History of Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church
Sept 11, 1912-Sept. 9, 2012
Palacios TX

The presence of the Catholic Faith in Palacios began with the families that moved to this area prior to 1912. One could make the argument that it has been here since La Salle landed nearby on his ship La Belle. The Catholic Church’s presence in the area as a community of faith, organized and united began in the mid 1800’s when St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Victoria tended to much of the mission territory that is Victoria, Calhoun, Jackson, and Matagorda counties. Port Lavaca was the most thriving town in the area and built its first church in 1865. The priests at St. Mary’s in Victoria would travel by train and attend to the needs of the “mission territory”, which included Vanderbilt, Benview (later La Salle), Port Lavaca, Blessing and Palacios.

The first baptism celebrated on September 11, 1912, by Fr. Francis Pallanche, an assistant priest in Victoria, serves as the earliest recorded sacramental presence here in Palacios. In 1913, Port Lavaca church, Our Lady of the Gulf, became a parish and Fr. Francis Pallanche became its pastor with Blessing and Palacios as missions. Fr. Pallanche would celebrate Mass roughly twice a month in the homes of the few Catholic families living here at that time. The Palacios Beacon on Oct. 3, 1913, reports that Fr. Pallanche came to celebrate Mass and that the Catholic families were beginning to solicit funds to build a Church. In 1916, Fr. Peter Baquet became the pastor at Our Lady of the Gulf and he purchased a lot on the corner of Fifth and Moore St. in Palacios for the purpose of building a church. On December 29, 1917, Bishop Shaw dedicated the first church building at the site naming it under the patronage of Saint Anthony of Padua. It has been stated that the patron saint was chosen in honor of the St. Anthony Altar Society in Chicago, who donated much of the money for the construction. The church continued to be served by priests from Our Lady of the Gulf parish: Fr. Francis Pallanche (1913-1916), Fr. Peter Baquet (1916-1920), Fr. Jos. Vervake (1920-1926), Fr. William Jansen (1926-1927), Fr. Lanigan (1927-1928), Fr. D.M. Buckley (1929). Historical records only list the pastors, but there were other priests that served the missions. These priests include: Fr. A. Morkovsky, Fr. Baoling, Fr. J. Smith, Fr. J. Smiers, Fr. V. Klosek, Fr. Gutierres, and Fr. B. Perez.


In 1930, Saint Peter’s in Blessing was elevated to a parish, and the administration of St. Anthony’s was transferred to Blessing from Port Lavaca. The first pastor of St. Peter’s was Fr. A.J. Weber (1930-1936) followed by Fr. L.A. Blinka (1936-1939), Fr. John Hanacek (1939-1942), Fr. Hubert Bauman (1942-1946) and Fr. Vaclav Bily (1946-1954). In 1938, Fr. A.A. Gorek, an assistant at St. Peter’s, attached living quarters to the back of the Saint Anthony’s Church and for the first time Palacios had a resident priest. Fr. Emmett Kolodzie followed and remained in the parish until 1942.


In 1944, the church suffered severe damage by a hurricane. It was then rebuilt and enlarged by Fr. Bauman and the former living quarters were remodeled into a small rectory. Fr. Vaclav Bily purchased a Army surplus building from Camp Hulen and it served as the parish hall and CCD building. Fr. Joseph Till lived for a time here in the rectory under Fr. Bily’s pastorship.


In July of 1954, after 42 years as a mission, St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church was made a parish with Fr. Anthony Constantino as its first pastor. By this time the Catholic population had outgrown the church and a two block tract was purchased on the western edge of town. The church and the hall were moved onto the new site with plans to build a new church building. Fr. Patrick O’Farrell became pastor in 1959. During his pastorship, on Feb. 21, 1960, the new church was dedicated by Fr. Julius Petru, Dean of the El Campo Deanery.


