Mexican Missions in Texas

Early 1899, the Basilian Fathers in Toronto, Canada, received a letter from Father Peter Clancy, Pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Waco, Texas, and a former student at Assumption College, a Basilian institution in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.  Father Clancy, with the permission of Most Reverend Nicholas Aloysius Gallagher, Bishop of Galveston, invited his former teachers to open a school for boys in Waco. After evaluating the circumstances in Waco and the possibility of successfully opening and maintaining a boys school in Waco, Basilian Father Robert McBrady made a strong recommendation to proceed. In May 1899, the Basilian Fathers appointed Father Thomas Hayes as the founding superior and sent him to Waco.  He was joined by Fathers Vincent Donnelly in 1899, James Finnigan in 1900, John Ryan in 1901, and James Forster in 1903.  St. Basil’s College opened September 4, 1899.  Father Forster succeeded Father Hayes as Superior in 1903.

During his discussions with Father McBrady in 1899, Bishop Gallagher also expressed a strong desire to open a school for boys in Houston, and perhaps later on a college in the area.  Father Hayes wrote about this interest to Toronto and suggested a foundation with Bishop Gallagher. In 1900 a foundation was approved. Father Nicholas Roche was appointed superior, and in September 1900, St. Thomas College (now known as St. Thomas High School) was opened to the Catholic Youth of Houston in an old building affectionately known as the “Old Catholic Building” located on the corner of Franklin and Caroline Streets in Houston. The old building soon became inadequate for the growing population of students and by 1904 a new building had been erected on Austin Street in Houston to replace the venerable “Old Catholic Building”.

Woven within the discussions and negotiations for Waco and Houston, were plans for a seminary in southeast Texas.  Bishop Gallagher was ever concerned about the need for priests to serve the rapidly growing Catholic population and facilities for theological and pastoral training.  After the Galveston hurricane of 1900 severely damaged the famous Sylvan Beach Hotel in LaPorte, Texas, the Diocese of Galveston purchased, refurbished, and named it St. Mary’s Seminary.  St. Mary’s Seminary is the longest running Catholic Theology school in the south. On October 10, 1901 Father James Player was transferred from Waco to LaPorte as Superior to oversee the start of the new school. In 1954, a new St. Mary’s Seminary was constructed in Houston, Texas.

Fathers Thomas P. O’Rourke, Daniel Dillon, and Joseph Dillon initiated the missionary work among the Mexicans in the Diocese of Galveston.  Father O’Rourke, a native Texan, possessed a strong interest in missions serving the Spanish speaking in the southwest.  His Ph.D. thesis title was “The Franciscan Missions in Texas: 1690-1794”. 

Daniel and Joseph Dillon were graduated from St. Basil’s College in Waco, Texas and went on to become Priests.  Father Daniel Dillon was an excellent administrator and motivator, and he loved his native Texas.  After teaching at St. Thomas College for two years, Father Dan was appointed Superior.  In that position, he brought the school’s curriculum into conformity with state requirements for accreditation. Father Joseph Dillon, the younger brother of Father Daniel Dillon by eight years, began the implementation of the dream of Father O’Rourke and Father Daniel Dillon to establish a ministry to the Spanish speaking in Texas.  His work began in 1936. Father Joseph Dillon lived at Saint Anne’s Church in Houston until Our Lady of Guadalupe mission was opened in 1939.  Parishioners and staff at Saint Anne’s provided much needed support for his work.

In 1934, Fr. John Onorato came to St. Thomas College, Fr. Matthew Killoran to the Mission Center in 1935, and Father Carl Allnoch to St. Thomas College in 1936.  All were willing workers in the missions. Father Onorato was re-assigned to St. Theresa Mission Center, Sugar Land, in 1955.

In 1935, the Basilians had been teaching in Texas for many years, and had become aware of the plight of the Mexican people in the communities surrounding Houston. Thousands of Catholics were not receiving the sacraments because of a lack of priests who could speak Spanish. This led to a missionary outreach to the Spanish speaking people along the Gulf coast, who were primarily poor, migrant laborers.

Father Joseph Dillon’s first mission station was in Allen Farm, Texas, a small community approximately twelve miles west of Navasota. A multitude of small stops accumulated over a vast area, such as the one at Angleton, Texas, all the way to Freeport, a distance of about 150 miles. At the funeral of Father Joe, after 17 years of missionary work, Father John Collins wrote of him, “Padre Jose was stern, but had a deep understanding, a great love, and a sympathetic appreciation of the Mexican people.  He had lived through poverty, he had worked on a cotton farm. He could see and feel all the problems of the Mexican sharecropper.”

