By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
Photos by Robert Mihovil
The Sacred Heritage Galveston Catholic Tours exceeded all expectations, prompting docents and parish leadership to plan another event in June.
“It was interesting to see all the people who came in. We learned most of them were from out of town, some from out of state, and we know of at least one from Japan,” explained one of the docents.
“It seemed like a lot of people who had passed the churches on their visits to the beach or other places in Galveston had come for the tours,” said another docent.
The committee had hoped for 25 guests per church but surpassed their goal at each location:
- Holy Rosary: 80
- Sacred Heart: 120
- St. Mary’s Basilica Cathedral: approximately 40
- St. Patrick: 40
- Ursuline Chapel: 65
When the doors opened at 9:00 a.m., visitors were already waiting at each church the committee said.
“I was impressed with the interest and the number of people,” said Veronica Ayala, an O’Connell High School graduate.
Sacred Heart hosted a wedding at 2:00 p.m. on the same day, and although tours had closed two hours earlier, some visitors still quietly stepped inside to admire the beauty of one of Galveston’s historic churches, docents reported.
Guests who toured Ursuline Chapel were guided by Carol Martorell, a 1965 graduate of Ursuline Academy. She recalled in detail the chapel’s history, including how its stained-glass doors once served as the visitor’s entrance at the original Ursuline Academy.
The original Ursuline Academy was torn down after Hurricane Carla.
One question that guests at all the churches asked most frequently concerned each church’s history during the Great Storm, a hurricane that struck Galveston in 1900 and remains the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
