DUANE
Duane's take
Here's what the official marker has to say, and I'll do my best to do it justice. San Salvador Mission Church, Burleson County — and friend, this one's got roots that stretch all the way across an ocean. San Salvador is a mission of St.
Anthony's Catholic Church, Bryan. And it was named for the patron saint of Cefalù, Sicily — the native village of the Italian immigrants who made their way here in 1894. Think about that for a moment.
You cross an ocean, you find yourself in Texas, and you carry the name of home right along with you. Now, when these families first arrived, there was no church to speak of. So they did what determined people do — they held religious services in their homes.
That went on until 1908, when this community decided it was time. And here's where the story gets good. Those devout families, every one of them, gave cotton from ten field rows — ten rows a family — just to buy the materials.
Then the men rolled up their sleeves and worked six weeks straight to build this church with their own hands. Six weeks. Cotton from the field and labor from the back.
First Mass was said at its Altar in October of 1908. The building was remodeled in 1952, and a new Altar was added in 1965. What started in somebody's front room became something that stands to this day — built on ten rows of cotton and six weeks of sweat.
What the marker says
San Salvador, a mission of St. Anthony's Catholic Church, Bryan, was named for the patron saint of Cefalu, Sicily, the native village of Italian immigrants who came here in 1894. Religious services were held in homes until 1908, when devout families each gave cotton from ten field rows to buy materials, and the men worked six weeks to build this church. First Mass was said at its Altar in Oct. 1908. In 1952 the building was remodeled, and a new Altar was added in 1965.