DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one passin' it along. Let's start before the church even had a building. The year is 1936.
Reverend Francis R. Weber of the Congregation of Holy Cross sits down in the home of a man named William M. Tears, and right there — in somebody's living room — he celebrates the first Mass for what will become Holy Cross Catholic Church.
The first Catholic church in Austin built to serve the city's African-American community. Not in a grand sanctuary. Not with stained glass catching the afternoon light.
In a home. Now, to understand why that moment matters, you have to understand what Austin had done just eight years before. In 1928, the city of Austin laid out what it called a Negro District — south of the City Cemetery, known as Oakwood, east of East Avenue.
The city's intent was to encourage Austin's black citizens to move to that area. And by 1932, most African-Americans in Austin were living in East Austin. So when that congregation gathered in William Tears' home in 1936, they were gathering in a community that had been deliberately drawn together by the city's own hand.
The parishioners didn't wait long to build something permanent. In 1937, they constructed the Holy Cross Church building. And then — as if one institution wasn't enough to carry — they kept going.
In 1940, recognizing the lack of medical facilities available to African-Americans, the church established Holy Cross Hospital. Not just any hospital. The first hospital in Austin to allow black physicians to practice.
It started as a small facility right there on the church grounds, and it eventually moved to a new building on 19th Street, where it served the community all the way until 1989. At the center of that medical mission stood Sister Mary Celine Heitzman, M.D. — one of the first Catholic nuns in the United States to become a doctor. She served as resident physician from 1940 to 1964.
One of the first. In the country. Quietly doing the work.
In 1941, the church established Holy Cross Catholic School, teaching nursery through eighth grade until 1960. And in 1942, Holy Cross extended its reach across the city, establishing Holy Family Catholic Church to serve African-American Catholics in South Austin. And through all of it — the hospital, the school, the second church — the Holy Cross community was shaping something bigger than its own walls.
Its parishioners served in elected office. They guided educational, social, and political issues at the city level and the state level. Among them: the Texas legislature's first black Speaker Pro Tem.
Austin's first black School Board member. All of it flowing from one Mass. One man.
One home. One congregation that refused to stay small.
What the marker says
In 1936, the Reverend Francis R. Weber, CSC, met with African-American Catholics in the home of William M. Tears and celebrated the first Mass for Holy Cross Catholic Church, the first Catholic Church to serve the needs of Austin’s African-Americans. In 1928, the city of Austin laid out a “Negro District,” south of the City Cemetery (Oakwood) in East of East Avenue to encourage Austin’s black citizens to move to that area. By 1932, most African-Americans lived in East Austin. Parishioners constructed the Holy Cross Church building in 1937. In 1942, the church established Holy Family Catholic Church to serve African American Catholics in South Austin. Recognizing the lack of medical facilities to serve African-Americans, the church established Holy Cross Hospital in 1940, the first hospital in Austin to allow black physicians to practice. From a small facility on the church grounds, Holy Cross Hospital moved to a new building on 19th Street, serving the community until 1989. Sister Mary Celine Heitzman, M.D., one of the first Catholic nuns in the US to become a doctor, was the resident physician from 1940 to 1964. The church established Holy Cross Catholic School in 1941 and taught nursery through 8th grade until 1960. The church community significantly supported and guided educational, social, and political issues affecting the city and state, as many of its parishioners served in elected office, including the Texas legislature’s first black Speaker Pro Tem and Austin’s first black School Board member. (2014)