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Holy Cross Fatliers, C.S.C., 1870. The Fathers of the Holy Cross came to Texas in 1870, at the request of Bishop Dubuis. The circum- stances of their coming are detailed in the subsequent chapter. Their work has not been confined by any means to education. St. Mary's of Austin, now the Cathedral, was assigned to them by Bishop Dubuis. On May 4, 1874, the Reverend Daniel J. Spillard, C.S.C., was named Pastor. He served in this capacity until 1882, when he was succeeded by Father Peter Lauth, C.S.C. The church has been in their care ever since. The Fathers of the Holy Cross evinced from the beginning the pioneer spirit of the missionaries of old. As early as 1870, Father Spillard is said to have been in the habit of visiting Taylor, then called Taylorville, once a month to say Mass. At his suggestion a church was begun in 1877, in which, when finished, Father James (Jacob?) Lauth, C.S.C., of Austin, continued to celebrate Mass after Father Spillard found no time for his monthly visitations. In 1888, Father John Lauth, brother of Father James, became the first resident pastor of St. Mary's Church in Taylor. Under the watchful care of the Holy Cross Fathers, the little parish grew and developed into a flourishing Catholic center for the entire countryside. Father John Lauth, fired by his missionary zeal, went from Taylor to Temple, Texas, to celebrate Mass for the struggling little church of St. Mary's. On the second Sunday in April, 1883, he celebrated the first Mass in the new parish of St. Mary's in the home of Mr. Thomas Sutton. Before the end of the month he made arrangements for a monthly Mass at the McCelvey and Worthman Hall. This was the beginning of the new parish. Other Holy Cross Fathers who served in the new parish at Temple were Malloy, P. Franciscus, and P. J. Hurth. After Father Hurth, later Bishop of Dacca, Bengal, India, the parish of St. Mary at Temple was administered by seculars. From St. Edward's University in Austin, priests of the Holy Cross went to Westphalia, Texas, as early as 1884 to carry the comforts of religion to the first settlers. The first service in the new Church of the Visitation was held in February of that year. The original small struc- ture, put up with so much enthusiasm, was severely damaged by a storm in May, and again nine years later, in 1893. The present large and substantial church was begun by the patient and faithful parishoners that year. It was completed in 1895. Among the priests from St. Edward's University in Austin, who cared for the Church in Westphalia, Texas, in the early years were men like Father P. J. Hurth, C.S.C., the future
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