Historical Marker
Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church
Port Lavaca, Calhoun County · Texas
Erected 2001
The order that ran this parish for most of its life came to Texas as horsemen. The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, founded in France in 1816 by Eugene de Mazenod, began their Texas mission in 1849 with five men, and by 1883 forty-one had served. Their main work was circuit-riding to scattered ranches, and seven Oblates died between 1853 and 1862, and Mazenod mourned his "cruel Texas mission." San Antonio became their Texas headquarters in 1904, and the order reached its peak of 335 men in 1967.
What the plaque says
Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church The Rev. Augustine Gardet offered the first mass for Roman Catholics in Port Lavaca in 1857 at the R. D. Blossom home. The first church building, constructed in 1865 and destroyed in an 1886 storm, was rebuilt in 1894 and dedicated as Our Lady of the Gulf. The congregation received its first resident pastor, the Rev. Francis Pallanche, in 1913. A surge in the community's population after World War II led to the construction of a new church building in 1953. For 86 years, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate administered the parish. Over its history, Our Lady of the Gulf has been located within the Galveston, San Antonio and Victoria dioceses. (2002)
Where it stands
28.61108, -96.62656 · Directions
More markers nearby
- Mt. Sinai Baptist Church — steps away
- Calhoun County — steps away
- Howard Gallemore Hartzog, Sr. — steps away
- Calhoun County Hurricanes — steps away