USA > Texas > Galveston County > Galveston > Diamond jubilee, 1847-1922, of the diocese of Galveston and St. Mary's Cathedral > Part 12
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In 1882 the undivided diocese of Galveston (the see of Dal- las was, at Bishop Gallagher's request, formed out of the north- ern portion of Galveston diocese in 1890), boasted 43 priests, 50 churches and chapels, 2 ecclesiastical students, 3 parochial schools, I college for boys, 12 academies for young ladies, I orphanage, I hospital, 107 religious women and a Catholic popu- lation of 30,000 souls. 1
In 1918 the diocese of Galveston had 100 priests, 109 churches and chapels, 35 stations, a diocesan seminary (the only one in the South outside of New Orleans), 40 parochial schools, 4 col- leges for boys, 9 academies for young ladies, I orphange, I home for the aged, 7 hospitals, 516 religious women and a Catholic population of 70,000 souls.
Under his zealous care of church and school there came to the diocese the Jesuit Fathers, who took charge of St. Mary's
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University and have ever been the zealous helpers of the diocesan clergy, the Basilians, the Josephites, the Paulists, the Dominicans. and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate returned anew to the ter- ritory. He introduced the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul at Austin and Waco. He induced the Sisters of the Holy Family (colored) to labor among the negro Catholics of the diocese. He brought the Good Shepherd Sisters to Houston. He built up a new body of clergy and when he passed away none of the priestly workers who were in the diocese in 1882 sur- vived him.
In 1901 Bishop Gallagher bought the old Sylvan Hotel at La Porte and opened his own seminary with the Basilian Fathers in charge.
In 1907 he celebrated the Silver Jubliee of his Episcopacy. The evidence of the place he held in Galveston is recorded by the Galveston Tribune in its description of the first night of the celebration.
"Never in the history of Galveston, perhaps, has there been such a parade of Catholic men, and never in the history of the Grand opera house has the playhouse been graced with such an assemblage of bishops, prelates and clergy as last night at the mass meeting held in honor of the silver jubilee anniversary of Bishop Gallagher. Higher tributes of love, veneration, esteem and well-wishes were never paid a man either as a dignitary of a church or a private citizen than were accorded Bishop N. A. Gallagher last night. Nearly 2,000 men paraded the streets in his honor and joined in the eulogies to his name in the mass meeting assembled.
Few are the occasions where men have been made to feel so clearly the appreciation of the people among whom they have labored so faithfully for years. Seldom do men assemble by hundreds to attest in visible manner the love and esteem in which they hold a fellow mortal, and the occasion last night, by its heartiness, sincerity and every token of veneration, will doubtless live long in the memory of Bishop Gallagher.
A man, and a godly man, who has labored for twenty-five years in a community, building and constructing, ministering to his people, and bringing honor to the city in which he resides, Bishop Gallagher was forced to listen to words of praise and commendation from which he, in his modesty, would have shrunk.
Not only the Catholic laity of the city attested to Bishop Gallagher the joy it gave them to assist in celebrating his silver jubilee, but Galveston, as a city, did honor to its beloved citizen."
Speaking for the laity, the Hon. Charles J. Stubbs voiced their admiration. "Next in importance you have our gratitude
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for the saintly sisters you have brought to us: those angels of the poor. They carry the light of their holy lives amid the en- circling gloom of poverty, sickness and death. They are sus- tenance of the helpless infant and the aged infirm. They are the beatitudes incarnate, the corporal works of mercy, moving in forms of flesh. There are 360 of those holy women, working in every field of charity and of spiritual and intellectual devel- opments. There were but fifty here twenty-five years ago. You have established a diocesan seminary for the education of young men for the priesthood. You have increased the number of churches and chapels from twenty-five to ninety-one, and every cross and spire and altar pinnacle is a silent prayer for your sal- vation. Thirty-five stations, that is to say, places where at fixed intervals mass is celebrated, have been established. There were none before your coming. There was one hospital when you came ; now we have seven. The parochial school system is prac- tically due to your efforts. There were two parochial schools when you came; we have thirty-two now. Boys' colleges and girls' academies have sprung up in increased numbers. These are your works.
