2 of galveston’s oldest catholic cHURCHEs

2 of Galveston’s oldest Catholic churches are St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica and Sacred Heart Catholic Church. St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica at 2011 Chruch St., Galveston, TX 77550 is one of two cathedrals of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica is the mother church of the Catholic Church in Texas, as well as a minor basilica. Along with the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston, St. Mary’s serves more than 1.5 million Catholics living in the archdiocese.

Sacred Heart Church of Holy Family Parish is located at 1302 Broadway St., Galveston, TX 77550. On August 15, 2009, Holy Family Parish became the new parish for all Catholics on Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula.

Sacred Heart Church of Holy Family Parish founding by Daniel Cardinal DiNardo was a result of the devastation created from Hurricane Ike in September, 2008. Holy Family now serves Catholics who were previously served by St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica Parish, Sacred Heart Parish, St. Patrick Parish, Holy Rosary Parish, Mary, Star of the Sea Parish, Our Mother of Mercy Parish, Reina de la Paz Parish, St. Peter the Apostle Parish, and St. Theresa of Lisieux Parish.

1. ST. MARY’S CATHEDRAL BASILICA

In 1840, the Rev. John Timon, the newly appointed Apostolic Prefect of Texas, named fellow Vincentian priest Rev. John Odin, C.M., to be the resident Vice-Prefect of Texas. Fr. Odin embarked from New Orleans on a schooner bound for the Texas coast, arriving in Galveston early in 1841. There he found a community of Catholics eager to build a church for their small congregation.

In the following months, Father Odin procured enough money to begin construction of a wooden-frame church.  He was assisted in this venture by Colonel Michael B. Menard and Dr. Nicholas Labadie, prominent Galvestonians. Colonel Menard is remembered as one of the founders of the City of Galveston.

On February 6, 1842, one month before his consecration as a bishop, Odin dedicated the completed structure to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The small, wooden-frame rectangular building measured 22 feet (6.7 m). Odin, now the Apostolic Vicar of Texas, purchased a five-room cottage as the episcopal residence. Odin also added a small sacristy to the church, and bought thirty benches for the convenience of his parishioners.

Three years later, Bishop Odin purchased 500,000 bricks from Belgium, which were shipped to Galveston as ballast. He would use the bricks in the construction of his dream: a larger, permanent church. The little frame church was moved out into the street, and work on the new St. Mary’s began in 1847. The ceremony of laying the cornerstone took place on Sunday, March 14. Father Timon came to Galveston for the event and preached the sermon before a large crowd. On May 4, 1847, Pope Pius IX approved the establishment of the Diocese of Galveston and named Odin as its first bishop.

On November 26, 1848, the cathedral was ready for dedication.  Once more Father John Timon was chosen as the principal speaker because of his close association with, and his pioneer work in, the diocese.

The cathedral basilica is notable as being one of the few buildings in Galveston that survived the devasting 1900 Galveston hurricane, It had only minimal damage.

 in 1959 the Most Reverend Wendelin J. Nold, fifth bishop of the diocese, asked that the diocese be re-designated the Diocese of Galveston-Houston. This was due to the tremendous growth in the City of Houston. This created a co-capital or “see” city in Houston, and Sacred Heart Church in Houston was named the “co-cathedral” of the diocese. This did not change the status of Galveston as a see city nor St. Mary Cathedral’s place in the diocese.  Since St. Mary Cathedral was the first Catholic cathedral in the state of Texas, and the original Diocese of Galveston encompassed the entire state, it has the distinction of being the mother church of all the Catholic dioceses in Texas.

St. Mary Cathedral was named a Texas state historic landmark in 1968 and a national historic landmark in 1973. In 1979, in recognition of the cathedral’s importance to the community and the state of Texas, as well as the historical impact it had on Catholicism in the state of Texas, Pope John Paul II elevated St. Mary Cathedral to the status of a minor basilica.

2. Sacred Heart Catholic Church

On May 4, 1847, Pope Pius IX designated St. Mary’s Cathedral in Galveston the mother church of the newly established Catholic Diocese of Galveston. The church, rich in architecture and history, was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1968. In 1979, Pope John Paul made the cathedral a minor basilica, an honor bestowed upon selected churches because of their antiquity or historical importance.

In 1870, Bishop Claude Dubuis established St. Patrick Parish to serve the needs of the newly arrived Catholics on what was then Galveston’s west end. St. Patrick’s was destroyed by the 1900 storm, but rebuilt in 1907.

Before the turn of the century, on June 21, 1884, Bishop Nicholas A. Gallagher created a new parish and established Sacred Heart to serve the east end of Galveston. However, Sacred Heart had its beginnings in 1854 when land was donated for a boy’s educational institution. The University Chapel of this institution was the location where the Jesuits held Sacred Heart Parish Mass from 1884-1892. An impressive structure for the parish was built during this time only to be destroyed by the 1900 storm. It was rebuilt and reopened in 1904.

Bishop Gallagher realized the Galveston community was not only growing rapidly, but was becoming highly diversified. Galveston’s African American community was expanding, and in 1889, Bishop Gallagher created another parish, Holy Rosary, to ensure the black Catholics of Galveston were being well served. This was the first black Catholic Church in the State of Texas. As the area moved into the next century, more individuals moved to the Bolivar Peninsula which is connected to Galveston by a 20-minute ferry ride. In the 1950’s the people of Bolivar held raffles, bazaars, and other fundraisers to build a church on the Peninsula. The Diocese purchased the facility from the community and the church was named Our Mother of Mercy.

The population continued to expand and tourism became more prevalent which prompted the creation of St. Theresa of Liseaux Mission in 1994, located near mid-peninsula in an area named Crystal Beach. Galveston, like Bolivar, continued to grow in the 20th century, On August 15, 1964 Co-Adjutor Bishop John Morkovsky expanded west end worship by establishing St. Peter the Apostle Parish. The church was formally blessed and dedicated on September 10, 1967. From St. Peter’s grew the mission Mary Star of the Sea at Jamaica Beach, which was dedicated by Bishop Morkovsky on May 24, 1980. The entire island was thriving and in 1979, Father Danek of St. Patrick led the founding of another mission. The mission, named Reina de la Paz, was initially located at 37th and I. Over a period of years as the mission continued to thrive and grow, it was relocated to a property on 51st street which was dedicated and formally blessed by Bishop Fiorenza .

If you are interested in Galveston history, please see my blog of interesting places to visit in Galveston, the Elegantly Restored Grand Galvez Hotel Galveston TX (mygalvestonrealtor.com) and the charming rosenberg Library, Galveston, TX (mygalvestonrealtor.com). If you love good seafood, see my recent and 6 Best Seafood Restaurants in Galveston (mygalvestonrealtor.com). Interested in seeing Bolivar? Take a ferry ride on the Galveston-Bolivar Ferry to the Bolivar Pennisula. Visit my blog, The Galveston-Bolivar Ferry (mygalvestonrealtor.com) for more information.

Thinking of owning a permanent residence or vacation home in Galveston? Interested in investment property? Visit “Homes For Sale in Galveston” at 6 active listings in galveston, texas usa (mygalvestonrealtor.com). Active listings are updated each week. Call or text me if you would like to schedule a property tour to see any of these homes or if you have further questions.