Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Photo by: CJ McLaughlin

Sacred Heart Catholic Church

2508 Appleby Sand Road
Nacogdoches, TX 75965
Phone: 936-564-7807

Sacred Heart Catholic Church WEBSITE
Sacred Heart Catholic Church Facebook Page

Mass Times

Saturday: 11:30 AM Church - Latin
5:00 PM Church - English

Sunday: 9:30 AM - English
12:30 PM - Spanish

Monday: 12:10 PM Church - English
Tuesday: 12:10 PM Church - English
Wednesday: 5:30 PM Church - English
Thursday: 7:00 AM Church - English
7:00 PM Church - Spanish
Friday: 7:00 AM Church - English
1st Friday: 7:00 PM Bilingual

Parish History
It was on July 9, 1716, that Fray Antonio Margil de Jesus, established the Mission Nuestra de Guadalupe de Nacogdoches, (Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission of Nacogdoches). The Mission, which was one of six missions established in East Texas by the Franciscans, was selected by Father Margil, President of the Zacatecan Missions, as his headquarters. The Mission was founded on the west side of North Street, near the present day Muller Street intersection, overlooking Banita Creek. This mission was never permanently abandoned until it was replaced in 1802 by a Catholic Church, which stood on the Little Plaza at the present intersection of North and Main Streets.

At the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, with the crumbling ruins of the Mission Guadalupe, under the guidance of Father Jose Maria de Jesus Degadillo, the erection of the first parochial church building in East Texas took place on Church Plaza in 1802, directly in front of the present court house.
This building served as a place of worship, until the collapse of the Fredonia Rebellion in 1827. At this time it was seized and used as barrack for the Twelfth Permanent Battalion, then stationed in Nacogdoches for the purpose of guarding the frontier against encroachments from the United States.
Constraints, on those permitted to serve as minister, imposed by the political situation in Mexico, left most in Texas without the Sacraments. In 1830 Rev. Fr. Diaz de Leon was assigned to the entire state. Rev. Fr. Diaz, known as the "the last Franciscan in Texas, will long be remembered for the letter which he wrote at the home of P. Borden on November 4, 1834, and which states"...it seems to me to be the last day of my life..." It was, sadly he was murdered while returning to Nacogdoches.

Jurisdiction of the Catholic in the Republic of Texas had reverted to the Holy See and on April 12, 1840, Rev. John Timon, received appointment as the Prefect Apostolic of Texas. He named Right Reverend John M. Odin, DD, as Vicar General for the Republic of Texas.
In 1840, Right Reverend John M. Odin, DD, appointed a committee with the duty of erecting a place of worship to replace the old church building.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Nacogdoches, Texas built in 1910 on the corner of South Pecan and Hospital st. ...photo in 1933

Texas was elevated in the ecclesiastical structure to a Diocese on May 4, 1847, when Pope Pius II erected the Diocese of Galveston (present day Houston-Galveston).
By 1847, Reverend A. Chanrion had raised sufficient funds to begin the erection of the new church building. In the fall of 1847, on North Pecan Street, by the Right Reverend Odin. This wooden structure stood for ninety years.
Jenkins Garrett Texas Postcard Collection, University of Texas at Arlington Libraries. Nacogdoches, Texas, postcard. (n.d). Retrieved from https://library.uta.edu/digitalgallery/img/10000466

Father Francis P. Crane MS, built a new Parish Church at the corner of North Street and Mimms Avenue in April 1936, made possible through a gift for the structure and the furnishings by Mr. & Mrs. J. H. Phelan. The new church building was built on property donated by Mrs. C.C. Rhein. Mrs Rhein also donated her home& which was used as a rectory for the priests, and a brick duplex which was used for a convent for the dominican Nuns.