"Your power and authority we acknowledge. Your min- istrations and your sympathies we appreciate. We desire to express to you the soulfelt sentiments of gratitude and love and honor. Is the voice of the people the voice of God? So let it be. Today the voice of the people is one of blessings upon you and thanksgiving to the God that sent you. Your life has been a pure, clear stream growing in beauty and majesty as it flows toward the sea. You have scattered the sunlight of faith and hope. Sweet flowers of charity blossom as you pass. Long may you live and may honors be added to your years. And at life's end, beyond the veil, may you rank among the heavenly hier- archy, and may every good deed of your life be a bright jewel in your crown. This is the wish of your laity to our well-beloved and illustrious bishop."
In 1908 Bishop Gallagher dedicated the new concrete build- ing at the Seminary.
In 1911 Bishop Gallagher placed the diocesan Seminary under the direction of his own priests. Before his death he saw more than one-half of the clergy of the diocese, alumni of his own foundation. His interest in higher education and the reali- zation that many Catholic young men and women had no alterna- tive but to attend the State University caused him to bring the Paulist Fathers to care for the young men, and later to estab- lish under the wise direction of the Dominican Sisters Newman Hall for the young women.
In 1914 he made his ad limina visit to Rome and upon his return the greatest public demonstration and testimonial of love
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and affection for any man that Galveston had ever seen was staged by the Catholic laity.
The great world war had broken out while he was in Europe, and when the United States entered the conflict Bishop Gal- lagher displayed his fine loyalty to country. He offered the services of Father Chataignon as chaplain to the Texas National Guard. He visited the camps and cantonments. He celebrated Pontifical Mass at Camp MacArthur, Waco, on November 25, 1917, before the largest assembly of soldiers ever gathered to- gether in Texas. He visited Houston to dedicate the Knights of Columbus building at Camp Logan and to administer con- firmation. Upon his return to Galveston he reluctantly took to his bed, and on January 21, 1918, he passed to his eternal reward. His body was interred January 24, 1918, at the foot of the Blessed Mother's altar in the St. Marys Cathedral in the tomb which he had prepared himself. Galveston voiced its tribute of regret by closing every business house the morning of his funeral. The following excerpt from a sermon delivered in his own Temple by Rabbi Cohen shows "a good testimony of them who are without." (1 Tim., iii, 7.)
"Judging by the life and work of Bishop Gallagher, Galves- ton has lost an incalculable power for good. Participating in every civic activity, bending the influence of his exalted posi- tion in furtherance of that which was right and just in our everyday existence, the bishop will long be remembered as an exemplification of probity of the highest type. A simple, modest, kindly gentleman, a scholar, teacher and moral enthusiast, it was a privilege to share his human interest in all things. Notwith- standing his quiet carriage, he would rise to righteous wrath at an injustice, and would score sham and hypocrisy in no un- certain terms. He was particularly severe upon those who, born and reared of the faith in which he was so shining a light, tacitly repudiated their birthright by making overtures for social pre- ferment to an alien faith. Talking to me of this defection he once averred that the people who sacrifice their spiritual belief on the altar of worldly fashion and who make light of their heritage for mundane things bring nothing to themselves but ridicule, for they are thoroughly understood by the very people whose good will they seek even at the loss of their self-respect.
"We Jews owe Bishop Gallagher's memory a debt of grati- tude. I recall that, in the interests of truth and justice, he was one of the first of this city in each instance to sign a protest to the French government upon the unfortunate Dreyfus affair; to the Russian government on the Kishineff massacre, and again to the Russian government on the preposterous Beiliss blood accu- sation; and he voluntarily subscribed to whatever funds were
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collected for the relief of the victims of Russian persecution as well as to the Jewish war sufferers' fund. No narrow, partisan. spirit could have done this !
"A splendid example of consideration of other men's religious convictions and an ardent upholder and supporter of his own, Galvestonians can ill afford to lose so eminent a citizen. The Jewish people offer their sympathy to their Catholic brethren in their hour of trial. Bishop Gallagher numbered well his days and applied his heart to wisdom."
