Ah, summer.  Vacation.  While you are having fun during your travels, why not explore some aspect of our Catholic past?  I created a list of suggested places to visit and included some important people you might want to look up.  I concentrated on Texas sites and individuals for the checklist below that you can use if you are planning to travel only in Texas or as stopping off points on your way to your final destination.  If your children might say boring—then consider letting them take turns being in charge of a fun activity that will enrich the historical visit.   

Places to visit:

• Historic Catholic sites in the Diocese of Corpus Christi
• The five Texas Spanish missions in San Antonio
• Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio   
• El Paso Mission Trail
• El Camino de los Tejas National Historic Trail

You might ask who were the Catholics at Goliad and Presidio La Bahia; or Fort Brown, Fort Davis, Fort Stockton; at the Alamo such as Adina de Zavala who is credited with saving the Alamo; Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Brownsville; St. Mary’s Cathedral in Galveston and the site of the 1900 hurricane where the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word lost 10 sisters and 90 children who were living in their orphanage; and the Socorro Church 20 minutes southeast of El Paso to name a few.

If you visit the Oblate campus in San Antonio look for life-size statues of God’s Cavalry and the open air Lourdes Grotto. The Painted Churches, 15 are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and four are in the diocese of Victoria see paintedchurchesoftexas.com. Father Michael Muldoon’s monument near Hostyn, south of La Grange, Lt. Dick Dowling’s statue at Dick Dowling Battlefield Park in Sabine Pass and Angelina a Caddo Native American statue in Lufkin are also interesting sites.

Questions to pursue:

Check who?

• were the two Catholic native Texans who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence;
• is buried in the San Fernando cathedral in San Antonio; 
• was the Apostle of Texas;
• was the Apostle to El Paso;
• was the first Catholic martyr in Texas;
• was the Angel of Goliad.

How did Bishop Jean Marie Odin help rebuild the Catholic Church after the Civil War? What was the Goliad Declaration? Who were some of the early religious communities in Texas: Sisters of St. Mary of Namur, Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Holy Cross brothers, sisters, priests, Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, Jesuits, Sisters of Divine Providence, Dominicans, Franciscans and Marianists.

Individuals who helped shaped Catholicism in Texas:

Father Claude Jalliet, Father John Timon, Father P.F. Parisot, OMI, Father Michael Menard, Bishop Odin, Bishop Claude Dubuis, Father Max Murphy, Father James Kirwin and Margaret Mary Healy-Murphy.

A resource you can use: The New Texas Handbook online. 

Outside of Texas:

Check online for the various shrines throughout the US.  There might be one within driving distance from where you are visiting. See U.S.A. The Catholic Travel Guide online.  Check for Mass times and possible tours. Also check Catholic sites by state online if you are traveling to a specific state.

Some to consider are The Walking Pilgrimage California Missions Trail, which goes from San Diego to Somona, via 21 Spanish Missions. Also, the Loretto Miraculous Staircase Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the Spanish missions of Arizona, Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Washington, DC and the various ethnic altars (note: sometimes visiting priests or priests on their day off offer Mass at one these altars).

Who was the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence? What Catholics have statues in Statuary Hall? What are their stories?

Suggested activities:

Before you visit the Alamo, watch the updated version of the movie before you visit; check out how historically accurate it is. Does the condition of the building surprise you?
When visiting the Loreto Chapel research santos and tabla art style; consider creating your own when you return.

Enjoy your Catholic heritage; there is much to see and to learn.