DUANE
Duane's take
Well, here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about this place — so let's do it right. After the Texas War for Independence, San Antonio started filling up with new faces. Immigrants from Ireland, Germany, and the Eastern United States were streaming in, and they were Catholic — but they weren't the Spanish-speaking Catholics already rooted in the city.
That distinction mattered. And it caught the attention of a man with the authority to do something about it: the Rt. Rev.
John M. Odin, First Bishop of Galveston. Bishop Odin saw the need to minister to these non-Hispanic Catholics and decided they deserved a church of their own.
So in 1852, land right here at this site was purchased — and not from just anybody. The seller was the heirs of Ambrocio Rodriguez, a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto. There's history already layered into this ground before a single stone was laid.
Three years later, in 1855, Bishop Odin authorized a building project. The man he put in charge was the Rev. J.M.
Dubuis — and Dubuis would go on to become the first pastor of St. Mary's Parish, and later, the second Bishop of Galveston. Not a bad arc for a man tasked with breaking ground.
What they built was something to behold. A stately Gothic church, opened for worship in the middle of 1857, serving both English and German-speaking congregations under one roof. Now, that arrangement wouldn't last forever.
By 1869, St. Joseph's Church had stepped in to assume the ministry for the German Catholics specifically. The years kept comin'.
On July 1, 1884, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate accepted responsibility for St. Mary's, with the Rev. Richard J.
Maloney serving as the first Oblate pastor. And by this point, St. Mary's had grown into something far bigger than just a Sunday congregation.
This place housed a seminary. It ran an early free parochial school — free, mind you, when that was not a given. A major Catholic newspaper was published here.
And the St. Vincent De Paul Society was founded within these walls. That is a lot of living for one church to do.
But then came 1921. The flood — and it didn't just damage the old Gothic church building, it damaged it irreparably. That word matters.
There was no coming back for what had stood since 1857. What rose in its place was dedicated in 1924. Not Gothic this time — Neo-Romanesque.
A different silhouette against the San Antonio sky, but standing on the same ground where Ambrocio Rodriguez's heirs once signed a deed, where Rev. Dubuis once broke ground, where the flood finally had its say. Some sites just refuse to stop being significant.
This is one of them.
What the marker says
After the Texas War for Independence, numerous immigrants, notably from Ireland, German, and the Eastern United States, arrived in San Antonio. The need to minister to these non-Hispanic Catholics prompted the Rt. Rev. John M. Odin, First Bishop of Galveston, to establish a separate church for them. In 1852 land at this site was purchased fromt he heirs of Ambrocio Rodriguez, a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto. In 1855 Bishop Odin autorized a building project, undertaken by the Rev. J.M. Dubuis, who became first pastor of St. Mary's Parish and later second Bishop of Galveston. A stately Gothic church building was constructed and opene for worship in mid-1857, serving both English and German-speaking congregations. (In 1869 St.Joseph's Church assumed the ministry for the German Catholics.) On July 1, 1884, the oblates of Mary Immaculate accepted responsiblity for St. Mary's, with the Rev. Richard J. Maloney as first oblate Pastor. The old church building was also the site of a seminary, an eary free Parochial School, the publication of a major Catholic newspaper, and the founding of the St. Vincent De Paul Society. The 1921 flood irreparable damaged the church building. This Neo-Romanesque structure was dedicated in 1924.