Sts. Cyrus & Methodious Catholic Church; Shiner, Texas' Painted Church. (original) (raw)
Texas | Architecture | Churches
Texas Painted Churches
Saints Cyril and Methodius Church
100 St. Ludmilla St., Shiner, Lavaca County
Type: Romanesque Revival
Architect: F. Wahrenberger
Interior paintings by Edmond Fatjo
Date: 1920
Photos courtesy
Saints Cyril and Methodius Church in Shiner
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2003
A red brick rectangular building with cut stone buttresses and buff and gray brick designs. The square tower supports an octagonal spire.
The interior has a vaulted ceiling with pressed metal over the nave. Painted Greek crosses, gold fleur de-lis, and other stencils were used throughout the building. Over the entrance of the apse, a painting of angels resting on clouds surrounds a cloud-supported ciborium.
Beneath the painting, the Latin inscription Ecce Panis Angelorum appears - or "behold the bread of angels." Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane is another focal point. Another mural of angels playing musical instruments is located in the choir loft at the rear of the building.
In 1890 two acres of land were bought for construction of a church. The first wood frame church was completed the following year and was damaged in a tornado in1892. By the early twenties, the congregation had long outgrown the original church and the present church was built near the first. In 1954 the building underwent a restoration and it is believed the interior was painted shortly thereafter. The artist, Edmond Fatjo was trained in Berlin and specialized in painting church interiors.
Source: The Texas Historic Commission's Atlas of Historic Texas Places
Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2004
The church's musical angel mural by Edmond Fatjo
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2004
Another view of Shiner's Saints Cyril and Methodius Church
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, April 2004
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