Religio11.r Conmmnitiu of Men in Texas
215
the only port left to the Confederacy. The three bells, a gift of Captain Mifflin Kennedy, were blessed on May 20, 1866, the sponsors being Mifflin Kennedy, Petra Vela Kennedy, Sara T. Kennedy, Nestor Maxan, Sofia Rivadulla, Ignace E. Rock, and Felipa H. Tijerina. 19 The territory entrusted to the Congregation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate by Bishop Odin of Galveston comprised the counties of Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, Zapata, Jim Hogg, Brooks, Kennedy, Wil- lacy and part of Kleberg. It spread over an area about two hundred ten miles long and ninety miles wide, with a population of some fourteen thousand souls, all but about five hundred, being Spanish-speaking. In 1884, the following counties were added to the territory placed in their care: Maverick, Dimmit, Zavala, Valverde, Kenney, Uvalde, Real, Ed- wards, Terrell, Pecos, Crockett and Schleicher. At the same time they were given charge of St. Mary's Church in San Antonio. In 1907, the counties of Menard, Mason, Llano, San Saba, Concho, McCullough, Coleman and Brown were assigned to them. The Texas Mission of the Oblates was attached to the general admin- istration from 1849 to 1883. In that year it was made a part of the United States Province, and in 1904 the Texas Mission was made an independent province by virtue of a Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda, dated September 24, 1904. The new province thus organ- ized included not only the counties in Texas already mentioned but it extended to the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. The first provincial was Henry Constantineau who served from October 2, 1904 to November 29, 1913. The Texas Oblates today work in four American archdioceses: Los Angeles, Santa Fe, San Antonio, and New Orleans. In Texas proper they work in the dioceses of Corpus Christi, Amarillo, Austin, Galveston and Dallas, and the archdiocese of San Antonio. They maintain three Houses of Formation: St. Anthony's Apostolic School and De Mazeno<l Scholasticate in San Antonio, and St. Peter's Novitiate at La Lomita, near Mission, Texas. The Oblate Province furnishes Chaplains to the Texas State Prison System, to the City Jail in San Antonio, and to Mercy Hospital in Brownsville. They visit forty other hospitals and are in charge of the San Antonio .Reform School for Boys. 20 Franciscan Friars Min01' Conventual, O.M.C., 185.2. The "Black 19 /bid., 16. 20 Notes for Oblate Histnr,y, 3-4. Cf. Catholic Directory for li~t of pari~he~ in charge of the Ohlate Fathers.
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