All the bishops of the province were present at his funeral and assisted in the ceremonies, with Rt. Rev. Theophile Meer- schaert, senior suffragan bishop of the province and bishop of the diocese of Oklahoma, as celebrant. The other bishops of the province and priests who attended them as chaplains were : Bishop John W. Shaw of San Antonio, attended by Rev. W. W. Hume and Rev. J. Sheehan; Bishop Allen of Mobile, attended by Very Rev. Father Hackett and Rev. M. M. Crowe; Bishop John B. Morris of Little Rock, attended by Rev. P. A. Heckman and Rev. Father Wernke; Bishop P. J. Nussbaum of Corpus Christi, attended by Very Rev. J. Scheidt and Rev. S. Spinne- weber; Bishop Van de Ven of Alexandria, attended by Rev. William Lee and Rev. M. Heintzelmann; Bishop J. P. Lynch of Dallas, attended by Very Rev. Robert Nolan and Rev. Father Gleissner, and Bishop John Gunn of Natchez, Miss., attended by Rev. J. Schnetzer and Rev. Father Moran.
Very Rev. J. B. Jeanmard, administrator of New Orleans, and Rt. Rev. John J. Hennessey of Wichita, Kansas, and Very Rev. M. M. Meara of St. Joseph's Cathedral, Columbus, Ohio, Bishop Gallagher's former diocese, also were in attendance. Right Rev. Bishop Hennessey was attended by Chaplains Very Rev. Father Dupreitere and Rev. Father Kraemer.
The deacons of honor of the mass were Rev. E. A. Fields, S. J., of St. Mary's University, and Rev. Father P. M. Lennartz of St. Joseph's Church; deacon of the mass was Rev. John S. Murphy of St. Patrick's Church and subdeacon Rev. Father Pelnar of West, Texas. Acolytes were Rev. Father Walsh of the Church of the Annunciation of Houston and Rev. Father Kelley of Waco; book bearer, Rev. Father Duda of the Church of the Annunciation of Houston; candle bearer, Rev. I. Valenta of Rosenburg, and thurifer, Rev. Father Syzmanski.
In his sermon of glowing tribute to the departed bishop, Rt. Rev. Bishop Lynch said in part :
"When Bishop Gallagher came to Texas he found his juris- diction extended over an area of 150,000 square miles, with a Catholic population of less than 30,000, about fifty churches
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and a less number of priests. Today within this district there are two sees, Galveston and Dallas, with 236 churches, 208 priests and a Catholic population of upwards of 120,000. When he came there was but one hospital in the district ; today there are fifteen, and the same material progress has emphasized every activity in which he has been interested. The spiritual development is best told by the virtuous life of his faithful children as they obey the laws of God and man, as they are ever dutiful to church and state. God and his angels alone know the full measure of his spiritual success. It will be revealed to the world on the day of judgment.
"More than this need not be said to emphasize the greatness of the soul, the faith, the zeal and the charity of our departed illustrious father in Christ.
"We sympathize with his devoted, consecrated clergy, his faithful daughters of the religious orders and his loyal people, in the loss which they have sustained in his death. We beg God to strengthen each and every one of them and to bless and con- sole his ever-loyal friend and steadfast son in Christ, the Very Reverend Administrator of the diocese. And now, dear friend, we bid farewell. Nicholas Aloysius, may your gentle soul find everlasting peace with the God vou loved and served so well, for you have been, in every true sense of the term, a most devout Christian, a model priest, a zealous bishop and a loyal citizen of our beloved country."
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BISHOP C. E. BYRNE Fourth Bishop of Galveston
CHAPTER XIV.
BISHOP CHRISTOPHER EDWARD BYRNE, D. D.
FOURTH BISHOP OF GALVESTON.
The Rt. Rev. Christopher Edward Byrne, D. D., fourth Bishop of Galveston, was born in Missouri in 1867. His college studies were made at St. Mary's, Kansas, under the direction of the Jesuits. His seminary training was received at St. Mary's Semi- nary, Baltimore, Maryland, from the Sulpician Fathers, a con- gregation which sent some of its priests as missionaries into Texas in the early days. Father Anastase, who was with La Salle at his death, was a Sulpician.
