St. Mary Cathedral

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St. Mary Cathedral Basilica is the primary cathedral of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and the mother church of the Catholic Club in Texas. Along with the Co-Cathedral of the sacred Heart in Houston, St. Mary serves more than 1.5 million Catholics living in the Archdiocese.

The Cathedral Basilica is notable as being one of the few buildings in Galveston that survived the devastating Great Storm of 1900 with only minimal damage. However, it did sustain significant water damage during Hurricane Ike in 2008 and was closed for repairs until Easter 2014.

St. Mary Cathedral was named a Texas state historic landmark in 1968 and a national historic landmark in 1973. In 1979, in recognition of the Cathedral's importance to the community and the State of Texas, as well as the historical impact it had on Catholicism in the state of Texas, Pope John Paul II elevated St. Mary Cathedral to the status of a minor basilica.

Construction of the Cathedral
Father John Odin embarked from New Orleans on a schooner bound for the Texas coast, arriving in Galveston early in 1841. There, he found a community of Catholics eager to build a church for their small congregation.

In the months that followed, Father Odin procured enough money to begin construction of a wooden-frame church. He was assisted in this venture by Colonel Michael B. Menard and Dr. Nicholas Labadie, two prominent Galvestonians. (Colonel Menard is to be remembered as one of the founders of the City of Galveston.)

On February 6, 1842, Father Odin dedicated the completed structure to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The small, rectangular building measured 22 feet. Father Odin, now the Apostolic Vicar of Texas, purchased a five-room cottage as the episcopal residence. He made an addition to the church structure of a small sacristy and bought 30 benches for the convenience of his parishioners.

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In 1845, Father Odin purchased 500,000 bricks from Belgium,  which were shipped to Galveston. He would use the bricks in the construction of his dream: a larger, permanent church. The little frame church was moved out into the street, and work on the new St. Mary began in 1847. The ceremony of laying the cornerstone took place on Sunday, March 14, 1947. On November 26, 1848, the Cathedral was ready for dedication.