Aside from the vaguely Road-Warriorish taco stand compound on the east side of the highway and the Caldwell County Courthouse in Lockhart, the journey from Austin to Luling (home of the annual Watermelon Thump) has little to recommend it architecturally. But the rolling Blackland prairie is a sight to see, and the San Francisco Catholic Church is the perfect gateway to that reverie. Located just a tad past the airport on Hwy. 183 and set on a small rise framed by an expanse of grassland, the small and lovely house of worship seems tailor-made for the gathering of the flock: The 1941 Mission Revival building, with its fieldstone facade, rock grotto, and tidy topping bell, is the perfect place for pastoral inspiration. Jam-packed jamaicas and an overflowing Sunday lot attest to a still-vibrant congregation, despite the transition of the little mission's locale from rural enclave to a site seemingly more appropriate for a rest stop. Personally, we prefer to experience it from the highway, with the prairie unfolding behind it, reminding us that we're headed for South Texas.
