0111· Catlrolic Heritage in Texas
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progress of ecclesiastical life in the territory which we now know as the State of Texas. Then came the task to create a connected and chrono- logical account out of a maze of facts, episodes, and situations. When the first chapters were being written it was immediately evident that the work of Dr. Castaneda could not only be a history of the Church, it would necessarily also be a history of Texas. There were many "firsts,"--en- tirely new and hitherto unknown facts discovered and put down in writing for posterity by Dr. Castaneda as his work progressed, and the annals of both the Church and of Texas became richer by the additions he made to known history. Dr. Castaneda undertook this work as a part-time project. As a pro- fessor of history of Spain and Latin America at the University of Texas his principal work left little time for the stupendous research he had undertaken. Nevertheless at every free moment, at all hours, for days, weeks, and stretching out into years, he devoted himself to the task of writing the series of Our Catleolic Heritage. Taking into account all the labors involved, the first volumes of the series appeared in quick succes- sion. The first five volumes designated as dealing with the Mission period bore the following subtitles: Vol. 1.-Tlee Finding of Texas. 1519-1693. Vol. II.-The Winning of Texas. 1693-1791. Vol. III.-Tlie }Jfissions at Work. 1731-1761. Vol. IV.-The Passing of tlee il1issions. 1762-1782. Vol. V.-The End of the Spanish Regime. 1780-1810. Every preparation had been made for the writing and publication of the sixth volume but the work had to be temporarily postponed when Dr. Castaneda was invited to serve on the President's Committee on Fair Employment Practice, a committee which functioned during the war years. In 1946 the work on the sixth volume was resumed. Because of many unforeseen delays, which need not be described here, the volume could not be published until 1950. It appeared under the subtitle, "The Fight For Freedom,'' and details the history of the Church from 1810- 1836. According to the original intention of the Historical Commission, the series dealing with the history of the Church in Texas was to be concluded with the period marking the Centennial year of 1936. The members of the Commission, with the approval of the State officers of the Knights of Columbus, later decided that the final volume of Our Catholic H erit-11ge
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