In 1936, Father John Collins was assigned to teach at St. Thomas College.  By 1938, he had become Father Joe Dillon's full time assistant in the missions. Fathers Joseph Dillon and John Collins began their work with only a borrowed car and a Mass kit. In spite of hot, spicy food and sleepless nights in dirty shacks, they moved along the muddy roads offering Mass wherever they could: in barns, saloons, abandoned railroad cars, and in private homes.  The people flocked to them and the missionaries began to solicit funds to bring rice, flour, corn and beans to the poverty struck people.

The indefatigable Father Collins would go on to become the “Father of the Mexican Missions in Texas”. Father John Collins’ work began in New Gulf, Texas.  Maria de La Luz Ruiz taught catechism to about 20 children in New Gulf. On rare occasions, she could get a Priest to come from San Antonio for First Communion, but she usually hired a truck when the children were ready and drove them to Wharton for their First Communion.  After the Basilians began working in New Gulf, she took care of the church and priests, washing the linens, their clothes, and doing everything possible to aid the priest while he was there. Then, Father O’Rourke came to the rescue.  Every Sunday, Father O’Rourke sent two Sisters of Divine Providence to New Gulf in his parish car.  The sisters provided choir training to about twelve young girls.  In only two months, the girls were ready to sing a High Mass.  Father Carl Allnoch, another native Texan, came to New Gulf from St. Thomas College and sang the first Holy Week service on Holy Saturday.

Late in 1938, Bishop Byrne decided it was better to abandon thoughts of making Sacred Heart a mission center in Richmond, Texas.  Fathers Dillon and Collins set out to locate a suitable facility for a mission center.  Eventually, they found a house in Rosenberg on a large tract owned by a Mr. Foote and Mrs. Boarde, who had spent 20 years as missionaries in China.  The sale was consummated and Fathers Dillon and Collins, with help from Father Allnoch, moved in on March 9, 1939.  A Week later, Father Dillon fell sick and was ordered to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Toronto.  Father Collins was now alone to tend the Spanish speaking in the mission areas.  Fortunately, he was able to rely on help from the Basilians at St. Thomas College in Houston.

 In October 1939, Father Dillon returned from Toronto and Father Collins shared his dream of building a church for the center in Rosenberg.  Father Dillon agreed and they decided that the name of the church must be Our Lady of Guadalupe.  They also decided to name the mission center “Basilian Fathers Mexican Mission Center”.

Driven by the need to raise funds to support the mission effort, in 1939 Father Collins got permission to make appeals for the mission work.  Mission appeals began in April, 1940.  The first appeal was at St. Benedict Parish in Detroit.  The pastor, Monsignor John Doyle, was very interested in missionary work, and asked if the Basilians would build a chapel dedicated to St. Benedict if we were to raise $1,000.00 in the collection.  Father Collins assured him that we would.  Through the energetic support of Msgr Doyle, $1,000.00 was raised in our first mission appeal and we built “Little St. Benedict’s Chapel” in Allen Farm.  Father Collins spent the next three months seeking out dioceses and parishes in which we could make successful mission appeals in the dioceses of London in Canada, Rochester, Syracuse, Springfield, Galveston, Cleveland, and Boston.  Mission appeals have since been a permanent means of supporting our mission work.

 In a few short years, the number of missions expanded from eight to more than 40, and the number of Mexicans attending services grew rapidly, necessitating additional Basilians to serve them.  In the early years, Father Dillon’s visits were once a month or two, and the Basilians were motivated to establish permanent parishes for the Mexicans. In 1941, Father Vincent Fullerton, who had studied Spanish and the Mexican culture in Mexico City, was assigned to Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission Center in Rosenberg where he initially served as assistant and later as pastor.

Father Raphael O’Loughlin was appointed to St. Thomas High School in 1943, then reassigned to Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission Center in 1944.

Father Wilfrid Murphy spent the six years of 1944 to 1950 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission Center in Rosenberg.  His fluency in Spanish and characteristic devotion to the work entrusted to him made him an effective missionary, and his untiring work ethic was a blessing for the crew constructing the hall at Wharton.

