Cathedral of San Agustin
Encyclopedia
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
. It is located at 214 San Bernardo Avenue in the heart of the downtown area in the San Agustin Historical District. The present church building dates from 1872. The bishop is the Most Reverend James Anthony Tamayo
James Anthony Tamayo
James Anthony Tamayo is the current bishop of Laredo, Texas. He was ordained a priest on July 11, 1976 and ordained a bishop on March 10, 1993, becoming auxiliary bishop of Galveston-Houston and titular bishop of Ita...
. As of 2000, the cathedral was the mother church for 222,250 Catholics in the diocese.
History
The Villa de San Agustin de Laredo was established in 1755. Its founding residents wanted a Catholic church for a place of worship. The Bishop of Guadalajara, Fray Francisco de San Buena Ventura ordered the construction of a small mission chapel in 1760 which was the only place of worship until 1778. In 1778, the first stone structure was erected to accommodate more than two hundred families. In 1789, San Agustin was established as a parishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
by the Bishop of Guadalajara.
In 1848, Bishop John M. Odin
Jean-Marie Odin
Jean-Marie Odin, C.M. was a French Roman Catholic missionary, first Bishop of Galveston , and second Archbishop of New Orleans .-Biography:...
of the Diocese of Galveston, assigned several French priests to this part of his territory. Among them was Father Allophone Martin Souchon who in 1866 began the construction of the present church. San Agustin Church is a Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
structure with a five-story- 141 ft (43m) bell
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
/ clock tower
Clock tower
A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
. All the windows have the traditional Gothic shape with stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
located between structural bays of its masonry walls. A French priest, Father Pierre Yves Keralum, was the designer and architect for this historical monument. The new church was opened on December 12, 1872.
From 1989 to 1994, the San Agustin Church Historical Preservation and Restoration Society carried out a $675,000 restoration project. A new Blessed Sacrament Chapel was installed. The whole church was repaired and restored and a brick plaza was created along the front of the church.
In 2000, the Diocese of Laredo was established and the San Agustin Church was made its Cathedral by orders of His Holiness Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
.
Today, the San Agustin Cathedral is one of the oldest in the Southwest still standing. It is also the second tallest building in Laredo. The San Agustin de Laredo Historic District is in the National Register of Historical Places.
See also
- CathedralCathedralA cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
- Roman Catholic ChurchRoman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
- Laredo, TexasLaredo, TexasLaredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
- List of buildings in Laredo, Texas