St. Joseph Catholic Church

Duane's take

The way I tell it, I'm drawing straight from the official marker for St. Joseph Catholic Church, right here in Brazos County. Now settle in, because this congregation has been through a thing or two.

Catholic worship services were already being celebrated in Bryan by 1869. That's your starting point. But St.

Joseph Church itself traces its history to the early 1870s, and that first church building went up around 1871. Small parish, active parish. The kind of congregation where everybody knows everybody, and everybody shows up.

The Reverend John Moore is considered the first full-time pastor of St. Joseph Church of Bryan. Now remember that name, because what happened next would have tested the resolve of just about anybody.

In 1876, fire destroyed the church structure. Gone. And when your church is gone, you do what you have to do.

The congregation held worship services in temporary quarters, in a local store building, while they figured out what came next. Picture that, a community keeping its faith alive between the shelves and the dry goods. They kept going.

And in 1883, the congregation purchased the Masonic schoolhouse for five hundred dollars, then converted it into a church at a cost of about twelve hundred dollars. A schoolhouse becoming a sanctuary. That'll do.

Then in 1904, a new frame edifice replaced that converted schoolhouse. The congregation kept growing, and another structure was built at East 26th and Preston Streets to meet them where they were. And still they grew.

In 1960, a new church building was dedicated on that site. From a frontier mission with a few members to a large urban parish with more than sixteen hundred family members. Traditional spiritual activities, social outreach support, programs for members and the community stretching across decades.

That is not a church that burns down and stays down. That is a church that buys the schoolhouse, builds the frame, and keeps right on going. Bryan has known that for more than a century now, and by the look of things, it's going to know it a good while longer.

What the marker says

Although Catholic worship services were celebrated in Bryan by 1869, this church traces its history to the early 1870s. The first church building was erected about 1871 for a small active parish. The Reverend John Moore is considered to be the first full-time pastor of St. Joseph Church of Bryan. Fire destroyed the church structure in 1876. The congregation held worship services in temporary quarters in a local store building until a new location was established. In 1883 the Masonic schoolhouse was purchased for $500 and converted into a church at a cost of about $1,200. In 1904 a new frame edifice replaced the converted schoolhouse. Another structure was built at East 26th and Preston Streets as the congregation grew. A new church building was dedicated here in 1960. Programs have been provided for church members and the community for decades, including traditional spiritual activites and social outreach support. St. Joseph Church has grown from a frontier mission with a few members to a large urban parish with more than 1600 family members. The church continues to have a strong presence in Bryan as it has for more than a century. (1997)