Ou,· C at/10/ic fl eritagc in Texas
of Our Lady of Guadalupe and placed under Father J. McDonald, C.S.C., the first pastor. He remained in charge of work among the Spanish- speaking until January 14, 1925, when he turned the parish over to Reverend Jose Prieto, 0.M.I. The Oblates have been in charge of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Austin ever since. It was Father Joseph Hauser, C.S.C., who built the church at Bertram, Texas, with the money which New York Police gave Father Daniel Gleason, C.S.C., on the occasion of his ordination to the priesthood. Father Hauser was stationed at Georgetown at the time as pastor of St. Helen's Church. He had been going to say Mass at Bertram for the few Catholics living in the small community. His zeal and interest resulted in the establishment of a mission which in 1945 was placed under the care of St. Mary's of Lampasas. It is still tendered by the Fathers of the Holy Cross. Today the Fathers of the Holy Cross have parishes, in Austin, Georgetown, and Lampasas. Tlze Society of Jest~s, SJ., 1873. The persecution of the Church in Mexico brought about by the Guerra de Reforma (War of the Reform) culminated in the expulsion of the Jesuits in the summer of 1873. Some of the members of the Order made their way to San Antonio, where they were given shelter by Bishop Dubuis of Galveston. The grateful exiles immediately busied themselves with the preaching of missions to the Spanish-speaking, who at that time constituted a majority. They were given charge of missions Concepcion, San Jose, and San Juan Capistrano, together with the Church of Carmen on the Medina. The Reverend Thomas Mas was their Superior. Father Barragan was in charge of Graytown, while Father Julius Sayet was at Blas Herrara, Bexar County. Father F. L. Mand, stationed at Indianola, took care of Port Lavaca, Cuero, and Texana. Their traditional interest being education, the exiled Jesuits soon began to plan a new college for the city of San Antonio. A quick survey of conditions made them decide on the nearby city of Seguin, where they opened the seminary college of Guadalupe in 1877 under the direction of Father A. Rivas, S.J. His companion, Father A. Morandi, S.J., was placed in charge of the parish. When the new Diocese of San Antonio was erected in the fall of 1874, Bishop Pellicer, its first administrator, gave his approval to the new college and seminary and encouraged the founders to persevere. Several of his seminarians were sent to pursue their studies under the Jesuit Fathers.
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