Bishop Byrne was ordained to the priesthood in St. John's Church by the Most Rev. Peter R. Kenrick, being one of the last group ever ordained by that illustrious prelate. He served as assistant with Monsignor Walsh at St. Bridget's, St. Louis, and after six years was appointed pastor at Columbia, Mo. On invitation of Archbishop Kain, who obtained a dispensation from Rome in the requirement of length of ordination, he entered the examination for the irremovable rectorate of Edina, Mo., and received the appointment. During his eleven years there he built a commodious school and increased the attendance of chil- dred from eighty-seven to over two hundred. A beautiful con- vent was also built for the Sisters of Loretto who teach the school. His next work was in St. Louis at the Holy Name Church. Here the whole interior of the school was reconstructed, and the attendance increased from a little less than three hun- dred to over five hundred. A new church and priests' house was built and a home purchased for the Sisters of St. Joseph who teach the school. At the end of seven years, when he was called to be Bishop of Galveston, a debt of between $40,000 and $50,000 remained against this work.
While in St. Louis he was largely instrumental in forming the Diocesan Union of the Holy Name Societies; served on the commission for the betterment of the stage and picture shows; was a member of the Archbishop's Consultors, and for a while editor and manager of the "Church Progress."
He was consecrated Bishop of Galveston in the Cathedral of St. Louis on November 10, 1918, and arrived in Galveston on Thanksgiving Day. Possessing much of the prudence, gentle- ness and unselfish zeal of his predecessor in the See, the clergy
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and laity feel grateful to God and the Holy See for his selec- tion. His program was partly voiced in the following appeal :
"The Church must have native men and women to do her work, or she will be hopelessly outdistanced. Inevitably she will lose her hold upon her people. We can only save the ruins that remain by immediately supplying this crying need of Texan priests. The people who will not make the sacrifice necessary to fill our sanctuaries and our convents have only a diluted Catholicism. Their faith can never weather the storms and tempests of life. By their fruits ye shall know them, and this lack of fruit in the sphere of vocations is a certain sign of de- cayed faith.
If the Catholic Church is to keep her children in Texas; if she is to advance beyond her present weakness, then she must have native Texans to perform her work. Our own young men must lift the sacred Body of Christ at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Our young men must pour the saving balm of Christ's Blood over the penitents in the confessional; must carry Christ upon their breasts to the sick and dying. Our own young women must take their places in the ranks of St. Dominic, St. Ursula, the Incarnate Word, and all other great communities of the Church. They must teach our youth; they must nurse our sick ; they must care for our orphans and afflicted.
Coming into the Diocese of Galveston from elsewhere this need of vocations among the native Texans is the fact which strikes me as the most urgent about the religious situation. If that is remedied I am sure that other needs will take care of themselves. If that is not met, then religion can not possibly advance. Native priests and sisters will find means to build the necessary schools and churches and other institutions.
Therefore, I have set myself, after prayer and study, to the task of developing vocations among the youth of my diocese. By Gods' grace I hope to succeed. When I come to yield up the government of this diocese to another bishop I trust that native Texans will be occupying the pulpits, will be teaching in the schools, will be nursing our sick. As my body is laid to rest in the Cathedral of Galveston beside that of my sainted predecessor, I desire-with ardent desire-that the clergy and sisters as- sembled for the funeral mass may be largely native Texans whom I myself have led on to the consecration in God's service. And in saying this I take not away one bit of praise from those labor- ing here so earnestly today.
"If I do not accomplish this object of developing vocations, then, no matter what other successes may be attributed to my administration, I shall count myself to have failed, for I am thoroughly convinced that this is the only solid foundation on
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which Gods' Kingdom can be built. The Church may seem for a time to flourish, but if Catholicism has not taken that deep hold on a people which will make them dedicate their youth to God's service, it can not endure. By their fruits ye shall know them. If Catholicism does not bring forth this fruit of vocations then Catholicism is dead."
