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St.
Patrick Parish in
Bloomington embraces an area
that includes the southern part of Victoria County and the
northwestern section of Calhoun County. Until Fr. Peter M.
Baque came from Edna in 1915 to celebrate Mass in a small
bungalow in Bloomington, Catholics of the area attended Mass in
one of the churches in Victoria. The bungalow was succeeded by
an abandoned schoolhouse and that in turn by a former pool hall
as the site for Sunday Mass.
In 1916 a funeral parlor was bought from J.E. Ryan of Victoria
with help from the Catholic Church Extension Society and
remodeled into a church by the Warburton and Skarda families.
Even after the remodeling, some of the caskets in the original
containers were used for the Altar and in various other ways.
When Bishop Arthur J. Drossaerts dedicated the Church in honor
of the Sacred Heart on January 13, 1920 he pointed to the
caskets as a poignant reminder of death.
The building was used until 1942 when it had to be abandoned
after being severely damaged by a hurricane. During that year
Bloomington was officially attached as a mission of Our Lady of
Sorrows Parish in Victoria. In 1943 the Trinitarian Fathers
took over the administration of Sacred Heart Church. In the
following year a new building was erected at the corner of Third
and Rail streets. The twenty-four by fifty foot structure,
considered “much too large for the congregation” at the time,
was soon crowded beyond capacity.
Final recognition of the area came in 1959 when, on September
15, the original Sacred Heart Mission was established as St.
Patrick Parish. A
member of a prominent Catholic family
donated the building of a new
church complex located on Highway 185 in honor of his parents.
The facility is a contemporary Spanish mission-styled
structure. The furnishings for the Church came from the people
of the parish.
In 1975 a multi-purpose parish hall was added to the parish
complex. This new building offered classroom space, kitchen
facilities, and meeting areas. In the following years the
kitchen would be upgraded, the interior of the hall remodeled, a
large storage facility added adjacent to the hall, and large
barbecue pits and an adjoining workroom would be built behind
the hall.
On May 29, 1982 the Diocese of Victoria was established and St.
Patrick became part of the new diocesan territory.
In 1990 the St. Patrick Council 10751 of the Knights of
Columbus was established as an integral part of the parish. The
small yet active men’s council meets monthly.
In 2000 a new office building was added to the parish complex.
Following the original master plan of the property, the large
space compliments the mission-styled exterior and contains the
pastor’s office, a conference room, and a large “Heritage Room”
for meetings and small banquets and is equipped with kitchen
facilities.
In November of 2001 Court St. Patrick #2494 of the Catholic
Daughters of the Americas was established. The new court
offered many of the women of the parish the opportunity to get
more involved in their faith and church.
As of 2005, with the completion of a new census,
the parish numbers over 300 registered families, and proudly
boasts of a Knights of Columbus Council, Catholic Daughters of
the Americas Court, The Guadalupanas Society, Parish Rosary
Group, Vida Nueva Choir, a religious education program educating 200 students,
and numerous parishioners who step forward each time they see a
need and respond with generous hearts and love for their Church. |