, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Eldorado had two mission churches: Immaculate Conception in Knickerbocker and St. Peter in Mertzon. Those missions are now assigned to different parishes, and the parish in Eldorado now shares a pastor with St. Ann Parish in Sonora.

Additionally, the church has only one Sunday Mass now, where there used to be a Saturday vigil Mass and a Sunday morning Mass. Even that change has brought greater attendance. According to Deacon Belman, Saturday night used to see 25 or 30 people at Mass, with “maybe 40” showing up on a “good Sunday.” Today, numbers at Sunday Mass are regularly close to 100, and sometimes over.

Father Archibong might just be the right person in the right place at the right time to lead Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish to growth. “He has a special gift when inviting people, motivating them, and keeping them interested and focused on the need at hand,” Deacon Belman said. “He truly is a good shepherd who knows his sheep, and we thank God and Bishop Sis for inviting him to our church community.”

With over 100 years of history, an engaging pastor, a growing flock including plenty of youth, and an influx of members interested in serving in ministries, the next century for the Catholic Church in Eldorado is off to a great start.