Parish History

Seminole sprang up in the early 1900s around well discovered by the Seminole Indians. It grew when the railroad arrived in 1924, followed by the oil boom of the 1930s and the arrival of the first Catholics to the area. Catholics had to travel to Hobbs, New Mexico, 32 miles away, for Mass. This required a bus trip and an all-day outing, as the bus did not return to Seminole until evening.

By 1941, the Paulist fathers began saying Mass monthly in the town wherever they could, including the theaters, community center, and funeral chapel. By the late 1940s, a vital Catholic community had developed. They began to plan for a church of their own. In the 1950s, the Pallottine Fathers began visiting Gaines County. By 1955, Seminole was still without a church building, and become a mission of Denver City, served by the Pallottines priests.

Community members donated meat and the women would make tamales to sell to the public. By the mid-1950s, they were selling as many as 1,500 dozen tamales at a time, saving the proceeds. The first Saint James Church was built on 11th and Hobb Highway in 1958, and Mass was first offered by Father Michael P. Walshe on September 7. The Church was formally dedicated by Bishop John Morkovsky on October 5, 1958.

 

In 1966, St James was formally made a parish and pallotine Father James Saly was appointed as the first Pastor. The parish had 75 families registered.

By 1976, the parish boasted 180 families and was outgrowing the original church. A new church was built in 1981. Dedication of the new church building was held on March 10, 1982, with Bishop Leroy Matthiesen officiating. There were 250 families registered.

A rectory was built in May of 1988 for the priest. Soon the parish grew, and in 1991 they replaced a decrepit parish center with a new one that housed classrooms, kitchen, fellowship hall, and a chapel. The new building was blessed by Bishop Michael Sheehan on September 21, 1991.

In 2019 the first statue of Saint James was donated by a Vietnamese Family from our parish (David and Janny Do-Phan and their family). The statue was made in Vietnam and brought from there. On September 25th, 2020, Bishop Robert M. Coerver presided the Feast of Saint James and blessed the statue for public veneration by the faithful.


The former pastor and present pastor of Saint James Catholic Church are:

Rev. Michael Walshe, SAC (1956-1961)

Rev. James McGrath, SAC (1961-1964)

Rev. Thomas Phelan, SAC (1964-1966)

Rev. James Daly, SAC (1966-1974)

Rev. Vincent Condron, SAC (1970-1977)

Rev. Philip McNamara (1977-1978)

Rev. Cornelio Ramirez, SAC (1978-1984)

Rev. Lawrence Perry, SAC (1984-1986)

Rev. Richard Gorecki, SAC (1986-1987)

Rev. Sean Sweeney, SAC (1987-1994)

Rev. Lian Sweeney, SAC (1994-1998)

Rev. John Casey (1998-2001)

Rev. Reynaldo Reyes (2001-2004)

Rev. Hugh Thekkel (2004-2010)

Rev. Paul Karieakatt (2010-2018)

Rev. José de Dios-González (2018- present)

(“Seminole Sentinel, Wednesday April 13, 1994” and “An Illustrated History of the Diocese of Lubbock, 2008”)