DUANE
Duane's take
Here's the story as the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Aransas County. Now settle in, because this one's got more patience in it than most people carry in a lifetime.
Roman Catholic priests were making their way to the Rockport area as early as 1838. Not a church in sight — just priests, traveling, tending to souls in a land that hadn't exactly rolled out the welcome mat with pews and stained glass. That's faith doing the heavy lifting.
Come 1860, the first Mass in the town of Rockport was celebrated — and here's the detail that gets me every time — it was held in the home of County Judge John Hynes. A judge's living room. Services kept right on going there, year after year, the congregation making do with borrowed space and goodwill.
Now, property was deeded to the church in 1871, which sounds like the moment things get moving. But the first actual church building didn't go up until 1889. Eighteen years between owning land and breaking ground — that right there is a congregation that knew how to wait.
And then, that same year, a storm came through and destroyed it. The same year. You almost have to laugh to keep from shaking your head.
But they didn't quit. They built again. That second structure stood and served the congregation all the way until 1954.
Sacred Heart went on to run a parochial school and reach out into the community in ways that go well beyond Sunday morning. Some stories are about a single shining moment. This one's about showing up, again and again, storm or no storm.
What the marker says
Roman Catholic priests visited the Rockport area as early as 1838. The first Mass in the town of Rockport was celebrated in the home of County Judge John Hynes in 1860, and services continued there for a number of years. Although property was deeded to the church in 1871, the first church building was not erected until 1889. It was destroyed in a storm that same year and was replaced by another structure which served the congregation until 1954. In addition to its parochial school, Sacred Heart Church has served the community with many outreach programs. (1991)