His words were followed by action, and thanks to his zealous interest the diocese saw the erection, at the cost of nearly $200,000, of a fine new building at the Seminary, the installa- tion of a modern plant for steam heating and the construction of a cement water tower for fire protection.
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CHAPTER XV.
HISTORICAL TABLEAUX.
A series of historic tableaux was presented during the Diamond Jubilee. The work was supervised by Rev. Marius S. Chataig- non and in their presentation he was ably assisted by Adoph D. Dolson, Eugene Coughlin and Charles K. Lalor.
Tableau I.
"QUIVIRA WAS ALWAYS JUST BEYOND." 1541.
Personnel :
Coronado.
Father Juan de Padilla, Proto-Martyr of U. S.
Father Juan de la Cruz.
Indians.
"Oh, gay they rode with plume on crest, and gilded spur at heel, With gonfalon of Aragon and Banner of Castile,
With high emprise and joyous youth, twin marshals of the throng,
And woke Texas' silent hills with trumpet note and song."
Francisco Vasquez Coronado started from Compostella on the Pacific Coast, west of Mexico City, February, 1540. Arrived at Culiacan, half way up the western coast of the Gulf of California, March 23, 1540. Started northward for the "Seven Cities of Cibola," of whose fame they had heard from the Franciscan Friar, Marcos of Niza, who had viewed them from a distant hilltop two years previously. Part of the expedition reached the Grand Canon. They all wintered near the present site of Albu- querque. There from an Indian, Coronado head of Quivira, rich and populous place far away in the east. Started on April 23rd, 1541. Probably crossed the branches of the Colorado River of Texas and reached the head waters of the Nueces. He turned north and not far from the Great Bend of the Arkansas River found the village of Wichita Indian Tepees. When Coronado returned he left behind him among the Indians Padre Francisco Juan de Padilla, who was martyred by the Wichita Indians, and Padre Juan de la Cruz, who was also slain near Cibola.
The Journal of Coronado, George Parks Winship; A. S. Barnes & Company, New York.
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TABLEAU II. DEATH OF LA SALLE, 1687 A. D.
Personnel : Father Zenobius, Father Anastase, La Salle, Larcheveque.
Seigneur Robert de la Salle followed the Mississippi to its mouth in 1682, returned to France and obtained permission from Louis XIV to establish a colony. His boats were blown out of their course by a storm and he landed at Matagorda Bay Febru- ary 20th, 1685. He established Fort St. Louis and started out in search of the Mississippi.
La Salle was murdered near the present site of Navasota by Duhaut, one of his companions.
The story is told in Joutel's Journal as it was gleaned from the lips of Father Anastase, a Sulpician, La Salle's companion on the trip.
Joutel's Journal.
TABLEAU III. FOUNDING OF SAN FRANCISCO DE LOS TEJAS, 1690 A. D.
SCENE-BENEDICTION IN THE OPEN AIR. Personnel :
De Leon, Father Massanet.
Three other Franciscans, Soldiers, Indians, Processional Cross, etc.
This Mission was located somewhere near the present site of Crockett.
Here is Father Massenet's own account :
"On the eve of Corpus Christi, Mass was sung. Before the Mass we had a procession with the Blessed Sacrament exposed. A large number of Indians were assembled. The soldiers had been given leave to fire as many salutes as they could during the procession, at the elevation and at the close of Mass. After Mass
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we hoisted the royal standard. On the morning of the first of June, a week from the feast of Corpus Christi, we consecrated the church. The church and village was dedicated to our Holy Father St. Francis.
Bolton's "Spanish Exploration in the South West."
TABLEAU IV.
"BRAZOS DE DIOS." 1716 A. D.
Venerable Antonio Margil died in Mexico City August 6, 1726.
His virtues were declared heroic by Pope Gregory XVI in 1836.
Personnel :
Venerable Antonio Margil.
The Venerable Antonio Margil founded the Apostolic Col- lege of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Zacatecas. With the assist- ance of six religious from the college of the Holy Cross at Quere- taro, Fathers Francis Hidalgo, Gabriel de Vergara, Benedict San- chez, Manuel Castallanos, Peter Perez de Mesquia and Father Isidor Felis de Espinosa, Superior and three Fathers from Zaca- tecas, Mathias Sanz de San Antonio, Peter de Mendoza and Augustine Patron, Father Margil started for Texas, April, 1716, but was delayed, being at the point of death from fever. The others, under Padre Espinosa, reached the Texas missions June 28th, 1716.
