DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker at St. Mary's Cathedral in Galveston tells it. The city's oldest surviving church has been standing on this ground since 1847, and the story of how it got here is the kind of thing that makes you stop and look up at the stonework a little longer.
The man behind it was the Most Reverend John M. Odin — C.M. — early missionary and the first bishop of Texas. That's a title that carries some weight.
First bishop of an entire state, and he was out here building. Now, a cathedral needs more than ambition. It needs material.
And what made this structure possible was a gift — half a million bricks, shipped all the way from Antwerp, Belgium. Half a million. You think about that crossing the Atlantic, rolling into Galveston harbor, and it starts to feel less like a building project and more like a statement.
The cathedral was built in the Gothic style, and here's what gets you — it's still preserved in that original style today. Then Galveston had its disastrous flood of 1875. The kind of event that reshapes a city, reshapes a people.
And after that flood, the tower of St. Mary's was crowned with a statue of Mary, Star of the Sea. Set her up there above the waterline, above the memory of what the water had done.
And she has withstood the storms ever since. That's not decoration. That's testimony.
Step inside and you'll find fine stained glass windows and rich altars that the marker calls notable features — and they are, but it's that figure on the tower that tends to hold your eye longest. Standing watch over Galveston. Still standing.
What the marker says
City's oldest surviving church. Built 1847 by the most Rev. John M. Odin, C. M., Early missionary, and first bishop of Texas. Gift of half a million bricks from Antwerp, Belgium, made structure possible. Gothic cathedral is preserved in original style. After disastrous flood of 1875, tower was crowned with status of Mary, Star of the Sea, which has withstood storms ever since. Fine stained glass windows and rich altars are notable features. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967