Annunciation

About this parish

The Church of the Annunciation is a Catholic parish in downtown Houston, Texas, founded in 1869 by Fr. Joseph Querat with the support of Bishop Claude Dubuis. It is the oldest church in continuous use of any faith in Houston and the mother church of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, having given rise to numerous daughter parishes. Annunciation is renowned for its traditional liturgical life, offering daily Mass, a Sunday Latin Mass, Solemn Chanted Vespers, and Eucharistic Adoration, all set within a historic Clayton-designed Romanesque Revival building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Church of the Annunciation traces its origins to 1866, when Bishop Claude M. Dubuis of Galveston and Father Joseph Querat (a canon of the Cathedral of Lyons and missionary to Texas) recognized that Houston's growing Catholic population required a church larger than St. Vincent's, the city's first Catholic church. Bishop Dubuis purchased the half block at Texas and Crawford streets from Peter W. Gray for $2,000, and the bricks for construction were salvaged from the old Harris County Courthouse. The structure was designed in the Gothic forms of European cathedrals, using plans obtained in France by Father Querat, by the prominent Galveston architect Nicholas J. Clayton. In March 1869, Querat presented the plans to the parishioners, who chose the name 'Church of the Annunciation.' The cornerstone was laid the following month, and the church was dedicated on September 10, 1871. A state historical marker was placed at the church in 1969, the parish's centennial year, and the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Father Thomas Hennessy, who succeeded Querat, retained Clayton to resolve structural issues and enhance the church's appearance. Beginning in 1881–1884, Clayton added a sacristy and a steeple; the original tower on the northwest corner was removed and replaced with twin towers in 1884, and a clerestory level was added that raised the side walls and allowed for higher ceilings. Clayton also added a transept, expanded the sanctuary, and included a replica fresco of Raphael's The Transfiguration inside the dome. A barreled and coffered ceiling was installed in the nave. A central bell tower, reaching 175 feet, was topped out in 1889 — at the time the tallest structure in Houston. In 1895 Clayton added an apsidal chancel to the east end of the church, and in 1897 Charles Sebastian Ott of Galveston created and installed marble altars from Tennessee, with a rose window placed above the altar. The exterior was refinished in 1916, followed by a Pilcer pipe organ in 1924, a marble shrine to Our Lady of Perpetual Help (1926–1928), air-conditioning in 1937, a marble shrine to Our Lady, Help of Christians (1945), and stained-glass guards and a public address system in the 1950s. The 1900 Galveston hurricane damaged the vestibule, and some stained-glass windows were transported to the parish for safekeeping, later burnished for the diamond jubilee. In 1873 Father Querat purchased the other half of the block for a school. In 1874 the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament established Incarnate Word Academy on the land — the first all-girls school in Houston — at Bishop Dubuis's invitation. Father Querat requested that boys be educated separately in a loft above the chapel in the church. In 1906 Clayton designed and built the Annunciation School for coeducation of students; the school was closed in 1983 when most of its students came from outside the parish. Annunciation has given rise to five daughter parishes: St. Joseph (1879), St. Patrick (1880), St. Nicholas (1887), Sacred Heart (1897), and Blessed Sacrament (1910). Its pastors through the years contributed to the establishment of the first parish church and Catholic school for African-Americans in Houston and helped launch two enduring institutions: San José Clinic and the Charity Guild of Catholic Women. In 1953 the church hosted the induction ceremonies of thirty-seven lay men and women into the Order of the Holy Sepulcher. The parish marked its sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) beginning in 2019. Today Annunciation continues as a vibrant downtown parish on its original site, celebrated for its traditional liturgy, sacred music, and historical significance.

Founded

1869

Patron

Our Lady of the Annunciation

Pastor

Rev. Paul Felix

Annunciation is a Catholic parish in Houston, Texas, part of the Galveston-Houston.