DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Tom Green County. Now settle in, because this story's got deep roots — deeper than most folks driving through San Angelo might ever guess. Catholic priests had already been making their way through the Concho River area back in the 17th and 18th centuries.
But modern Catholicism in this part of Texas? That story really begins with the founding of Fort Concho in 1867. A few years after that fort went up, a man named Father Mathurin J.
Pairier — born around 1822, gone by 1888 — started riding out to this stretch of country in 1874. He was caring for Catholics scattered across Fort Concho, Ben Ficklin, and San Angelo. That's a lot of ground for one man of the cloth.
Then, on September 22, 1874, a San Angelo promoter by the name of Bart J. DeWitt made him a donation — a piece of land that would come to be called 'The Catholic Block.' And that name stuck. Now, things moved slowly out here, the way things do when the land itself seems to be watching.
It wasn't until 1882, when the county seat moved to San Angelo, that Father Pairier began making plans for an actual church building on that donated ground. And when that stone edifice finally rose up — completed in 1884, the same year Pairier became resident pastor — it was the first church building in all of San Angelo. They called it Immaculate Conception, and the parish that gathered under that roof was something of a West Texas mosaic: Mexican, English, Irish, and German Catholics, all finding their way to the same pews.
Father Pairier's time ended in 1888, and the second pastor, Father John Sheehan, welcomed in the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word of San Antonio, who wasted no time starting a Catholic school. The community kept growin', kept buildin'. In 1906, a portion of that original Catholic Block was sold, and a new church building went up under the watch of Father Joseph Hoban.
That new church took on a new name too — Sacred Heart. And if you think that's where the story peaks, hold on just a moment. In 1961, Pope John XXIII established the Diocese of San Angelo, and Sacred Heart was named the Cathedral Church.
The mother church for Catholic parishes across West Texas. What started with a land donation on a September day in 1874 grew into something that anchors an entire region's faith. That's the kind of story a stone building holds inside it, if you know how to listen.
What the marker says
Catholic priests visited the Concho River area in the 17th and 18th centuries, but modern Catholicism began after the founding of Fort Concho in 1867. Rafter Mathurin J. Pairier (1822?-1888) began visiting here in 1874. He cared for the Catholics of Fort Concho, Ben Ficklin, and San Angelo. On September 22, 1874, he accepted donation of this land, known as "The Catholic Block," from San Angelo promoter Bart J. DeWitt. After the county seat moved to San Angelo in 1882, Father Pairier began plans for a church building here. Completed in 1884, the year Pairer became resident pastor, the stone edifice was the first church building in San Angelo. Known as Immaculate Conception, the parish included Mexican, English, Irish, and German Catholics. In 1888, Father John Sheehan, the second pastor, welcomed the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word of San Antonio, who started a Catholic school. A portion of the block was sold in 1906 when a new church building was constructed under Father Joseph Hoban. This church became known as Sacred Heart. In 1961 Pope John XXIII established the Diocese of San Angelo with Sacred Heart as the Cathedral Church. It is the mother church for many Catholic parishes in West Texas. (1984)