We’d been to the POW chapel, about 25 miles from this church, earlier in the afternoon. It was sad and bleak and was in need of upkeep (but it IS almost 80 years old). But it gave us a space to think about the five Italian prisoners who’d died there, so very far from home.

And in Umbarger, the cool air and the colorful light led us to think about prisoners from that same camp who painted frescoes on the church wall.

It was a day of many contrasts.

St. Mary’s Catholic Church
Umbarger, Texas
photographed 8.4.2024