Fr. Brian Crookes became the pastor in 1963 but was moved after six months and was followed by Fr. Michael Harrold. Under Fr. Harrold, the Blessing of the Fleet and Shrimporee was inaugurated in 1964. As part of the festivities a pageant was held. Patsy Shimek, Helen Dolezal, Molly Garcia, Mary Rose Mireles, Teresa Espinosa, Suellen Clairborne and Billie Sue Roach were the contestants with Patsy Shimek crowned the first Shrimporee Queen.


Father Eugene O’Callaghan became pastor in 1968. A new hall/CCD building was constructed in 1969, replacing the old Camp Hulen building. In 1970, Fr. Armand Florizone became pastor. He installed air conditioning and began the construction of a new rectory. Tragically, Fr. Florizone was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1974. Fr. Brian Crookes returned to St. Anthony’s in 1974 and the new rectory was completed. Around that time, the cultural identity of Palacios grew richer as many immigrants from Vietnam began to move to Palacios to take part in the fishing industry. The Vietnamese, most of whom were Catholic, needed the sacraments and instruction in the faith in their native language. In response, Fr. Joe Pham came in 1976, and the St. Anthony’s Vietnamese Apostolate was established. A chapel was built and named under the patronage of Our Lady of the Assumption. In June of 1979, a local Palacios man, Robert Hickl, was ordained to the priesthood for Obalates of Mary Immaculate. He serves as a missionary priest in Mexico.


Fr. Larry Matula was assigned as pastor of St. Anthony’s in January of 1983. During his pastorship, the parking lot was paved, and an expansion of a covered porch and bell tower was added to the front façade of the church. Fr. Gerard “Gerry” Cernoch became pastor in 1986. On August 15, 1987, Michael Vieira was part of the first ordination of deacons for the Diocese of Victoria, and he was assigned to St. Anthony’s. The following year, on May 14, 1988, Gary Janak, another local man, was ordained to the priesthood at St. Anthony’s and assigned to Our Lady of Victory Cathedral in Victoria.


In June of 1989, Fr. Casimir Jarzombek became pastor and roughly one year later on September 8, 1990, Dan Morales, another Palacios native, was ordained to the priesthood at St. Anthony’s and was assigned to Our Lady of Victory Cathedral. (It is interesting to note that Fr. Janak and Fr. Morales were both were assigned to the Cathedral under the pastorship Fr. Harrold, who had also been in Palacios as their pastor from 1964-1968.)


Three more ordinations of native Palacios men to the priesthood took place during the 1990s. Fr. Thu Nguyen was ordained May 9, 1992, for the Diocese of Victoria. Fr. Mike Buentello was ordained May 13, 1995, for the Congregation of St. Basil (Basilian Fathers). Fr. Dung Nguyen was ordained Dec. 24, 1998, for the Legionnaires of Christ. (Though he was only born here and then moved after Hurricane Carla, Bishop Danny Flores, bishop of Brownsville TX, could be counted among the Palacios vocations.) St. Anthony’s is truly a wellspring of vocations to the priesthood. Also it has been a source of religious vocations for eight women. Sr. Wanda Gray , CCVI; Sr. Jean Ann Wesselman, DC; Sr. Denise Bowers, IWBS; Sr. Louise Marie Najvar Jones, IWBS; and four Dominican sisters from the Vietnamese Apostolate.


Fr. Charles Dwomoh became the pastor of St. Anthony’s in 1998. In 2003, the Family Center/Gym along with the BBQ shed were constructed. A large three bay storage building was built in 2004. During this decade of construction at St. Anthony’s another native son enters the priesthood of the Diocese of Victoria. On June 9, 2007, Michael Rother, another native son of Palacios, was ordained. In 2010, the CCD building was renovated and expanded to accommodate the growing number of students in religious education. Also in 2010, Fr. Bryan Heyer became pastor and remains so today.


The Catholic Faith in Palacios certainly has flourished with a growing number of families, an expanding physical plant, and numerous vocations to the priesthood and religious life. As we turn page 100 in the annals of Catholic life in Palacios, we look fondly on our history, and joyfully face the history yet to be made.