DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just the one passing it along. Now, you want to talk about a place that started in the ruins of something grand and grew into something grander — pull up a chair. It begins in 1882, when the Rev.
Nicholas Gallagher became the third bishop of Galveston. He looked out across his Diocese and noticed something that must have sat with him like a stone in a boot: most of the Roman Catholic priests serving that territory were natives of other states or other countries entirely. Texas was growing, the Church was growing, and the people doing the growing up in the faith — well, they were being served by men who'd grown up somewhere else.
Bishop Gallagher decided to do something about that. He founded St. Mary's Seminary School for Boys, a diocesan seminary aimed at training young Texans for the priesthood.
Now here's where the story gets interesting. The school opened in the fall of 1901, with thirty grammar school-age boys and six seminarians walking through its doors. And where were those doors?
Right here in La Porte, in a building called the Sylvan Beach Hotel — once described as a majestic resort center. Once. Because the year before that school opened, the hurricane of 1900 had come through and heavily damaged the place.
So St. Mary's Seminary was born in a building that had already been knocked down a peg or two. There's something almost poetic about that — new beginnings taking root in a structure that had survived the worst.
The school kept going. Enrollment grew. More facilities had to be built to keep up.
And then came a man who would put St. Mary's on the map in a way Bishop Gallagher might have only dreamed of. The Rev.
James Kirwin served as president from 1911 until his death in 1926, and under his leadership St. Mary's became nationally known for its academic excellence. Nationally known.
A seminary school on the Texas Gulf Coast, built in a storm-battered hotel, earning a reputation that reached clear across the country. And in 1926 — the very year Kirwin died — the seminary was awarded university status, with the right to confer academic degrees. Make of that timing what you will.
Over the years, more than six of its alumni went on to become bishops. The institution eventually relocated to Houston in 1954, and later merged with St. Thomas University in that city.
But here in La Porte, the story didn't just pack up and leave. The chapel — that chapel — continues to serve the members of St. Mary's parish to this day.
The resort is long gone. The seminary moved on. But something stayed.
And sometimes, that's exactly how a story ought to end.
What the marker says
When the Rev. Nicholas Gallagher became third bishop of Galveston in 1882, most Roman Catholic priests in the Diocese were natives of other states or countries. Realizing the need for a diocesan seminary to train young Texans for the priesthood, Bishop Gallagher founded St. Mary's Seminary School for Boys. The school opened in the fall of 1901 with 30 grammar school-age boys and 6 seminarians. St. Mary's Seminary was located at this site in La Porte's Sylvan Beach Hotel, once a majestic resort center, which had been heavily damaged in the 1900 hurricane. Over the years, increased enrollment necessitated the construction of additional facilities. Under the leadership of the Rev. James Kirwin, who served as president from 1911 until his death in 1926, St. Mary's became nationally known for its academic excellence. In 1926, the seminary was awarded university status, with the right to confer academic degrees. Many of its alumni, including more than 6 we became bishops, have served as prominent church leaders. In 1954, the school relocated to Houston and eventually merged with St. Thomas University in that city. The chapel continues to serve the members of St. Mary's parish in La Porte. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986