On April 26, 1937, carpenters began to move the Old Sacred Heart to Fern Lake, 10 miles down the Old Lufkin Road from Nacogdoches, for the construction of Saint Ann's Chapel. Saint Ann's was consecrated on July 26, 1937 (the Feast day of St. Ann) by the Most Reverend Christopher E. Byrne. The church building was moved to Center, Texas in 1951, where it served as a chapel until 1983 when it was converted into a parish hall. In 2001 Sacred Heart in Nacogdoches through the hard work of the parish staff and Very Reverend Monsignor James E. Young, VF was able to obtain the Old Church of the Sacred Heart for a continuation in the Building's History in our parish. Plans are currently underway to restore this gem in the crown to our most high Lord for the edification of all the faithful.
On September 29, 1966, The Diocese of Galveston-Houston was divided to for the new Diocese of Beaumont. Sacred Heart in Nacogdoches and her mission Churches fell under the new Beaumont Diocese's jurisdiction where it remained for 22 more years.

In 1987 the Holy See announced that East Texas was to become part of another Diocese. The Diocese of Tyler made up of 4 other Diocese and once again the Mother Church of Sacred Heart and her missions would be moved in the jurisdiction of another Diocese. On February 24, 1987, the Most Reverend Charles E. Herzig, DD (+), was appointed Bishop of the newly formed Diocese of Tyler.
The current Sacred Heart Church is on property purchased and approved while still in the Diocese of Beaumont. Under the leadership of Very Reverend Monsignor James E. Young, VF, the dream of a new parish church building became reality. Ground breaking ceremonies were held on March 17, 1991 (the feast of St. Patrick) by the Most Reverend Charles E. Herzig, DD (+), and the dedication Mass was held June 26, 1992 (the feast of the Sacred Heart), by the Most Reverend Edmond Carmondy, DD, for the present Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

FR. George Elliott current Pastor 2021
Fr. George Elliott is a priest of the Diocese of Tyler. He grew up across the country, but calls Paris, TX his home-town (lived there for 8 years). He was ordained in 2015, and in that first year of priesthood completed a degree in Patristic Theology. Before being assigned to St. Mary's Catholic Campus Ministry at SFA, he was the Parochial Vicar and Administrator of St. Michael's in Mt. Pleasant, TX. He is also the director of Catholic CAST Media and Catholic Bytes.
Priest at Diocese of Tyler
Studies Theology at Pontificia Università Lateranense
Studied Patristics at Patristic Institute Augustinianum
Studied Philosophy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary
Paris High School
From Paris, Texas

Photo by CJ McLaughlin

Photo by CJ McLaughlin
Sacraments:
Baptism
Reconciliation
Communion
Confirmation
Holy Orders
Marriage
Anointing of the Sick

Festivals:

Sacred Heart Catholic Church Community is a diverse community of believers striving to bring people to God and God to people. We want to invite all people to our community. One of the ways we do so is through events like our Annual Multicultural Festival. For over 30 years this festival has brought together the Hispanic, Filipino, Indian, Texan and many other cultures to enjoy this two day festival for the whole family. Other Festivals we have are the Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Hubert's, and the feast of the Sacred Heart.

The Parade of Nations (The writer of this blog was honored to help organize the Parade of Nations for several years.)

Msgr. James E. Young (The creator of the Multi-Cultural Festival)

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The Flag of the Kingdom of Spain 1519 to 1821

The Spanish Flag of Castile and Leon flew over Texas for three hundred years. Spanish involvement in Texas began with Alonzo Alverez de Pineda's mapping of the Texas coast in 1519. Then, in 1542 Luis de Moscoso came to Nacogdoches and East Texas with the remnants of the Hernando de Soto expedition that had begun four years earlier in Florida. Spain's claim to Texas went back to the DeSoto-Moscoso Expedition, which claimed all of southeastern United States as Spanish Florida. Spain's occupation of Texas began in 1690 with the founding of Mission San Francisco de los Tejas on the Neches River. It continued in 1716 with the founding of six missions from the Neches River to Los Adaes in Western Louisiana, and 1721 with the founding of Presidio Nuestra Señora de Pilar de los Adaes----near present day Robeline, Louisiana. Los Adaes was the first capital of the Province of Texas. Texas was under the Spanish flag until Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821. Interestingly, the first flag used by the Spanish to claim Texas was not the familiar flag of Castile and Leon; it was a banner that had the Virgin of Guadalupe on one side and the crucified Christ on the other.

