Historical Information of the Catholic Church in Panhandle, Texas

Panhandle, county seat of Carson County, has been the scene of much Catholic activity in past years. The town was the railhead for the Santa Fe line in 1887 and gradually grew from humble beginnings to a population of 300 by the turn of the century. However, the oil boom which brought so much attention to Borger caused the population of Panhandle to skyrocket. In 1926, Panhandle was second only to Chicago in railway freight tonnage on the Santa Fe Lines.
The pioneer priest, Father David Dunn began saying Mass at Panhandle in 1908 but the town remained but a Mass station until the creation of the Diocese of Amarillo. In the spring of 1927, the Dutch priest, Father J.H. Krukkert, was pastor at St. Francis and his duties carried him to Borger, White Deer and Pampa.

Father Kukkert bought some property and, with a $1,000 grant from the Extension Society, built St. Theresa’s Church.  The original church property was located at the northwest corner of the block east of Main Street and south of Ninth Street.  Bishop Rudolph A. Gerken dedicated the new church on October 23, 1927. Charter members were E.J. Lewis, Sr., R.C. Kunecny, A. J. Weiser, Ike Chidsey, John Kapral, Jim Mclaughlin, Ed Dunnigan, William Hildebrant, Mike Roach, and Mr. and Mrs. Joe Farley.

St. Theresa Catholic Church remained a mission: first of St. Francis, then White Deer, then Amarillo, then Borger and then St. Francis again. Father E.J. Clinton had care of Panhandle from White Deer until 1931 when Bishop Gerken pulled his priests in to teach at Price’s College and go out to parishes on Sundays. Priests from Borger began visiting Panhandle after the former became a parish in 1934. In 1941, Panhandle became technically the mission of St. Francis although the pastor, Father John Steinlage, lived in Panhandle. After Steinlage, Father Joseph Walter continued to stay in Panhandle from 1945 until the new rectory was built at St. Francis in 1948. In 1952, he received an assistant, Father William Hammond, who took up residence in Panhandle. Father Hammond was succeeded by Father J. Arnold Carlson in 1953.

On June 16, 1955, St. Theresa’s was canonically erected as a parish and Father Carlson became the first pastor. In the early 1950’s, a series of events changed the nature of Catholic life in the town. In 1951, Mrs. Rose Gordon deeded to the diocese a two-story home and five acres of land for a diocesan children’s home. She did this in memory of her son, Bernard Gordon, who was killed in a place crash during the Second World War. The home got off to a shaky start. Bishop Laurence Fitzsimon secured the services of two women who wanted to start a new congregation, Sisters of the Infant Jesus of the Holy Face. Soon it came to pass that the proposed order was not founded along the strict guidelines of the Church nor did it show stability and promise for growth needed to handle the home. Through the brief appearance of Father August Buser, the Diocese of Amarillo received the help of the School Sisters of St. Francis who were in Youngstown, Ohio. These Sisters, who had originally been founded in Vienna, Austria, wanted to establish an American house in a new area. They decided to locate in Panhandle and staff the Bernard Gordon Memorial Home for children.

By early 1955, the diocese finished a $150,000 brick home to replace the original children’s home and to accommodate boys and girls. Sancta Maria Convent was also built in 1955. Father Carlson was transferred to Groom on July 1, 1959 and Msgr. Steinlage took his place. He began to make plans for a new church. The present church was dedicated by Bishop John Morkovsky in the spring of 1961. During this time, Msgr. Steinlage also received the assistance of Father Andrew Quante who wished to help in semi-retirement. After the completion of the present church, Msgr. Steinlage went to work for something the diocese needed for some time, a Catholic home for the aged. Donations came in from all over the diocese and construction was finished in early 1963. St. Ann’s Nursing Home was dedicated by Bishop Morkovsky on February 17, 1963. Construction around the parish continued with a Parish Hall completed in 1965 and the Rose Gordon Arts and Crafts Building in 1968.

The parish and diocese mourned the loss of Msgr. Steinlage in August of 1967. He had served the diocese since 1930. Msgr. Monroe J. Matthiesen succeeded Msgr. Steinlage and was pastor from that time until his semi-retirement in 1991. Msgr. Matthiesen continued the building activity with the construction of St. Joseph’s Home for Retired Priests in 1976. Msgr. Matthiesen remained active as the Director at St. Joseph’s Home for Retired Priests, chaplain of St. Ann’s and the chaplain of Sancta Maria Convent. He passed away September 24, 2008.

The Catholic Children’s Home closed in 1994 after years of service to the needy children of the area because it was not able to meet the strict state regulations and guidelines. The Children’s Home was deeded to the School Sisters of St. Francis. The Rose Gordon Arts and Crafts Building was deeded to the parish and is being used today as a center for Faith Formation and a Parish Hall.

Msgr. Matthiesen was succeeded as pastor of St. Theresa’s in 1991 by Father Gary Sides. He celebrated his 25^th anniversary of priesthood on March 17, 1998 with the parish and died May 21, 1998 after a battle with cancer. Father Jim Hutzler was assigned as parochial administrator at that time. Father John Dalton became parochial administrator in August of 2002 followed by Father John Hickey who took his place in June of 2003. Father Mieczyslaw Przepiora became Parochial Administrator in October of 2005 and was named Pastor in November of 2006.

St. Ann’s Nursing Home was closed in 2012 and due to structural issues; the Parish Hall was closed the same year. Both buildings were demolished in 2015.

Father Przepiora was transferred to Immaculate Conception Parish in Vega in July 2016, and Father Marianna Yekkerala was appointed Parochial Administrator of St. Theresa's effective July  19, 2016. When Father Marianna became terminally ill , he returned to his family home in the Diocese of Guntur in South India in 2018, where he died August 27, 2019. 

Father Hrudaya Raju Kondamudi, who is also a native of the Diocese of Guntur S. India, began serving the Diocese of Amarillo in the fall of 2017.  Fr. Hrudaya was appointed Pastor for Sacred Heart (White Deer) and St. Theresa (Panhandle) beginning on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe in November 2018.  

In February 2022, Bishop Patrick J. Zurek gave his blessing for our parish to use the St. Joseph's home for classrooms, priest's office, and meeting space. After months of planning, renovations began in the fall of 2022 to include a large meeting room for 100 people, a commercial kitchen, and handicap accessible restrooms.
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This article was originally written with information collected in 1985 by A.J. Weiser, Dalen Rohan, Sally Haiduk, Angie Beddingfield and Janie Ogletree. Additional information was taken from “The Journey of the Diocese of Amarillo: 75 Years on the Llano Estacado, 1926-2001.”