La Lomita Tee by Edgarzilla

For weeks at a time between 1860 and 1899, the priests of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate would travel on horseback ministering to communities in deep South Texas and northern Mexico. The land was dangerous, full of brush and thorn, but their mission was vital. They had been bequeathed the land by a religious French merchant named Rene Guyard “for the propagation of faith among the barbarians.”

It was not “the barbarians”, however, who murdered the priest Pierre Y. Keralum in 1872. The land, the heat, a snakebite and an unfortunate sense of direction took care of that, and his remains would not be found for 10 years. His legacy is the design of the final incarnation La Lomita Chapel, built in 1899 with stones from the surrounding hills after a flood destroyed the original church. In 1908, when Mission, Texas was incorporated, it was named in honor of La Lomita.

110 years later, the church and its bishop Roy Snipes found themselves in the middle of legal battle with the Trump administration, who sought to use the land for his border wall. La Lomita would win that battle, but not before becoming the subject of a right-wing smear campaign led by the devil himself, Steve Bannon. 

Maybe it was its age, maybe it was the Oblates history of indigenous child abuse in Canadian schools, maybe it’s just what happens when teens in the late 90s with no smartphones drive by old churches, but La Lomita would become the subject of a darker myth.  The story goes as follows: in the loneliness of the wild land, the priests broke their vows of celibacy with the nuns that worked the church and sent them away when they became pregnant. The nuns returned after giving birth but worshippers in the area grew suspicious when they heard babies crying. The priests, knowing they would be found out eventually, murdered and buried the babies to avoid being excommunicated. After the great flood of 1899, the bodies of the babies were discovered when the waters receded. Word spread quickly and a mob formed that murdered the priests and ran the nuns off into the wilderness. It’s said that on quiet nights, you can still hear the babies crying in the area and see the spirit of the nuns mourning in the windows of the chapel for their lost children.

Though the myth may have no basis in reality, it does not change the weight of history that presses on this land. La Lomita Historical Park is open 24 hours a day for those willing to visit after dark to see for themselves.

Words by: Ben Salinas

Los Angeles Apparel

Made of 100% USA cotton, this textile is beefy, durable, and absorbent, and is virtually shrink free as a result of garment dyeing. The garment is washed with natural enzymes, resulting in a broken-in feel, just like a T-shirt that was washed or worn for a decade or two. Its special features include its heavy and sturdy feel and combined with a more generous fit (about 1 wider on the flat then a contemporary T-shirt) and higher neck line.

• Unisex
• Made in U.S.A
• 18 Singles 6.5oz/yd²
• 100% Cotton