Metropolitan San Antonio encompasses some of the oldest European settlements in America. Beginning in 1718, with the establishment of a military garrison, or presidio, by an expedition of Mexican soldiersettlers, the area has welcomed vast numbers of immigrants.

Many of these pioneers arrived with few material possessions – often, only what they could carry in their arms or pile into a two-wheeled cart – but every new resident brought with him or her the culture from which they sprang. And a large part of every culture is its religious beliefs.

In the Beginning

Of course, the initial history of religion in the area relates to the Roman Catholicism of the original Spanish and Mexican explorer/settlers. Mission San Antonio de Valero, which later became known as the Alamo, was built in 1718 by that first expedition on the orders of the Mexican governor of Texas who echoed the Spanish concerns about a French presence encroaching from the east. Two years later, Mission San José was established.

In the year or so just prior to the arrival of the “original” San Antonians – a group of 56 Canary Islanders credited with officially establishing the city of San Antonio in 1731 – Franciscan friars also began the other missions that now, along with the Alamo and San José, constitute the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park: Mission San Juan, Mission Concepción, and Mission Espada.

The “isleños,” as the Canary Islanders came to be called, did their part in bringing the Catholic religion to the New World; they are credited with building San Fernando Cathedral as the centerpiece of their community, which they originally named San Fernando de Bexar.

Other communities in the metro San Antonio area, though settled later and by groups other than the Spaniards or Mexicans, also have a strong Roman Catholic heritage. Castroville, for example, was founded in 1844 by a group from the Alsace region of France. Brought over by Henri Castro, the colonists’ first community project was a tiny chapel that still stands on the grounds of a former convent turned retreat center. St. Louis Catholic Church, as it was called, was built the same year they arrived and was the first church in Medina County. The “new” St. Louis Catholic Church, which descendants of the Alsatian pioneers still use, was erected 1868-70.

Boerne, originally a village called Tusculum and formally established in 1851, is home to another early Catholic presence – although not without a struggle. The area was settled in the 1840s by “freethinkers” from Germany who, in general, resisted organized religion. The Catholic presence in Boerne began as occasional visits by a priest from the cathedral in San Antonio. A fulltime priest was assigned in 1860, but built his church outside town due to local anti-church sentiment. Other denominations came to the area much later as a result of ongoing population growth: a Methodist congregation was organized in the mid-1870s, an Episcopal church in 1881, and a Lutheran one in 1891.

The Second Wave

Aside from early Boerne, most of metro San Antonio area has always been more receptive to organized religion. While Catholicism remains the largest Christian denomination in South Texas, many other religious groups have built a strong presence in the area – again, based on the immigration patterns of the early settlers, which in turn were the result of the geopolitical realities of the region and time period.

If you would like the complete story, please click here to sign up for your free subscription.