Immaculate Conception Cathedral

The Immaculate Conception Cathedral, the Diocese’s most historical church, traces its roots to a small wooden church that served as the first church in Brownsville.
In 1850, Father Adrien Pierre Telmon, one of the first Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate to come to Brownsville, built a small wooden church between Adams and Jefferson streets that accommodated 300 people. The first Mass was celebrated on June 29, 1850. Three years later Father Jean Marie Casimir Verdet started the design and construction of a larger church to replace the temporary wooden structure. The cornerstone was laid on July 6, 1856. Over 250,000 clay bricks were made for the church in the village of Santa Rosalia, three miles east of the old town site of Brownsville.

Father Verdet died on a ship that capsized while sailing to New Orleans in 1856 to collect funds and to purchase lumber for the new church. Father Pierre Yves Keralum, who was an architect in France before becoming an Oblate, carried out the construction until its completion.
The building was completed in 1859 and blessed by Father Augustin Gaudet on June 12,1859, 10 years after the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate first arrived in the Valley. The church was credited with being the largest church in Texas at the time.

The rectory behind the church was the site of the first Texas Oblate seminary and served as a haven for priests fleeing revolutions in Mexico. It was built at the request of Bishop Odin and completed in 1861.

This historical church was elevated to a cathedral in 1874 when the large Texas diocese was divided and the Vicariate Apostolic of Brownsville was established. It remained as such until 1912 when the Vicariate Apostolic of Brownsville was converted into the Diocese of Corpus Christi. The Immaculate Conception church was designated a Cathedral again in 1965 by Bishop Adolph Marx upon the creation of the Diocese of Brownsville.

The church, built in a Gothic Revival style, became a reality through the generous contributions of its parishioners throughout the years. In 1866, a parishioner gave $1,400 for the purchase of chandeliers, which were ordered from a factory in Paris. That same year, Captain Mifflin Kenedy donated $2,000 for three bells for the bell tower. A smaller bell that was used in the original church was moved to the tower as well. These same bronze bells ring today in Brownsville’s downtown area, announcing each Mass.

The utmost care and detail went into the construction of the church. The ceiling is of specially prepared canvas painted blue, and at one time it was covered with gold stars. The pulpit was built of native Mesquite by a local cabinetmaker and a concealed spiral stair provided access to the pulpit.
The cathedral sustained heavy damage on Oct. 8, 1967 when Brownsville was hit by Hurricane Beulah, one of the most severe hurricanes to hit the Texas coast. Six months after the hurricane, the ladies of the parish organized a fair which raised $3,400 to repair the arched vaulted ceiling in the church.
On another occasion, fundraising by the ladies of the church and Father Parisot contributed to the purchase of a pipe organ featuring 340 pipes. To raise money Father Parisot traveled the Rio Grande Valley on horseback for 15 days and collected livestock donations. He raffled the livestock for $11 each and raised $715 of the $1,450 needed for the organ.

In the mid-1960s, Charles Stillman’s great granddaughter gifted the cathedral with a chapel and a new baptistery as a memorial to her grandfather. Central to the chapel was a reproduction canvas of Murillo’s “Madonna and Child.” In 1966 she insisted on giving the original of the Murillo masterpiece to the cathedral. Five years later a firebomb was thrown into the Cathedral causing costly damage, including smoke damage to the original painting. The painting was returned when the value of the painting made it too costly to insure and safeguard. A copy now hangs in its place.
In 1970, the original altar, rail and two chandeliers were removed from the cathedral in an effort to modernize the church when the present altar was built.

Time has taken its toll on this historic church. However, just as early Catholics came to its aid in its early days, they are doing the same in the twenty-first century. Community members organized a committee to make plans for restoring the church, and these plans took root in 2002. To underscore the importance of the restoration project, Bishop Raymundo J. Peña established the Cathedral as his official residence in Brownsville in March 2002.

Today this historic Cathedral continues to beckon Catholics through its doors. Every day priests celebrate Mass with the faithful, and each year its beauty is featured on television during the Easter Mass, which is televised live on KRGV-TV, Channel 5.

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CATHEDRAL
1218 E. JEFFERSON ST.
BROWNSVILLE, TX 78522
956-546-3178 · 956-546-1284 Fax

Rev. Pasquale Lanese, OMI, Rector
PV:Rev. Michael J. Amesse, DMI

Mass Schedule
Saturday 12 noon (Bilingual), 6:30 p.m. (Spanish)
Sunday 8:00 a.m. (Spanish), 10:30 a.m. (English) 12:30 p.m. (English), 7:00 p.m. (Spanish)
Monday - Friday 12 noon (Bilingual)

Cathedral Gift Shop/ Museum
1158 E. Jefferson St.
Brownsville, TX 78521
956-546-9927
Store Hours:
Monday - Saturday
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

last updated 09-Apr-2008 9:58 sitemap