SOMETIMES IT TAKES HEARTACHES TO GET A CHURCH BUILT
BY BILL CHERRY, DALLAS BROKER-REALTOR
972 380-7347
This is St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica. It is the oldest surviving church in Galveston, Texas.
When it opened its doors in 1848, almost all of the Roman Catholics in the state of Texas were served by this new diocese called the Diocese of Galveston. The first bishop was the Most Rev. John Odin.
In 1843, with a group of Ursuline nuns, who had been transferred here from New Orleans, Bishop Odin was charged with building a girl's academy and this fine cathedral. Fr. J.M. Pacquin joined as the cathedral's first rector.
At first things didn't go well with raising the money. And if that wasn't enough, along came the big yellow fever epidemic of 1845. Bishop Odin, Fr. Pacquin and the nuns put the fund raising on hold, so that they could serve those sick with yellow fever.
Wouldn't you know, Fr. Pacquin caught it and died?
But then as a memorial to him and in celebration of his priesthood and his work in Galveston, his family donated and shipped the half million Belgian bricks from Antwerp that were needed to construct the church.
St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica was completed in 1848. Those steeples on the top have guided many ships into the port of Galveston when a storm dis-enabled the big lighthouse that sat off the south shore of the island.
Today this important historical building is showing the signs of serious decay. Water seepage from the dampness of an island city, a new breed of termites called the Formosan termites that rode to Galveston with shiploads of bananas, and a long history of deferred maintenance have caused the toll.
The Diocese of Galveston and Houston has joined parishioners of St. Mary's to raise the money that will be necessary to once again bring it up to snuff. But they are finding that there isn't as much interest in church preservation as they had hoped.
You can read Bill's monthly history columns at www.texasescapes.com
Copyright 2007 - William S. Cherry
All Rights Reserved
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I love it when churches get together to help each other out. This is definately a project that everyone should put their arms around.
Bill- perhaps you can post an address where donations can be sent to?
Missy, I do, too.
A long time ago when I was in graduate school in the teeny college town of Denton, Texas, I was a communicant of a small and somewhat poor Episcopal Church, St. Barnabas'. It was a lovely place to go, and its priest, Fr. Emmit Waits had an enormously powerful brain; he had been a professor at the University of the South, Swanee, Tennessee. I loved learning from him, and we are still friends today. He's in his 80s.
The church burned one night, and within a few days the members were buying lumber and electrical wire and roofing material with our pocketbooks. And little by little, one board at a time, we rebuilt the church all by ourselves.
Of my good fortune to have had many interesting life experiences, that one stands out as one of the most powerful. Like you, I hope Galveston's St. Mary's gets what it needs to get everything back into shape.
Thanks, so much, for your comments.
Rob, that's a great idea!
Donations can be sent to:
Deacon John Pistone
Saint Mary's Cathedral Basilica
2011 Church Street
Galveston, Texas 77550
Such a beautiful church, Bill. I hope they are able to raise enough of the needed funding to restore and save it.
I love the pale colours of the churches in Galveston. Here in Ontario the churches are very beautiful too, however they are built of local gray limestone and many are built out of red clay brick....the materials that were most easy to come by in the 1800s.
It's amazing that the bricks were imported from Belgium for this church ! A true labour of love....
Jo
Bill..it is so sad to see buildings like this deteriorate....Churches are some of the most beautiful architecture we have. It seems of like building a structure for the Lord, gives us permission to build showcasing extravagance and opulence!