SHARING THE PAST
Ever wonder about the genesis of Boerne’s first church?
Archived documents yield that on June 24, 1867, a 2.7-acre tract of land, located just 100 yards from the southern boundary of James and Theisen’s original plot of Boerne, was transferred to the Diocese of San Antonio.
It was described as “measuring 120 square varas ... fronting on public square, west of Cibolo Creek in the town of Boerne.”
That public square turned out to be today’s Veterans Plaza, and this documented transaction marked the beginnings of Boerne’s St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church.
The land archives also detail that by November 1867, Boerne’s and Kendall County’s first church had arrived in the form of a rock structure “situated on a hill on which now is built a stone house used (by) Roman Catholic Church.”
Formed out of regional labor, rock and the efforts of a young French deacon, Emile Fleury, St. Peter Catholic Church’s construction in 1867 initially made it one of the few substantial rock community buildings in the region.
Predating the first Kendall County Courthouse (1870) and Boerne’s first rock school (1870s), all three were positively profiled in an 1876 Galveston Daily News article and referred to as the “best of public buildings.”
Due to a dearth of priests, circuit priests tended to the Boerne faithful and the surrounding region, most notably The Rev. Peter Behr, from New Braunfels. The Rev. John Kossbiel’s arrival as second pastor of St. Peter’s in 1876 is well documented as he had the foresight to initiate and maintain its first detailed sacramental records during his two-year tenure.
His record-keeping illuminates those early parish families in or around Boerne who registered for baptism and marriage ceremonies: Schwartz, Nickel, Lenz, Riley, Kaiser, Dukes, Holzinger, Fey, Kneupper, Kunz, Bauman and Wesley. During his first year, Kossbiel baptized 15 Boerne area children.
While Kendall County and Boerne were once administered by circuit priests from other parishes, Kossbiel didn’t just tend to the Boerne faithful, but also served as a circuit priest. His other 1876 posts in the 148-year-old ledger attest to the vast territory he traveled for baptisms (number at each entity): Honey Creek (10), Twin Sisters (4), Fort McKavett (4), Fort Concho (13) and Llano (1).
In 1877, his baptisms included trips to Llano River (1), Mason (3), San Saba City (5), Blanco City (1), and San Angelo/Concho (7). Kossbiel left the parish at the end of 1877.
Although the church’s complex has grown, for 16 decades the original southof- Cibolo Creek church has anchored the hillside and overlooked both our community park — once called Union Park but over time honored as Veterans Park — and Boerne. In 1987 Saint Peter Catholic Church was graced with a Texas Historical Commission Marker and is located at 202 W Kronkosky St. in Boerne.
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