Winds of change

The area that became the Diocese of Corpus Christi was caught up in two wars of independence within a period of less than 20 years. First, México fought for independence from Spain in the 1820s and then Texas battled for independence from the Republic of Mexico in the 1830s. 

These conflicts took their toll on many Catholic communities.  Changes had already begun in the Catholic presence in south Texas as the missions that served the natives became secularized to serve more as parish churches for the needs of ever-increasing settlers.

Padre José Nicolás Balli, a secular priest, served the lower Rio Grande Valley while stationed at Nuestra Señora del Refugio in the Matamoros area from 1804 to 1829. He also founded a ranch on the island in present day Cameron County, and established the first church there for both the conversion of the Karankawa Indians and the benefit of the local settlers he brought to the island.  Ultimately the island, originally named Isla de Santiago, was renamed Padre Island in Father Balli’s honor. 

México faced many difficulties in obtaining its independence after the famous “Grito de Dolores” (the cry for independence) issued by the Mexican Catholic priest Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla on Sept. 16, 1810.  Armed conflicts lasted more than 10 years before independence was won in 1821. This hard-won independence was soon followed by the Texan war of independence in 1835. 

While these transitions were more tranquil in some of the northern centers, San Antonio experienced battles in 1813, 1835, 1836 and 1842.  Development of the church was periodically interrupted for a number of years.  As the young Republic of Mexico tried to stabilize, the central government made a decision that also changed the course of events in Texas for the church and the state. 

In an effort to settle the provisional northern state of Coahuila y Texas because of fears of encroachment by the United States, the Mexican government initiated its first colonization law in 1823.  Empresarios entered into contracts with the state to organize the settlement of territory in exchange for land.
 
Empresarios in the south Texas area included James Power and James Hewetson as well as John McMullen and his partner James McGloin.  Power and Hewetson settled Irish colonists and Mexican families, especially in the area of Refugio.  McMullen and McGloin brought colonists to the area of present day San Patricio, north of the Nueces River. 

The history of the settlers at San Patricio paints a good portrait of that period. This settlement was situated on or near the site of the old Santa Margarita Ranch of empresario Martín de León who had abandoned the site during the Mexican Revolution around 1811.

The community of San Patricio built its first church in 1831 and enjoyed a series of resident pastors, including Father Henry Doyle and Father Thomas J. Malloy, at a time when there was a serious shortage of clergy.  The Franciscans had ceased to serve in south Texas after the secularization of the missions and their recall to Mexico.

With the separation of Texas from Mexico after 1836, existing records show that the only secular priests at the time were in San Patricio, Goliad, Nacogdoches and San Antonio. The parish in San Patricio served as a center of activities for the small bicultural community of Irish and Mexicans. The shared Catholic faith helped bridge their different backgrounds.

The colonists, however, soon found themselves caught in renewed conflicts as Texas sought its independence from Mexico.  Catholics found themselves at times divided in their allegiances and it became more difficult to maintain neutrality. San Patricio was the sight of one battle between Mexican and Texan forces.

Some San Patricio colonists joined the Texan army and fought at Goliad. According to legend, Father Malloy, along with Señora Francisca Álvarez, the wife of a Mexican officer who later became known as “The Angel of Goliad,” were instrumental in saving a number of young men of San Patricio from death during the execution of Fannin’s men at Presidio La Bahía in 1836. 

The Republic of Texas after 1836 was still nominally under the authority of the Diocese of Linares-Monterrey, which did not have a bishop for 10 years because of the unrest in Mexico.  Even after one was appointed, he had to flee because of persecution. Finally, in 1838, the Vatican asked Bishop Antoine Blanc of New Orleans to take responsibility for the Catholics in Texas.

Bishop Blanc appointed Vincentian Father John Timon, C.M. as his vicar for all of Texas. Father Timon visited with Catholic leaders from throughout Texas and reported back that there were an estimated 12,000 Catholics in Texas. There was a lack of clergy, and the faithful’s faced great difficulties.

In 1841, the Republic of Texas was made a Vicariate Apostolic, and Bishop Jean Marie Odin C.M., who had worked with Father Timon in Texas, was appointed the Vicar Apostolic, with his residence in Galveston.  The bishop immediately faced the problem of asking the government of the Republic of Texas to recognize the ownership of all church property, such as the old mission buildings that were badly needed for services.

Thus, while older communities like Laredo, San Patricio, Refugio and Goliad were left with chapels in which to celebrate Mass other communities were only blessed with Catholic families who welcomed Bishop Odin or a visiting priest into their homes for lodging as well as a place to celebrate the Mass and the sacraments.

In order to meet the need of the people, Bishop Odin embarked on an effort to bring in both clergy and religious. Two of the four priests initially assisting Bishop Odin served in the territory that is today the Diocese of Corpus Christi.

One was Father Eubaldus Estany, C.M. who made frequent visits to Kinney’s Trading Post, established in 1839 and located on the site later to become the city of Corpus Christi. 

Father Estany, a Vincentian priest who came to Texas with Bishop Odin in 1840, resided on the San Antonio River and visited villages and ranches in a circumference of about 400 miles in an effort to cover the huge territory that comprised the Vicariate. 

Captain W. S. Henry attended one of the services held by Father Estany at Kinney’s ranch on Aug. 3, 1845, and wrote to a friend of his experience; “Here there is a Catholic service at one of the houses in the ranch…the priest soon made his appearance.  His name is Estany, a native of old Spain, who, fired with the enthusiasm of the gospel, had become a traveling savior of souls…He gave us an excellent sermon in Spanish and English.”

Father Estany was followed by other priests, many of them traveling out of the larger ciudad of Victoria to serve the communities throughout south Texas in what became the Diocese of Corpus Christi.

In 1845, Bishop Odin learned that the United States had annexed Texas. He knew this development meant major changes for Catholics in Texas.