Ou,· C at/t.oli& Heritage in Texas
to the day from the date on which permission for building was given, the Most Reverend C. E. Byrne, Bishop of Galveston, dedicated the new church, on November 15, 1933. 69 In the Archdiocese of San Antonio, the Dominican Fathers from Mexico were placed in charge of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Cuero in 1925. As the Spanish-speaking population of Cuero grew, it had become evident that St. Michael's was not large enough to accommodate both the English and Spanish speaking Catholics. As early as 1923 plans to estab- lish a church for the Latin Americans had been contemplated. In 1924 Mr. W. H. Graham donated a block of land for the purpose; construction was begun in November 1924; and the church was completed and blessed by Archbishop Drossaerts on May 4, 1925, when it was placed in the care of the Dominicans from Mexico. From 1925 to 1932 the Dominicans were in charge of the new parish. In addition to the Spanish-speaking of Cuero, they cared for the mission at Yoakum, Yorktown and Nordheim. The outstanding worker during the ~hort period of seven years from 1925 to 1932, Father Juan Zabala, O.P., to whom much credit for the spiritual advancement of the parish and the rnnstruction of a two-story rectory is due, was in charge of the new parish. After the departure of the Mexican Dominicans in 1932, the Fathers of the Holy Family were put in charge of the parish. 70 In 1946, Father Zabala, O.P., had charge of St. Joseph's Parish for Mexicans in Alice and Fathers Angel Alvarez, O.P., and two assistants, Fathers Alvaro Rodriguez and William C. Alvarez, Dominicans from the Province of St. Albert the Great, were taking care of St. Francis de Pavla in San Diego. Fathers F. L. Vander Heyden, O.P., Ralph D. Goggins, 0.P., and P. B. Pendis, O.P., were in charge of Holy Rosary Parish in Houston in 1946. Franciscans, T.O.R., 1924. The Most Reverend Christopher E. Byrne, Bishop of Galveston, was a sincere admirer of the devoted Spanish Fran- ciscans, who had done so much for the spread of Christianity in the Span· ish Southwest. When he was casting about in 1924 for someone to care for the Spanish-speaking in the vicinity of Waco, it was natural that he should have thought of the Franciscans, for they had been the first to bring Christianity to Texas. His invitation was promptly accepted by the Franciscans of the Third Order Regular, and in the spring of 1924 "Diocese of Galveston, CenJenr,ia/., 1847-1947, p. 59. 70 Archdiocese of San Antonio, Diamond Jubilee, 1874-1949, pp. 239-240; Tl,i Offieial Catliolic Dw1ctM,y, 1947, pp. 323, 403-405, 466.
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