Sts. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church of Shiner

One of the most significant contributions by Christian immigrants to the vitality of the church in North America has been the varied forms of church architecture they brought from their native countries.  The painted churches of Texas are a splendid example.  Their sanctuaries are adorned with a profusion of color and they are part of the valued and continuing legacy of the Czech and German immigrants, mainly Catholic but also Brethren and Lutheran, who settled the frontier towns of Texas from the Gulf Coast to the Hill Country of Central Texas.

This beauty is Sts. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church located in Shiner.  There are between 15 and 20 painted churches in the state, the majority of which are located in Fayette County between San Antonio and Houston.  Most are in tiny towns or small communities.

Once inside the churches you find nearly every surface covered with bright painting, exuberant murals, elaborate foliage trailing the walls and wooden columns polished like fine marble.  Inscriptions on the wall read not in English but in the mother tongue of those who built them, the Germans and Czechs.

When I stopped by the church in Shiner the lights were off in the sanctuary but my camera flash opened the sanctuary to a beautiful array of artistry.  One of my cousins and I are planning a trip to visit some of the other painted churches later this month, hopefully when the bluebonnets are in bloom.

Shiner is a sweet little town of 2,000 people 90 miles east of San Antonio, 125 miles west of Houston, 275 miles south of Dallas, and 40 miles northwest of Smiley.