Diocese of San Antonio

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(Sancti Antonii).

Comprises all that portion of theState of Texas between the Colorado and Rio Grande Rivers, except the land south of the Arroyo de los Hermanos, on the Rio Grande, and the Counties of Live Oak, Bee, Goliad, and Refugio. It embraces an area of about 90,909 square miles.

The first religious ministrations in this territory of which we have definite historical information where those of the French secular andregularpriests who accompanied the expedition of La Salle. They entered Matagorda Bay in January, 1685. La Salle built a fort called Fort St. Louis on the spot subsequently occupied by the Bahia Mission; achapel was constructed in the fort, and for two years fivepriests laboured here: FathersZenobius Membré, Maxime Le Clercq, and Anastasius Douay,Franciscans, and Fathers Chefdeville and Cavelier,Sulpicians. They finally abandonedTexas and returned toCanada. Shortly after their departure,Franciscans from the apostolic school ofQuerétaro andZacatecas founded missions on the Rio Grande. The pioneerSpanishpriest was theFranciscan Father Damian Mazanet, who accompanied the expedition of Alonzo de León in 1689. He found the field so promising that he invoked the help of the civil andecclesiastical authorities to establish a permanent mission beyond the Rio Grande. In 1690 Father Mazanet crossed the Rio Grande, accompanied by Fathers Michael Fontcubierto, Francis Casanas, Anthony Borday, and Anthony Pereira. The friendly Indians (Asinais) received them withjoy, and the Mission ofSan Francisco de las Tejas was established. In 1691, and again in 1700, additional missionaries arrived from Mexico; four more missions were established, and these were maintained till 1718, when the chief mission was transferred to San Antonio.

In 1703 the Mission ofSan Francisco Solano was established on the banks of the Rio Grande. It was transferred in 1712 to San Ildefonso; thence, in 1713, it was moved to San José on the Rio Grande, and, finally, in 1718 to the San Antonio River, where it was established under the title of San Antonio de Valero. This last move was made by order of the Marquess de Valero, Viceroy of New Spain. The mission was then under the direction of Fray Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares. In the year 1716 ninefriars fromQuerétaro andZacatecas, withFather Antonio Margil de Jesús as superior, established six Missions in the most northerly part of the Province ofTexas, and a few years afterwards another was built near the Presidio of Nuestra Senora del Pilar de los Adayes, seven leagues from the fort ofNatchitoches, inLouisiana. The mission of La Purísima Concépcion was founded in 1716, among the Sanipaos, Tocanes and other tribes. A massive stone church was erected in 1731, and is still in a fair state of preservation and is used for Divine Worship. It is situated one mile south of the present city of San Antonio. In 1729 the King ofSpain ordered four hundredfamilies to be transferred from theCanary Islands toTexas. Fourteenfamilies arrived the next year, and the city of San Fernando was founded near the fort and mission of San Antonio de Valero. Achapel was at once raised, to serve till a properparish church could be built. The two settlements in course oftime became consolidated and the modern city of San Antonio is the result. In 1744 the cornerstone of theChurch of San Fernando was laid, and on 6 November, 1749, the building was dedicated to Divine worship. A portion of this edifice still stands and serves as the sanctuary of the present Cathedral of San Fernando.

The Province ofTexas was subject to thejurisdiction ofGuadalajara till December, 1777, when it became part of the newly-erected Diocese of Nuevo León, or Linares. The Indian missions continued under the care of theFranciscans, many of whom won the crown ofmartyrdom. In 1777 Fray Pedro Ramírez, missionary at San José, was president of all theTexas missions, and by an Indult ofClement XIV was empowered to administer confirmation in all parts ofTexas. On 10 April, 1794, Don Pedro de Nava, commandant-general of the north-eastern interior provinces, of whichTexas formed a part, published adecree by which all the missions within hisjurisdiction were secularized. Nevertheless theFranciscans in many instances remained aspastors, though they received theirjurisdiction from thebishop, like otherparishpriests. Their missions subsisted in a flourishing state till about 1813, when they were suppressed by the Spanish Government, and the Indians dispersed. In 1839,Gregory XVI established aprefecture Apostolic inTexas and appointed the Very Rev. J. Timonprefect Apostolic. In 1840 theRev. John M. Odin visitedTexas as vice-prefect Apostolic. Through his efforts, warmly supported by the minister ofFrance, de Saligny, the congress confirmed to "the Chief Pastor of theRoman Catholic Church in the Republic ofTexas" the churches of San Fernando, the Alamo (San Antonio de Valero), La Purísima Concépcion, San José, San Juan Capistrano, San Francisco de la Espada, Goliad,Victoria and Rufugio, with their grounds, the latter not to exceed fifteen acres each.

