08/29/2026
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St. Stanislaus Catholic School in Chappell Hill, Texas opened in 1911.
This photo was taken in 1921 and Father Maximilian Budnik is standing in the center on the back row. This building is a second story school built in 1910 and it was remodeled in 1940 into a one-story building. I have identified the priest in the photo as Father Budnik and I determine the date of the photo as 1921. The parish has photos of all the priests and the names of all 55 nuns that have served St. Stanislaus. Also, I attended first grade at St. Stanislaus Catholic School in Chappell Hill, Texas from 1961-1962.
Parochial School: Fr. Francis Nona built the first school in 1910. It was staffed by lay teachers who taught in Polish and in English from 1910 until 1918, under the direction of Mr. Ossowski.
Fr. Tabor submitted a request in 1917 and the Sisters of Divine Providence Arrived in October 1918. They taught 220 students that year. From 1911 to 1962 a total of 55 Sisters taught at the school.
With the shortage of nuns in other cities with large enrollments, Mother A. Amata, Superior General, requested the removal of the nuns. There were only 80 students in eight grades being taught by three sisters of Divine Providence. The parish school closed in May 1962. The children then attended public schools in Chappell Hill and Brenham.
Since the time of closing, the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine classes is held weekly from September through May. Lay teachers have taught religion since the Sisters left in 1962.
The eighth pastor of St. Stanislaus was Fr. John Wesolek, son of Nick and Elizabeth nee Antkowiak Wesolek. Fr. John attended parochial school at St. Mary's Brenham and studied for the priesthood at St. Mary's Seminary in LaPorte, Texas. He was ordained on May 18, 1939. He was "temporarily" assigned to St. Stanislaus in October 1939 and remained for forty-six years, until his retirement of July 5, 1985.
One of Fr. John's first projects was the remodeling of the school in 1940. The school was built on the same foundation, however, it was ground floor only. He also built the fourth rectory in 1957. It was built on the west side of the church and attached to the church with a covered walkway.
Written by Virginia Felchak Hill and supplemented by
Dr. Jim Mazurkiewicz.
Thank you, Dr. Jim!
