St. Therese Catholic Church
Orange, Orange County, Texas
Marker Inscription
With roots in the missionary work of the Roman Catholic society of St. Joseph, this parish first gathered for worship in 1924. In that year, Father Alexis la Plante, Josephite pastor of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Beaumont, said mass for three African-American families in Orange and reported it as a promising place for the formal establishment of a black Catholic mission. For the next 12 years, priests from Blessed Sacrament and from Our Mother of Mercy in Beaumont held worship services for the growing congregation in private homes and other rented or borrowed spaces. In 1936, a Boston, Massachusetts, priest donated funds for the construction of a church building in Orange, and it was dedicated in honor of St. Therese, the patron saint of Catholic mission work. Father Michael McCormack served as first resident pastor when a rectory was acquired in 1941. As a result of Orange's booming economy as a center for shipbuilding during World War II, the town's population increased as did the membership at St. Therese. A national street preaching institute was begun in 1943, and in 1945 a school and parish hall were constructed to serve the congregation. Throughout their history, the members of St. Therese church, the second oldest Catholic congregation in the city, have gathered as a community to worship together and to provide assistance to those in need. The parish stands as a significant part of Orange's heritage. (2001)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
St. Therese parish grew out of the missionary work of the Josephite society, which ministered to African American Catholics. In 1924 a Josephite priest said mass for three Black families in Orange and saw promise in the community, and for a dozen years priests held services in homes and borrowed spaces. A Boston benefactor funded a church building dedicated in 1936 to St. Therese, patron of Catholic missions, and the parish flourished as Orange's shipbuilding boom swelled the town during World War II, adding a school and parish hall by 1945.
Why it matters
As one of Orange's oldest Catholic congregations and a Black mission parish, St. Therese reflects the faith and resilience of African American Catholics in the segregated South.
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Related people
- · Alexis la Plante
- · Michael McCormack
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Black Education in Orange County
Orange, TX
As early as the 1870s, Orange County's Black families held school in churches and private homes, and by 1887 dedicated schools appeared in the Duncan Woods community and in Orange itself. The Orange Colored School was later renamed to honor educator Robert Russa Moton and again for longtime principal Emma H. Wallace. By 1960 the community supported additional schools including Franklin Elementary and North Junior High.
Black Education in Orange County
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African American education in Orange County began in the 1870s in private homes and churches, then took root in schoolhouses like Duncan Woods No. 3 and the Orange Colored School after the county organized its districts in 1887. Under a succession of dedicated teachers and principals, the city school grew into Moton Elementary and High School, renamed for Tuskegee's Robert Russa Moton and later for local educator Emma Henderson Wallace, and celebrated for its campus, sports, and band. The system served hundreds of students and kept building new facilities right up to integration in 1966.
Salem United Methodist Church
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Six months after emancipation reached Texas in 1865, Black Methodists organized a mission conference on Christmas Day, and by 1868 its Orange mission was holding worship services. Formally named Salem Methodist Episcopal Church in 1873, the congregation built a frame church, hosted classes for African American schoolchildren, and grew steadily through the twentieth century. Its members became community leaders — ministers, educators, civil rights activists, an NAACP vice president, and the first Black and first female mayor of Orange.
Emma Henderson Wallace
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Born in Waxahachie in 1876 and trained at Prairie View College, Emma Henderson Wallace came to Orange in 1901 as one of four teachers at the Orange Colored School, which met inside local Black churches. She joined the public school faculty in 1914 and in 1933 became principal of Moton High School, building up its library, athletic courts, band, choir, and student clubs over thirteen years. In 1946 the school was renamed Emma H. Wallace High School in her honor, a lasting tribute to a career devoted to educating Orange's African American youth.