St. Patrick Catholic Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it — and it's a story worth tellin'. Galveston Island, 1870. The west end of the island was growing fast — real fast — and Bishop C.

M. Dubuis of Galveston knew it. He established a new parish out there to serve the Catholics putting down roots in that fast-growing district.

The congregation was mostly Irish, and so they did what any self-respecting Irish community would do: they named their church for St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. A wood sanctuary went up on the site.

Things were looking good. Then the storms came. The year was 1871, and a new priest named Reverend Laurence Glynn arrived to take up his post.

He arrived, as the marker puts it, a few days after storms had destroyed that wood sanctuary. A few days. The man hadn't even gotten settled and there was nothing left to settle into.

Now that is a welcome. But here's where the story turns. Reverend Glynn didn't pack up and leave.

He rallied the congregation. And that congregation answered. By 1877 — six years of work and will — they had completed an impressive Gothic structure.

The architect was Nicholas J. Clayton, a noted name in his field and, notably, a member of the parish himself. He designed something built to last.

In the 1880s, a parish school was established. The community was taking root, growing deeper. And then came 1900.

The storm of 1900 is the kind of event that changes everything on Galveston Island, and St. Patrick Church was not exempt from what came after. The U.S.

Corps of Engineers mandated that Galveston Island be elevated. And so, between 1905 and 1907, that massive Gothic structure — the one Nicholas J. Clayton designed and the congregation built — was lifted.

Five feet. Onto a new foundation. Just think on that a moment.

They didn't tear it down. They raised it up. The church kept growing in other ways too.

St. Patrick founded two mission churches. Our Lady of Guadalupe Church became its own parish in 1927.

Queen of Peace Church continued on as a mission of St. Patrick. In the late 1980s, the parish elementary schools were consolidated, and the school facilities at St.

Patrick were converted for parish offices, religious education, and social events. From a wood sanctuary that didn't survive its first storm, to a Gothic building that got lifted five feet off the ground and kept right on going — St. Patrick Catholic Church has been a leading Catholic institution for Galveston Island through all of it.

Some things, it turns out, are built to weather whatever comes.

What the marker says

Galveston Bishop C. M. Dubuis established this parish in 1870 to serve Catholics in Galveston Island's fast-growing west end district. A wood sanctuary was built at this site and the mostly Irish congregation named the church for St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The Rev. Laurence Glynn arrived in 1871, a few days after storms had destroyed the sanctuary. He rallied the congregation and by 1877 an impressive Gothic structure, designed by noted architect and church member Nicholas J. Clayton, was completed. A parish school was established in the 1880s. After the storm of 1900 the U. S. Corps of Engineers mandated that Galveston Island be elevated, and between 1905 and 1907 the massive St. Patrick Church building was lifted five feet onto a new foundation. Two mission churches were founded by St. Patrick Church; Our Lady of Guadalupe Church became its own parish in 1927, and Queen of Peace Church continued as a mission of St. Patrick Church. In the late 1980s the parish elementary schools were consolidated. The school facilities at St. Patrick were converted for parish offices, religious education, and social events. The congregation continues its traditional role as a leading Catholic institution for Galveston Island.