Cathedral History

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On December 4, 1849, four fathers of the Oblate of Mary Immaculate arrived in Brownsville on horseback to establish a local parish. Seven years later, the first cornerstone of the Cathedral was laid. In 1859, the Church of the Immaculate Conception was completed, using 250,000 handmade bricks made as tithes by parishioners. The church is an excellent example of the Gothic Revival style, designed by Father Pierre Y. Kerralum, who studied architecture in France before entering the seminary. Serving as the first Oblate seminary in Texas, it housed priests fleeing revolution in Mexico. The site became a cathedral in 1874 when the Vicariate Apostolic of Brownsville was established.
 
On July 10, 1965, +His Holiness Paul VI established the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville. Upon its establishment, the then Immaculate Conception Church was elevated to Cathedral Status and renamed The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Since then, the Cathedral has served as the Seat of the Diocese and as the Mother Church to all 1.5 Million Catholics in the Rio Grande Valley.
 
On the grounds are three memorials: one dedicated to the Oblate missionaries, and a vault belonging to the family of Simon Celaya, a Spanish immigrant and organizer of the Rio Grande Railroad, and the final resting place of His Excellency the Most Reverend Adolph Marx, who was the First Bishop of Brownsville.
 
Since 1859, the Cathedral has undergone many renovations, the most recent one ending in 2015 when the structural integrity of the building was in danger. During that renovation, the sanctuary of the Cathedral was restored to resemble much of the original. That renovation included adding steel support beams to support the roof and relocating the Blessed Sacrament, adding a permanent Altar (Mensa), installing a professional state-of-the-art sound system, improving the interior lighting, and much more.
 
The Cathedral is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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For more than 160 years, Immaculate Conception Cathedral has been the heart of the Roman Catholic Church in Brownsville, Texas. Designed by Father Pierre Y. Kerralum, who studied architecture in France before entering the seminary, the 1859 building is a stunning example of the Gothic Revival style. The church still bears 250,000 of its original bricks and preserves 29 of its original stained-glass windows.

On December 4, 1849, four fathers of the Oblate of Mary Immaculate arrived in Brownsville on horseback to establish a local parish. Seven years later, The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was completed. Serving as the first Oblate seminary in Texas, it housed priests fleeing revolution in Mexico. The site became a cathedral in 1874 when the Vicariate Apostolic of Brownsville was established.

On the cathedral grounds are two memorials: one dedicated to the Oblate missionaries and a vault belonging to the family of Simon Celaya, a Spanish immigrant and organizer of the Rio Grande Railroad. Much of the interior has been restored, including the unique expansive sky-blue ceiling of stretched canvas. 

The Cathedral is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and it is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.

Courtesy Texas Co-op Power

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