Father Espinosa selected a site twenty miles distant among the friendly Asinai, where he established the first "La Purissima Concepcion," afterwards removed to San Antonio. Padre Margil though left in a dying condition, recovered and followed the missionaries to East Texas, whence he wrote July 20th, 1716, hav- ing founded the mission of Our Lady of Guadalupe, among the Nacogdoches.
The river which we know as the Brazos was then called Espiritu Santo. Because Margil was miraculously transported across it on his way to Nacogdoches, the name was changed to "Brazos de Dios, (The Arms of God)." The first portion of the Spanish entitlement clings to the river. The missionary labors of Padre Margil embraced Nacogdoches, Spanish Lake, Louisiana, and San Jose at San Antonio.
Shea, "The Catholic Church in the Colonies," Chapter II; The Church in Texas. John G. Shea, New York, 1886.
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TABLEAU V. SAN ANTONIO DE VALERO. 1718 A. D. THE ALAMO. 1722 A. D.
"Thermopylae had its messenger of defeat. The Alamo had none."
Father Anthony de San Buenaventura Olivarez transferred his Xarane Indian Mission of San Francisco Solano on the banks of the Rio Grande to San Antonio on the Ist of May, 1718, by order of the Marquis of Valero, then Viceroy. In 1722 it was removed with the Post to Military Plaza. The Alamo Church is all that now remains of the once extensive Mission "San An- tonio de Valero."
Personnel :
Fray Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivarez. Fray Miguel Nunez. Baptism of first child at the Mission. Sponsors, etc.
It was in this church that its heroic defenders, March 6, 1836, made their desperate stand for the liberty of Texas.
TABLEAU VI.
"LA PURISSIMA CONCEPCION."
First mission of the name founded by Father Espinosa among the Asinai near Nacogdoches in 1716. Present mission near San Antonio, cornerstone laid 1731.
Personnel :
Father Gabriel de Vergara, Two other Franciscans, Indians, Mortar Box, etc.
There is a pious tradition among the old Indians that when its foundations were laid, (the Padres, to carry the idea of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, for which dogma the Franciscans were always protagonists, before its declaration [1854] and for whom Murillo painted the famous Louvre picture [1678]), the Padres asked their Indian neophytes to bring milk sufficient to mix the mortar.
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TABLEAU VII.
SAN JACINTO BATTLEFIELD.
Personnel : Gen. Sam Houston, Gen. Sydney Sherman, Surgeon N. D. Labadie, Soldiers, etc.
On San Jacinto's glorious field the language and perhaps the civilization of a continent was changed.
General Sydney Sherman, a member of the Cathedral parish, commanded the left wing of the Texan army.
Dr. Labadie, who was the trusted friend and adviser of Father Timon and Bishop Odin and financial agent of the first frame Catholic Church constructed on the present site of the Cathedral, acted as interpreter for the surrender of Santa Anna.
TABLEAU VIII.
Father Timon, C. M., coming to address the Congress of the Republic of Texas, Houston, January, 1839. Present site of Rice Hotel.
Personnel :
Father Timon, C. M. Father Llebaria, C. M. General Sam Houston,
Mirabeau B. Lamar, President of the Republic of Texas, David Burnet, Vice-President.
Father Timon, C. M., afterwards consecrated Bishop of Buf- falo, N. Y., October 17, 1847, came to Texas in December, 1838, at the request of the Congregation of the Propaganda. He was born at Conewago, Pa. He was accompanied to Texas by Father Llebaria, C. M. They landed at Galveston, December 26, 1838, and after spending five days there, went to Houston, where the Congress of the Republic was in session in the old Capitol, on the present site of the Rice Hotel.
In his own words : "We arrived in Houston January 3, 1839, and on the Octave of St. John the Evangelist we said Holy Mass On the following Sunday we were invited to preach at the Capitol in the hall of deliberations, in the presence of the assembly of the representatives of the Republic."
