Water Rails & Oil - Historic Mid & South Jefferson County

CATHOLIC
DIOCESE OF
BEAUMONT
❖
Above: St. Anthony Cathedral
Basilica, Beaumont.
Below: Our Lady of Guadalupe
Shrine, Port Arthur.
The Catholic faith in Southeast Texas began in
the mid-1500s, with the arrival of priests who
came with the Spanish who came to settle Texas.
Father John M. Odin, C.M., came to Texas in
1840 to help establish the Church of Texas. He
was the first Bishop of the Galveston Diocese
during this era, when Texas had only ten
parishes—none of which were in Southeast
Texas. From other parts of Texas, priests traveled
from one outlying mission to another, arriving
first by horseback or buggy, and later, after
construction of the railway line, coming by train
to minister to Catholics in what is now Port
Arthur and other settlements in Southeast Texas.
As early as 1899, the Catholic community
in South Jefferson County was served by
Father John Gallagher, a priest stationed at
Galveston’s St. Mary’s Cathedral. The first Catholic
church in South Jefferson County was dedicated
to St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception on
September 27, 1903, in Port Arthur. The second
Catholic church in South Jefferson County had its
beginning delayed due to the 1915 Hurricane.
Father Alexis LaPlante, S.S.J., arrived in Port
Arthur about the same time as the hurricane in
August. High water forced him to move to
Beaumont until it was safe to return to Port Arthur
and begin Sacred Heart Parish.
By the early 1920s there were a few Catholic
churches in Mid- and South Jefferson County.
Other parishes grew from outreach of the
established churches. Father Fred Hardy arrived
in Port Neches in 1922 as first pastor of St.
Elizabeth Parish. Through his hard work, three
missions of St. Elizabeth were established in
Groves, Port Acres and Nederland. These
missions went on to become full parishes.
St. Mary School in Port Arthur was the first
Catholic school in South Jefferson County,
opening in 1914. Today, Catholic education still
has a presence in Port Arthur with St. Catherine
of Siena Catholic School, which was founded in
1961. All Catholic schools in the diocese are
fully accredited by the Texas Education
Association. In 2006 the diocesan schools were
honored with a prestigious award from the
National Catholic Educational Association.
Healthcare in Port Arthur grew when the
Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word
arrived and took over the Mary Gates
Memorial Hospital that became St. Mary,
now Christus Hospital–St. Mary. The Diocese also
has an active program of social services through
Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas that
includes the Hospitality Center in Port Arthur.
The current Diocese of Beaumont, which
was established in 1966, takes in nine
counties in Southeast Texas, including South
Jefferson County.
Five bishops have served the Beaumont
Diocese—Most Reverend Vincent M. Harris
(1966-1971), Most Reverend Warren L.
Boudreaux (1971-1977), Most Reverend
Bernard J. Ganter (1977-1993), Most Reverend
Joseph A. Galante (1994-2000), and
70 ✦ WATER, RAILS & OIL