ABull erecting the Republic ofTexas into avicariate Apostolic was published byGregory XVI on 10 July, 1841, and theRight Rev. John M. Odin was appointedBishop ofClaudiopolis and assigned to the vicariate. Religion, which had languished since the secularization of the missions and the departure of theFranciscanmonks, now began to revive. New churches were built, and some of the old mission buildings restored;religious orders of men andwomen were introduced fromEurope;schools,hospitals, andcharitable institutions were established. Colonists fromEurope and various parts of theUnited States began to pour in and settle upon the wide and fertile plains of eastern and southernTexas. A large proportion of theEuropean immigrants wereCatholics. Germans founded prosperous settlements at New Braunfels in 1844, at Castroville in 1845, and later at D'Hanis, Fredericksburg, High Hill, and other places. A colony of Poles, led by the Rev. Leopold Moczygemba, O.F.M., founded the thriving settlement of Panna Maria in 1854; another Polish colony was established at St. Hedwig, near San Antonio.Bohemians planted flourishing settlements at Fayetteville, Praha, Moulton, Shiner, and other points. In all these places there are now fine churches andschools, and an influential and constantly increasingCatholic population.

In 1847 theDiocese of Galveston was established, its territory embracing the wholeState of Texas. On 3 September, 1874, this immense territory was divided, ecclesiastically, and the Diocese of San Antonio was created by theHoly See. Anthony Dominic Pellicer, the firstbishop, was a native of St. Augustine, Florida; b. 7 Dec., 1824,consecrated atMobile,Alabama, 8 Dec., 1874; d. 14 April, 1880. John Claudius Neraz, secondbishop, was b. 12 Jan., 1828, at Anse, Department of the Rhone,France; he laboured for thirty years on the missions in eastern and southernTexas, wasconsecrated in theCathedral of San Fernando, San Antonio, 8 May, 1881, and d. 15 Nov., 1894. John Anthony Forest, thirdbishop, was b. 25 December, 1838, at St. Martin, Canton St. Germain,France. Like his predecessor, he spent the whole of hispriestly life in arduous missionary work in southernTexas, often helping to build churches with his own hands. He wasconsecrated 28 October, 1895, and d. 11 March, 1911, deeplyloved and regretted by all classes. John William Shaw, the presentbishop, was b. At Mobile,Alabama, in 1863, made his principal studies inIreland and atRome, and wasordained apriest on 26 May, 1888. On 14 April, 1910, in thecathedral atMobile,Alabama, he wasconsecratedtitularBishop ofCastabala and coadjutor with the right of succession to theBishop of San Antonio. On 18 May, 1910, he was appointed administrator of thediocese, owing to the ill-health of Bishop Forest, at whose death his succeeded to thesee.

San Antonio is the largest city inTexas; it was the capital of the Spanish province and from and days of theFranciscan missions has been a centre ofCatholic activity in religious,educational, and charitable work. With a population of 100,000, it has thirteenCatholicparishes. Four of these, including theCathedral of San Fernando, are for the Mexican, or Spanish-speaking population; two are for the English-speaking; two English and German, one German, one Polish, oneFlemish, and two for the coloured population. There are also several hundredItalianfamilies, scattered among the variousparishes. The city is the headquarters of several religious congregations whose works extend to neighbouringdioceses and states, and to theRepublic of Mexico. TheOblates of Mary Immaculate, who since their introduction byBishop Odin in 1849 have laboured with glorious results among the poor Mexicans ofTexas, have their provincial house here, and conduct atheologicalseminary and an apostolic college for the training of youth for thepriesthood. The South-western Province of the Oblates was established in October, 1904, with the Very Rev. H. A. Constantineau, O.M.I., D.D., as first provincial. The province includes all the states of the south and west, and theRepublic of Mexico. The Congregation of the Sisters ofDivine Providence, devoted exclusively toChristianeducation, have their mother-house in San Antonio, from which they direct twenty-nine academies andschools in thisdiocese and forty-three in neighbouringdioceses inTexas,Louisiana, and Oklahoma. The Congregation of theSisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word also have their mother-house in the city. They conduct in the diocese twentyschools and academies, threehospitals, twoorphan asylums, and a home for the aged. They have also a number ofhospitals andschools in neighbouringdioceses and in Mexico.

Otherreligious orders represented are: Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Vich,Spain), who have charge of thecathedral and the other Spanish-speaking congregations at San Antonio and a number of rural Mexican missions; theSociety of Mary (Dayton,Ohio), who conduct two college and aparishschool at San Antonio and acollege atVictoria; the Josephite Fathers, in charge of twoparishes four colouredCatholics in the city; theUrsuline Nuns, two large academies; the Sisters of the Holy Ghost, devoted to the Mexican and coloured races; the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of Refuge; the Sisters of St. Theresa of Jesus—all at San Antonio. The Sisters of the Incarnate Word andBlessed Sacrament have a fine academy atVictoria, and conductschools at Halletsville and Shiner; theSisters of Mercy, an academy andparochialschool at Stanton. The congregation of Holy Cross (Notre Dame,Indiana) conduct a large college at Austin.

Statistics (1911)

Priests, 130 (secular, 69; religious, 61); brothers, 65; sisters, 607;parochialschools, 28; pupils, boys 1,290, girls 1,626; colleges and academies (many of which serve also asparishschools), 37; students, boys 2,173, girls 2,225;theologicalseminary, 1; students, 12; Apostolic college, 1; students, 49;orphan asylums, 2; inmates, boys, 108, girls, 105; house of refuge, adult inmates, 68; child inmates, 17; total number of youths receivingCatholic training; 7,629;hospitals, 3; number of patients yearly, 2,386; home for aged, 1; inmates, 74; churches with residentpriests, 63; missions with churches, 71; total number of churches, 134; stations, 78;chapels, 14;Catholic population, about 96,500.

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