The 400-miles-an-hour church

On May 26, 1975, the parishioners of Our Lady of the Assumption parish in Ingleside gathered for the dedication of their new church—a church built by the parishioners’ own hands to be strong enough to withstand any hurricane. This past Friday, August 15, 2025, parishioners gathered on the Feast of the Assumption to give thanks to God on the 50th anniversary of the church dedication and to honor those who helped build it.
 
The Holy Day and anniversary Mass was celebrated by Bishop Michael Mulvey, with the parish’s pastor, Fr. Patrick Higgins, and Monsignor Seamus McGowan, Fr. James Stembler, and Fr. Alex Saenz. During his homily, the bishop described Mary as a model of faith and invited all to live as she did. “I hope that this evening’s celebration will invigorate all of us to relook at our life and to see Mary as the true model of how to live,” he said. “She is there with us and for us. We are not spectators. We are participants in the mystery that is Jesus Christ.”
 
Later in the Mass, Fr. Higgins noted that what made the evening so special was that the church “was built with volunteer support, volunteer labor.” He recalled stories of founding pastor Fr. Charles Doherty knocking on doors to rouse people to build the new church and calling out, “I know you are in there.” “A lot of sacrifices were made,” acknowledged Father Higgins. “Again, we are grateful to all of you.”
 Some of the founding members of the parish: Leonard Untermeyer, Sharon Untermeyer, Nancy Garcia Rogers, Irene Garcia Jones, Father Patrick HigginsAt the conclusion of Mass, bagpiper Roberta Haworth played “Danny Boy” in honor of the late Father Doherty, a native of Ireland, and led the congregation in procession to the parish hall. The Bishop then blessed the parish hall, “now dedicated in remembrance of Fr. Charles Doherty.” A reception followed with brisket and sausage cooked by the Knights of Columbus Council #11570, along with peach cobbler, cake, and cookies. Also helping with the reception were the Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court 2794, the Altar & Rosary Society, and the Guadalupanas.
 
The current church was built after the destruction of the original wooden parish church by Hurricane Celia in August 1970. As described by Fr. Higgins, Fr. Doherty was determined to “build a big church that is not going to blow over” in a storm. Long-time parishioner Leonard Untermeyer, 91, described Fr. Doherty as unceasing in seeking donations and labor to build the new church, reaching out to Catholics and non-Catholics alike. The parish’s oldest parishioner, Irene Garcia Jones, 96, recalled, “We did not just have the parish people, we had the community,” with local businesses donating equipment and “military people” helping as well.
 
“Everyone chipped in,” said Sharon Untermeyer, 86, who cut iron for the foundation among other tasks. “We had to hand-make everything.” Nancy Garcia Rogers, 91, who helped build the church’s cement and steel walls by putting rocks in the wall frame, remembered, “We worked so hard.”
 
The church, built through volunteer labor and donations, was free of debt on completion. Built to withstand hurricane-force winds up to 400 miles per hour, it was dubbed “the 400-mile-an-hour church” in a 1995 Catholic Digest article. But the history of the building of Our Lady of the Assumption Church reveals that the parish’s true strength is the resilience, dedication, and generosity of its parishioners and clergy.