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Our Catlzolic Heritage in Texas
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epidemics, immigration had not entirely stopped. Families continued to arrive, and plans to bring large groups of settlers from Europe were being actively sponsored. A colonizing agent had purchased a third interest in Harrisburg, chartered a bank, obtained a franchise to build a railroad, and secured four leagues of land in the vicinity of Houston. Many new Catholic immigrants were expected. Two French empresarios, Messrs. Ducos and Bourgeois, had obtained a grant of two million acres and had gone to Paris to recruit settlers "to move to this country," remarked Odin and added, "If we had only peace, there would soon be a great tide of emigration [sic] ." 4 z September proved the most disastrous month of 1842 for the Church in Texas. The second occupation of San Antonio by General Woll temporarily restored Refugio de la Garza as parish priest, Fortunately, the suspension of Calvo by the invaders lasted less than ten days, and Garza, who in truth had not initiated the move, decided to leave San Antonio with the invaders. At almost this same time a severe storm struck Galveston and, among other property, destroyed St. Mary's church. With the passing of the tempest the scattered remains of the building were gathered and work was started on a new church which was completed by March 21, 1843. This second St. Mary's boasted a steeple, in which a "Mass bell" was proudly hung by Odin on that day. The bell had an inscription that read: "D.0.M.-St. Maria, ora pro nobis, A .Af.P.-Epco, lllmo. ]. 11'1. Odin, cast by Schemoix and J. Wilson, Houston, Texas, 1843." 43 Evidently, Houston must have had a foundry as early as 1843, and probably this was the first bell ever cast in Texas. Odin at the Fifth Provincial Council of Baltimure. Although Texas was not yet a part of the United States and its Vicar Apostolic was in no way subordinated to the Metropolitan in Baltimore, nevertheless, Timon felt that the Vicariate had interests and problems common to the Church in the United States and that it would be greatly to Odin's interest and the good of the faithful in Texas for the new Vicar Apostolic to attend the Provincial Council to be held in Baltimore on May 14, 1843. It would give the new Vicar Apostolic an opportunity to meet and establish personal relations with the fourteen Bishops in the United States pledged to attend as well as the superiors of the 41 0din to Timon, August 29, 1842; Odin, Diar,y, entries for October 2 5, De- cember 22, 1842, and January S, 1843, C. A. T. See also Bayard, op. cit., 296- 302. 41 0din to Blanc, September 19, 1842; Odin, Diar,y, entries for September I 9, 1842, and March 21-22, 1843, C. A. T.
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