Bishop Timon's Letter, January 9, 1839.
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TABLEAU IX.
BISHOP ODIN.
Bishop Jean Marie Odin, C. M.
Born at Hauteville, France, February 25, 1800.
Ordained priest, May 4, 1823.
Prefect-Apostolic of Texas, May, 1840.
Named Vicar-Apostolic of Texas, July 31st, 1841.
Consecrated with title of Bishop of Claudiopolis, March 6, 1842.
Diocese of Galveston erected 1847.
Personnel : Bishop Odin, Workmen, etc. Building the first church in Galveston, February 6, 1842.
Vie de Mgr. Jean-Marie Odin, Paris, 1896.
TABLEAU X.
BATTLE OF GALVESTON, JANUARY 1, 1863.
Lieut. Sydney Sherman being carried into the Ursuline Con . vent.
Lieut. Sydney Sherman, son of General Sydney Sherman of San Jacinto fame, died in the military hospital of the Ursuline Convent. The Ursuline Nuns had turned over their new convent building to General Magruder to serve as a hospital, and when wounded, Lieut. Sherman was carried there.
"Under Six Flags."
The Galveston News paid this editorial tribute to young Sher- man, in its issue of January 9th, 1863, published in Houston.
LIEUT. SIDNEY A. SHERMAN.
The Morning Star had risen on the field of strife, shedding its beams of victory upon the champions of the "Lone Star," who had riven the chains of thraldom that held subordinate the "Gen of the Ocean," crushing beneath the iron heel of right the vassals of despotism, and adding fresh laurels to the brow of Liberty. Pre-eminent among the warriors gathered there, was a noble form of chivalrous bearing, a scion of one of the achievers of Texan independence, with a flush of triumph on his brow-and a sparkle of Texas spirit in that bright dark eye-with the proud, undaunt- ed step of a Southern brave, he took his place among the fore-
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most of that gallant band, to hurl vengeance upon a foe that had cast the shades of desolation o'er his island home; hallowed memories of by-gone days stirred within him a mighty strength, and, with his mother's image as a beacon light to glory, he went forth to meet his country's foes. At his post he fell, surrendered only to the common enemy of man, his spirit rose unconquered, borne aloft by the shouts of victory, while the angel of Freedom wiped the death damp from his brow. He rests with the sun- shine of Fame o'er his slumbers, and a halo of glory encircling his memory-upon his native shore; he fell a willing sacrifice, and the breezes that float in freedom o'er a freemans grave will chant his requiem. He sleeps well, and
"Oh how blest are those who sink to rest
And close their eyes on victory's breast."
TABLEAU XI.
BATTLE OF SABINE PASS, 1863.
Lieut. Dick Dowling, in command at Fort Griffin. His com- pany consisted of forty-two Irishmen.
Jefferson Davis in "The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government," says of this engagement: "The success of the single company which garrisoned the earthwork at Fort Griffin. is without parallel in ancient or modern war."
"Under Six Flags."
TABLEAU XII.
BISHOP CLAUDE MARIE DUBUIS.
Born at Teche in the parish of Coutouvre, France, March 8th, 1817. Ordained priest at Lyons, June Ist, 1844. Appointed Bishop of Galveston October Ist, 1862. Consecrated Bishop of Galveston at Lyons November 23rd, 1862.
Father Dubuis left Havre March 20th, 1846, in company with Messieurs Domenech, Lacour, Chambodut, Charion, Chazelle, Fadey, deacons or clerks of the diocese of Lyons, and certain other ecclesiastics of Spain, Ireland and Italy, who had been re- cruited by Bishop Odin. On arrival at New Orleans he went to the Lazarist Seminary at the Barrens to learn English. He left New Orleans for Texas on the last day of the year 1849. He labored at Castroville and San Antonio. Was appointed Vicar-
THE NEW BUILDING St. Mary's Seminary, La Porte, Texas
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General by Bishop Odin and upon the transfer of Bishop Odin to the Archbishopric of New Orleans, was appointed Bishop of Galveston and consecrated November 23rd, 1862.