The Flag of the Kingdom of France 1685 to 1689

France's claim to a part of Texas went back to 1682, when Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, explored the Mississippi and claimed all the land in its drainage for France. For some mapmakers and politicians, this included Texas. He named this land Louisiana. La Salle came to Texas in 1685, after he accidentally sailed past his destination at the mouth of the Mississippi. He established Fort St. Louis and a French settlement on Garcitas Creek off Matagorda Bay. The settlement was ill fated from its beginning. LaSalle was murdered by his own men near Navasota in 1687, and the settlers and soldiers who remained at Fort St. Louis were killed or captured by the Indians in 1689. The Spanish found Fort St. Louis and burned it to the ground in 1690. This French intrusion into Spanish territory caused the Spanish to begin the occupation and settlement of East Texas to prevent further French invasions.

The Flag of the Gutiérrez-Magee Expedition 1812 to 1813

Bernardo Gutiérrez and Lieutenant Augustus Magee flew their green flag of the new Republic of Texas over the Stone Fort in Nacogdoches in August of 1812. The Republican Army of the North, as these filibusters called themselves, had come from Natchitoches to Nacogdoches to recruit and train troops with the help of Samuel Davenport. They stayed for two months, drilled an army of over five hundred men, and then marched on to capture Goliad and San Antonio. Magee died at Goliad, and his place was taken by Samuel Kemper. Kemper and Gutiérrez captured San Antonio and issued a Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Texas on April 6, 1813. This brief time of Texas Independence was over when the Spanish general Joaquín de Arredondo destroyed the remains of the Republican army at the Battle of Medina on August 18, 1813. Augustus Magee and Samuel Davenport, who were in charge of the militia in Nacogdoches, were both Irishmen. That might have governed their choice of the Emerald Green flag as the Republican army's standard.

The Flag of the Dr. James Long Expedition 1819 and 1821

Some Americans believed that Texas was part of Louisiana as claimed by LaSalle in 1682 and should have been included in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. One of those was Dr. James Long of Natchez, Mississippi, who came to Nacogdoches in June of 1819. Dr. Long proclaimed himself the president of his newly declared Republic of Texas. Dr. Long's red-striped Lone Star flag flew but briefly over the Stone Fort and his Republic of Texas. The Spanish caught Long when he went to Galveston, where he was seeking the assistance of pirate Jean Lafitte. There they defeated him and his meager army and chased him back to Louisiana. Dr. Long returned to Texas with a small army in 1821 and quickly captured the poorly manned garrison at Goliad. However, he was soon under siege by Spanish troops from San Antonio, who recaptured Goliad and took him captive. Dr. James Long was taken to Mexico City, jailed, then freed, and then murdered under mysterious circumstances by a Mexican soldier.

The Flag of the Mexican Federal Republic 1821 to 1836

Spanish Nacogdoches came under the Mexican flag in 1821, when Mexico finally won its independence from Spain. Mexico, in order to prove its ownership of Texas, began settling its eastern parts with the Anglos as early as December 1821. In that year Stephen F. Austin was allowed to bring the first of his Old Three Hundred Settlers into his grant on the Brazos. Thereafter, Americans poured through Nacogdoches, the Gateway to Texas, in search of cheap land. By the time of the Texas revolution in 1836, Anglos greatly outnumbered the Spanish-Mexican population. The Mexican flag that flew over Nacogdoches and still flies over Mexico was adopted in 1825. It has three vertical green, white, and red fields of equal width. In the center of the white field is the Mexican eagle sitting on a nopal cactus holding a snake in its beak. In Mexican legend, this was a sign to the Aztecs that they had reached the land that was to be their home.

