Saint Mary's Cathedral

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker at Saint Mary's Cathedral has to say, and friends, this one's worth slowing down for. It starts in 1851, with a letter. The Catholics of Austin put their hopes down on paper and sent them all the way to the Most Reverend John M.

Odin, born in 1801, and at that time the first bishop of Texas. Their message was plain and a little bit plaintive: this city is improving rapidly, and our intentions are to build a church, if we can get a clergyman to stay among us. That last part does a lot of work, doesn't it.

If we can get one to stay. Well, somebody listened. Father Michael Sheehan was sent.

And soon enough, a small church went up on the corner of Ash, which would later be called Ninth Street, and Brazos. The new parish carried the name Saint Patrick's to start. Then, in 1866, the name was changed to Saint Mary's of the Immaculate Conception.

A new name, same faith, same corner of Austin. Now here's where the story picks up steam. In 1874, Bishop Claude M.

DeBuis extended an invitation, and the Holy Cross priests, brothers, and sisters came down from Notre Dame, Indiana, to answer it. They came to establish a school, which is now Saint Edward's University, and to serve at Saint Mary's. According to that 1977 marker, they had by then done so for over a century.

That is the kind of commitment that outlasts the people who made it. Upon their arrival, a new and grander church took shape. The architect was Nicholas Clayton, out of Galveston, and the material was native limestone, pulled from the land itself.

That church was dedicated in 1884. Then, on the Fourth of July, 1886, a two-thousand-pound bell tolled from the tower for the very first time. You want to talk about making an entrance.

Two thousand pounds of bell, ringing out over Austin on Independence Day. The stained glass came later, in the 1890s, shipped in from Germany and France, catching light that had traveled a long way to get to Texas. And in 1947, Saint Mary's was designated the cathedral for the newly-established Diocese of Austin.

That small congregation that once wondered if they could even keep a clergyman in town had built something that would anchor a diocese. From a hopeful letter in 1851, to a cathedral bell swinging in 1886, to stained glass glowing from two continents, to a diocese anchored in 1947. Saint Mary's didn't just stay.

It grew into something the whole city leans on.

What the marker says

In 1851 the Catholics of Austin wrote to the Most Rev. John M. Odin (1801-1871), first bishop of Texas: "This City s improving rapidly and our intentions are to build a church . . .if we can get a clergyman to stay among us." Father Michael Sheehan was sent. Soon a small church was built on the corner of Ash (Ninth) and Brazos Streets. The new parish was called Saint Patrick's, but the name was changed to Saint Mary's of the Immaculate Conception in 1866. In 1874, at the invitation of Bishop Claude M. DeBuis, the Holy Cross priests, brothers, and sisters from Notre Dame, Indiana, came to Austin to establish a school (now Saint Edward's University), and to serve at St. Mary's - as they have now (1977) done for over a century. Upon their arrival, the present church, designed by architect Nicholas Clayton of Galveston, was built of native limestone. It was dedicated in 1884. The 2000-pound bell first tolled from the tower in July 4, 1886. The stained glass windows from Germany and France were added in the 1890s. Saint Mary's was designated the cathedral for the newly-established Diocese of Austin in 1947. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark -- 1977