In 1945, Father William “Max” Murphy began his long career in the parishes of the Basilian missions.  Among other things, Father Max was instrumental in the construction of a hall that could also be used as a school in Wharton. Father Max also organized the Rice Belt Baseball League for baseball games at the missions in Wharton, New Gulf, Bay City, Angleton, Freeport, Eagle Lake, and Rosenberg, and was responsible for building the baseball field and park on the Basilian property in Wharton, called the Mt. Carmel Baseball Park, as well as setting up baseball fields in Angleton, Freeport, and Bay City. The league proved very successful, and Father Murphy was the motivating force that kept it going.

Father Fullerton was very enthusiastic about building a church in Wharton. Late in 1946, Father Fullerton and Father Collins were able to get five acres on the outskirts of the city limits of Wharton.  They planned to build the church on that corner.   They also organized the Mexican men as a committee to help in the construction of the church and in raising funds to help pay for it. Construction on the church started early in January 1947. At first, bad weather held them up, but once they started the weather held and they were able to build faster than he had anticipated. The men came out in goodly numbers to give a hand. On the Feast of the Ascension in 1948 a small tornado hit Wharton. The storm had knocked down all the trusses and torn out all the walls. It was a terrible sight to see the work of several months destroyed in a few moments.  Notwithstanding the problems, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel church was blessed on the 24th day of October 1948. His Excellency, Bishop Wendolyn Nold came out to bless it. 

 Father Max Murphy interested Mr. Tom Hackney in the Wharton project and particularly in the problem of obtaining catechists. Mr. Hackney made a very generous donation, building a convent at his own expense. When it was finished about 1951, the Missionary Catechists of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary were established on a permanent basis in Wharton.  The sisters are lovingly referred to as the “Violetas,” from the color of their habit.

Although he was qualified as a teacher and fluent in English and French, Father Leo Adam let his priestly life be directed to the work of the Basilian Fathers missions in Texas.  In 1948, he was assigned to Our lady of Guadalupe Church in Rosenberg where he served for six years.  Father Adam also served at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Wharton and St. Basil’s Church in Angleton.

Father Gerald Orsini, younger brother of father Francis Orsini, began his service to the missions at St Patrick’s church in Navasota in 1951.

In 1949, Father Joe Shannon was assigned to St. Thomas High School in Houston, and re-assigned in 1950 to Our lady of Guadalupe Church in Rosenberg. Fathers Jack Broussard and Don Mooney were appointed to Our lady of Guadalupe Church in Rosenberg in 1953.

The ground for St. John Fisher Church in Richmond, Texas was blessed in 1952, in preparation for construction. The construction crew included Father John Onorato, Father Jack Broussard, Father Fred Sohn, Father Bob Chauvin, Father Leo Adam and many Mexican parishioners. On January 4, 1953, the first High Mass was sung in the new St. John Fisher Church in Richmond, Texas.  This is the second mission church built with donations from the Aquinas Mission Crusade, now known as the Aquinas Institute Mission Bouts, from which annual donations are made to the missions.

 In 1953, Father Bob Ritz was assigned to serve the Mexican Missions at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Rosenberg.

Father Joseph Dillon succumbed to stomach cancer on October 27, 1953.  He spent his last days serving his beloved Mexican people. The people he served on the missions loved “Padre Jose” profoundly.  The parish at Wharton erected a shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe in his memory.

In 1954, Father Richard Jeffrey began serving the poor Mexicans at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Wharton.  The following year, he was transferred to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Rosenberg.

In 1960, the Basilian Fathers built a new St. Theresa Church on a larger property in Sugar Land, Texas.  This left the old wood structure available for the Basilians to use as a mission center.

During this time, Basilians kept coming to serve in the missions.  Father Frank Launtrie was assigned to Our Lady of Mt Carmel in Wharton in 1957; Father Ray Jackson was assigned to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Rosenberg in 1960; and Father Tom Dugan was assigned to our Lady of Mt Carmel in Wharton in 1961.

 By 1960, a mere 24 years from the beginning of the mission work in South Texas, active mission areas encompassed dozens of sites from Navasota to Matagorda, a distance of more than 150 miles.

St Joseph Center, the home of the Basilian Fathers Latin American Apostolate in Sugar Land, Texas, is the base from which the Basilian Fathers responded to the call of Pope John XXIII to minister to the people of Mexico in 1961.

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