SAN AGUSTIN CHURCH (LA CATEDRAL)
214 San Bernardo Avenue
Laredo, Texas

A Brief History of Laredo 's Historic Landmark

Historians have recorded the beginning of "San Agustin de Laredo" in 1755 by a group of Spanish families headed by Don Tomas Sanchez. It was already a growing settlement when the Bishop of Guadalajara, Fray Francisco de San Buena Ventura paid a visit in 1759. The following year, he sent the first resident priest who served his people in a small mission chapel until 1778. In that year, the first stone structure was erected to accommodate more than two hundred families. In 1789, San Agustin was established as a parish by the Bishop of Guadalajara whose jurisdiction extended into Texas which at that time was part of Mexico. The census of Laredo in 1789 shows a population of seven hundred (700) families.

After the United States Mexican War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, San Agustin was visited by the Bishop of Galveston, Rt. Reverend  Jim J. M. Odin, who then held canonical jurisdiction over South Texas. Bishop Odin assigned several French priests to this part of his territory. Among them was Father Allophone Martin Souchon who arrived in 1856. He won the support of the people and in 1866 laid the foundation stone of the present church, a magnificent Gothic structure with a one hundred and forty-one (141) foot tower, steeple and cross. Another French priest, Father Pierre Yves Keralum, served as designer, architect, mason and stone cutter for this historic monument. When the consecration took place on December 12, 1872, the seven hundred (700) capacity church was filled to overflowing.

On November 9, 1890, Bishop Peter Verdaguer was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Brownsville. He took up residence at San Agustin and served the people of this vast territory until his death in 1911. Since that time, the church has been popularly known as "La Catedral".

The course of Laredo's history changed abruptly on May 20, 1913 when Rt. Reverend Paul Joseph Nussbaum was consecrated first Bishop of the newly created Diocese of Corpus Christi. His jurisdiction extended as far as Laredo and Brownsville.

Architects describe San Agustin as a Gothic Revival masonry structure with a five-story- corner tower. All the windows have the traditional Gothic shape with stained glass located between structural bays of load bearing masonry walls that have been plastered on the interior.

When scholars write of the history of the church, they speak of the social structure and historical movements associated with it. For the first one hundred twenty-five (125) years, the town extended only a few blocks upriver and downriver from San Agustin and the Plaza of the same name. As Laredo grew to its present population, an exodus followed to the suburbs, yet many Laredoans remember another day when life revolved around San Agustin.

From 1989 to 1994, the San Agustin Church Historical Preservation and Restoration Society carried out a $675,000 restoration project. A new Blessed Sacrament Chapel was installed, the whole edifice cleaned and repaired and a brick plaza created along the front of the church.

Several years ago, a fire engulfed the rectory and caused significant damage to the building, but spared the church. Through the generosity of the Lamar Bruni Vergara Trust, a further restoration of the rectory, church and plaza are planned.

Today, Laredo's San Agustin Church, one of the oldest in the Southwest, remains the center of not only the city's religious life, but the adjoining plaza is the center of economic, political, and social activities for this border town, one of the fastest growing cities in the United States of America.