Our Catliolic Heritage i11, Texas
sown by the consecrated messengers of the Church in early T~xas. • • • How like the patriarchs this man appeared! What a glorious com- mentary upon the blessed work of the Church !"z It is contrary to fact to declare that "the Catholic religion was al- most nonexistent before 1840, there being practically no priests in Texas before that time." 3 It is true that in the closing years of the Mexican regime, as in the spreading gloom of parting day, the light of the true Faith dimmed, activity slackened until it came to a stop, and all but two unworthy representatives of the clergy were left in San Antonio by the time of the Revolution. This was the result of a series of circumstances that seemed to contrive to bring about the ap- parent end of the Church in Texas.' Catholic participation in tlze creation of the new Rep11,blic. Eight Catholics had signed the Declaration of Independence on that cheerless March 2, 1836. They were Lorenzo de Zavala, James Power, Michael B. Menard, Jose Antonio Navarro, Francisco Ruiz, Charles S. Taylor, John White Bower, and Edwin Conrad. Three other delegates failed to sign because tney were absent at the time helping their families: ohn J. Linn, Juan Antonio Padilla, and Dr. James Kerr. 5 Had all the Catholic de egates been present at the time, they would have made up twenty percent of the signers, greatly in excess of the proportion of Catholics in Texas. Catholics fell at the Alamo; others were victims of the Goliad massacre. Catholics, too, fought at San Jacinto-Irishmen from San Patricio and Refugio, settlers from N11ssoun and Kentucky, Texas-Mexicans from San Antonio, and Grays from New Orleans-all fighting for Texas- independence and the dignity of man. 6 It has been generally concluded without foundation that there were very few Catholics among the settlers before 1836. One of the colonists who came to Texas early in 1829 visited all the colonies in the next seven years. Having also been to Monclova, he was in a position to know conditions. He declared that one out of ten in the English-speaking settlements was a Catholic. At the time of the Revolution, accordingly, there were more than 2,500 Catholics in the colonies. Added to the 2 Jobn J. Linn, ReminiJcences of Fifty Years in Texas, 15-16. *Joseph William Schmitz, Tlius They lived, 67-68. •~rlos E. Castaneda, Our Catholic Heritage in Texas, Volume VI, Chapter XI. Details in the chapter indicate the Catholic activities from 1821 to 1836. 5 Wlllhm B. Ryan, Sl,amrock and Cactus, 33-38. •JbiJ.
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