Vie de Monsigneur Dubuis, L'Apotre du Texas, Roanne 1900.
SCENE-WELCOMING THE "SISTERS OF CHARITY OF THE INCARNATE WORD."
On September 23, 1866, three "Sisters of Charity of the In- carnate Word" received from Bishop Dubuis in Lyons, France, the habit of their new Order and started for Texas to become the first hospital Sisters and developed the great communities of Galveston and San Antonio with their many hospitals, which preach the gospel of ministry and service.
"Unshrinking where pestilence scatters his breath
Like an angel she moves 'mid the vapors of death."
TABLEAU XIII. BISHOP GALLAGHER.
Born Temperanceville, Ohio, February 19, 1846.
Ordained December 25, 1868.
Consecrated Bishop of Galveston April 30, 1882. Died January 21, 1918.
A. Welcoming the Dominican Sisters.
B. Greeting his foundation of religious men and women.
C. The Accomplishment of his Dream-The Seminary.
A. The Dominican Sisters came from Somerset, Ohio, and reached Galveston September 29, 1882.
Under the direction of Mother Agnes, Mother Rose and the late lamented Mother Pauline, they have had remarkable success in convent and parochial school work.
B. The Jesuits, Josephites, the Basilians, the Dominicans, the Paulists, the Oblates, religious orders of men, and the Sisters of the Holy Cross, Divine Providence, Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Holy Family and Good Shepherd have established their uplifting work in many institutions.
C. Bishop Gallagher always wished to conform to the Can- onical requirement : "Every diocese should have its own Semin- ary in a convenient place selected by the Bishop." In 1901 he purchased the old Sylvan Beach Hotel at La Porte. In 1908 he dedicated the first concrete building and in 1921 Bishop Byrne added many improvements. The Gallagher Memorial Building will accomplish the dream.
130
HISTORY OF THE
TABLEAU XIV.
THE MORNING AFTER THE STORM, 1900.
When the storm king lashed our Island Home, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, located at the Orphan Asylum down the beach, realizing that death was imminent, tied their helpless charges to them and perished with them.
"These through the darkness of death, the dominion of night, Swept, and they woke in white places at morning tide."
TABLEAU XV.
THE CATHEDRAL.
Cornerstone laid March 14, 1847. Consecrated November 26, 1848. Diamond Jubilee March 14, 1922.
1
I3I
DIOCESE OF GALVESTON
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REFERENCES.
"Spanish Exploration in the Southwest."-Bolton. Charles Scribner's Sons (1916).
"Texas in the Middle Eighteenth Century."-Bolton. University of California Press (1915).
"With the Makers of Texas."-Bolton and Barker. Gammel-Statesman Publishing Co.
"Under Six Flags."-Davis. Ginn & Company.
"Texas, a Contest of Civilizations."-Garrison. Houghton Mifflin Co.
"History of Texas."-Wooten. Texas History Co.
"Catholic Church in Colonial Days."-Shea.
"Vie de Mgr. Jean-Marie Odin, C. M." D. Dumoulin et Cie. Paris.
"Vie de Monseigneur Dubuis."-Par l'Abbe J. P. Librarie Rebe Souers, Roanne.
"History of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of San An- tonio .- Parisot & Smith.
Carrico & Bowen, San Antonio, Texas.
"The Book of Texas."-Benedict and Lomax. Doubleday Page & Co.
"Texas and Texans."-Johnson and Barker. American Historical Society, Chicago.
"Reminiscences of a Texas Missionary."-Parisot. Johnson Brothers, San Antonio.
Catholic Almanac.
F. Lucas, Jr., Baltimore.
Catholic Directory.
"Brief History of Lower Rio Grande Valley."-Frank Cush- man Pierce.
George Banta Pub. Co.
Letters of Father Timon, Bishop Odin and others. From the Chancery of New Orleans, Galveston, Notre Dame and the archives of the Lazarists. Compiled and loaned by Dr. C. L. Souvay, C. M.
KNAPP BROS. PRINTERS GALVESTON, TEXAS
HE882
F 87734.4
5883H
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