The Flag of the Fredonia Rebellion 1826 to 1827

For a brief while, the flag that flew over Nacogdoches was the red-and-white banner of Haden Edward's thirty-seven-day Fredonia Rebellion. Edwards had obtained a grant from Mexico to settle eight hundred families in East Texas in the Nacogdoches area. Unfortunately for him, most of the land had already been settled---legally and illegally---by the early Spanish, by Indians, and by Anglo squatters. His intrusion caused such a disturbance that the Mexican government revoked his grant. Disappointed over the loss of his grant, on December 16, 1826, Haden and his brother Benjamin rode into Nacogdoches, planted their flag in front of the Stone Fort, and proclaimed the Republic of Fredonia. They had formed an uncertain alliance with the Cherokees, thus the reason for the red and white colors of the flag. The flag carried the words "Independence Freedom and Justice" and the Signatures of sixteen of the original Fredonians. The Fredonian army consisted of no more than thirty men, the Cherokees never joined them, and Stephen F. Austin raised a militia to put down the East Texas rebellion. The Fredonians gave up their cause on January 22, 1827, and retreated eastward across the Sabine.

The Flag of the Republic of Texas 1836 to 1846

Mexican Texas became the Republic of Texas after Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna on the plains of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. The first official flag was a white upside-down star on a blue background with T-E-X-A-S written between the points of the star. This flag never flew. The second flag of the Republic was adopted by the first Texas congress in December 1836. It bore a single, large gold star on a blue field. This flag was the same design as the "Bonnie blue flag that bears a single star" that was so popular among the Southern troops during the Civil War. The Lone Star flag that we now use was designed by Texas Senator William H. Wharton and was officially adopted by the Senate under President Mirabeau B. Lamar in 1839. The new flag kept the white star on the blue field, but now the blue field was a vertical stripe which occupied one-third of the flag, and it was balanced by horizontal white and red stripes, on the other two-thirds. This Texas flag has been prominently displayed for over 150 years.

The Flag of the Confederate States of America 1861 to 1865

For four years, the Stars and Bars flew over Nacogdoches and Texas. After years of conflicts of interest between the North and the South over states rights, slavery, and the right of secession, the Civil War began in March of 1861. Texas seceded and joined the Confederate States of America. It sent its Texas brigades into battle, and suffered for four years with the rest of the Confederacy before General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865. The most enduring of the Confederate flags during the War was the Stars and Bars with the square of blue holding a circle of the seven original seceding states. Texas was the seventh star. Because the Confederate Stars and Bars and the Union Stars and Stripes were easily confused in the heat of battle, General P. G. T. Beauregard introduced a Confederate battle flag. This was a square red flag with a white-bordered blue cross running diagonally from corners to corners. The cross contained thirteen stars representing the eleven Confederate states plus Kentucky and Missouri. This battle flag became the flag most closely identified with the Southern cause. The Confederate Stars and Bars came down in Texas after April 1863 and Appomattox, and the United States Stars and Stripes have been flying over this State ever since.

The Flag of the United States of America since 1846

On February 19, 1846, the Lone Star flag was lowered over the Texas state capitol in Austin, and the Stars and Stripes was raised. The Republic of Texas had become the State of Texas. From the beginning of the Republic in 1836, the majority of the Texians, most of whom had come directly from the States, had wanted Texas to join the Union. But many in the Union did not want Texas in the United States. Some did not want one more Southern slave-holding state, and some were afraid of causing a war with Mexico. Nevertheless, on July 4, 1845, the Texas congress voted to accept the articles of annexation offered by United States President James K. Polk, and on December 29, 1845, the congressional resolution proclaiming Texas as a state in the Union was signed by President Polk. The Old Glory that was raised above the Texas state capitol on the following February 19, 1846, had twenty-eight stars in four rows of seven stars each. Except for the four years of the Civil War, 1861 to 1865, these Stars and Stripes have since 1846 flown over the State of Texas.

Nacogdoches Texas USA

Nacogoches

Tuesday, November 23, 2021