FOCUS ON THE BACKROADS: THE SMALLEST CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE WORLD – ST. MARTIN WARRENTON, TEXAS

By 1886 a large number of Catholic families were living in and around Warrenton, Texas.    The priest from near by Fayetteville organized a congregation and visited saying mass in private homes.  In 1888,  Frederick and Helen Spies sold one acre of land to the Catholic bishop on which a church and cemetery were to be built.  Within a year a large building was built and named Saint Martin.  The church flourished.  By 1915 most of the Catholics in the area had moved away.  There was the need to build a school in Fayetteville and the Catholic Bishop granted permission to demolish St. Martin Church so that the lumber could be used to build the school.

When the school was completed there was enough lumber left over to build a small chapel at the original site of St.Martin’s Church.  The building is 14 foot 3 inches by 18 foot 1 inch and is now know as THE SMALLEST CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE WORLD.  It contains many of the fixtures, including the alter and tabernacle and statures, from the original church.  There are 12 wooden pews.  Mass is held once a year on All Souls Day.

Some of the early settlers and church members are buried in the nearby cemetery.

St. Martin Church is located off Highway 237 in Warrenton.  It is open to visitors and is worth the stopping for!

 

This little church is like the Little Train that Could…….I think I can.  I think I can.  I think I can.  I know I can.