Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church
Mercedes, Hidalgo County, Texas
Marker Inscription
OUR LADY OF MERCY CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 1908, THE CAPISALLO LAND COMPANY DONATED LAND TO THE OBLATE FATHERS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF A CATHOLIC CHURCH. OUR LADY OF MERCY CATHOLIC CHURCH ON HIDALGO STREET WAS DEDICATED IN FEBRUARY 1909 AND REV. ENRIQUE JANVIER, OMI, BECAME THE FIRST PASTOR IN 1912. IN 1910, THE LAND COMPANY DONATED FOUR ACRES FOR A CATHOLIC CEMETERY. A PAROCHIAL SCHOOL, UNDER DIRECTION OF THE SISTERS OF MERCY, OPERATED FROM 1915 TO 1961. UNDER FATHER IVOR GOURMELEN, A NEW BRICK CHURCH WAS BUILT AT THIRD AND VERMONT STREETS AND DEDICATED ON OCTOBER 29, 1922. OUR LADY OF MERCY CATHOLIC CHURCH WAS THE MOTHER CHURCH FOR SEVEN OTHER CATHOLIC CHURCHES AND FOSTERED A DOZEN MISSIONS IN HIDALGO AND CAMERON COUNTIES.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
After a land company donated ground in 1908, Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church was dedicated on Hidalgo Street in 1909, gaining its first resident pastor in 1912 and, in 1922, a new brick church under Father Ivor Gourmelen. From 1915 to 1961 the Sisters of Mercy ran a parochial school, and the parish became the mother church for seven other congregations while fostering a dozen missions across Hidalgo and Cameron counties. It stood at the center of Catholic life in the Mercedes area.
Why it matters
As a mother church spawning parishes and missions, it shows how a single Catholic congregation seeded religious and educational institutions across the developing Valley.
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Related people
- · Enrique Janvier
- · Ivor Gourmelen
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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