Ottr Catlzolic H eri~age in T ezas
Catholic students and professors had to walk six miles over bad roads, through deep mud in rainy weather, to hear Mass at St. Joseph's Church in Bryan because there was no transportation. It was very difficult for them under the circumstances to keep up the practices of their faith. In his magnetic way, he made a moving plea to the Knights to undertake the building of a chapel for them. Msgr. Kirwin joined him in pleading eloquently for immediate action. But the members of the Order felt the undertaking was beyond their means. No action was taken on the proposed project at this time, although everyone present was in sympathy with the proposal. When the next Convention met in Laredo, in 1924, State Deputy J. I. Driscoll recommended in his annual report that steps be taken without delay to remedy the situation at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas so graphically described the previous year to the Convention. The Committee on the Good of the Order unanimously approved the recommendation and moved that the State Deputy be authorized to confer with His Excellency the Bishop of Galveston concerning the matter. In the meantime the interest aroused in the worthiness of the cause the year before had impelled the Councils at Cameron, Texarkana, Orange, Hallettsville, West, Santa Maria, Port Arthur, and Bryan to send indi- vidual donations to Father Gleissner, who without loss of time had bought for $1,000 a suitable location just north of the campus for the projected chapel. Upon consultation, Bishop C. E. Byrne of Galveston advised State Deputy Driscoll to contact Father Gleissner, who was in charge of the work at College Station and was better acquainted with the needs of the locality. The State Deputy visited Father Gleissner in November, 1925, and subsequently reported to the Convention in 1926 that he had found the property acquired by Father Gleissner for the construction of a chapel both pleasant and suitable for the purpose. The Convention approved the project for the building of a chapel for the Catholic students at College Station. Great was the joy of Father Gleissner when he received the good news early that summer. On the Feast of the Holy Rosary, October 7, 1926, ground was broken and on Sunday, January 9, 1927, the cornerstone was laid bearing the inscription "St. Mary's Chapel, erected by the State Council of the Knights of Columbus of Texas, A.D. 1927." Early in April the chapel, which had been but a dream two years before, was a reality. Bishop Byrne dedicated it on Sunday, April 24. The Solemn
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