St. Mary Cathedral Basilica in Galveston is the mother church of Texas Catholics. This is the Catholic cathedral of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and the mother church of Catholics in Texas. Together with the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston, St. Mary serves over 1.5 million Catholics in the archdiocese.
Its story begins humbly: the first St. Mary was a small wooden building erected in 1842. That humble church was replaced in 1848 by the current structure, which became a cathedral when it was dedicated. Those layers of time show here—St. Mary was spared significant damage during the hurricane of 1900, yet it was flooded during Hurricane Ike in 2008. After six years of repairs and renovations, it reopened in 2014.
Long before, with the end of the Texas Revolution in 1836, the church’s governance shifted: in 1840 Pope Gregory XVI transferred jurisdiction for Texas Catholics to the new Apostolic Prefecture of Texas and named Reverend John Timon apostolic prefect. St. Mary was elevated to the state of a minor basilica in 2004 and later became part of Holy Family Parish in 2009.
Picture the small wooden church that stood here in 1842, years ahead of this 1848 structure and its 2004 basilica status.