iUPDATE! Coat of Arms of the Bishop of Laredo
      First place on this page must go to Reverend Father John Van Lare, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Cotulla, Texas and the man who took me into the Catholic flock. He is quite an interesting guy, and at 84-years-old must be one of the hardest working priests in the Church. Although we do not agree on everything, Father Van will always make a clear distinction between the teaching of the Church, and his own personal opinion. Sometimes he forgets things, but at 84 who could blame him? His only aid is Deacon Joe Patterson yet Father Van manages to have daily Mass at 7am, Vigil Mass at 7pm on Saturdays (when I am most often in attendance) and on Sundays he says Mass in Spanish at 8am, again in English at 10am and once more at the prison at 1pm. There is also hardly a week that goes by without at least one funeral to perform, the occasional wedding and baptism, as well as giving private instruction to the occasional convert such as myself.
El Padre November 3, 2001
      Father Van Lare is a native of Holland and has learned (though cannot always remember) eight different languages: Dutch, German, French, Greek, Latin, English, Spanish and Chinese. He has been in Cotulla starting in the 1950's I think, but was sent to China where he was imprisoned for some time by the Communist Party. He has pastored Sacred Heart Church continuously since the 1970's. During his absence, one of the fill-ins for a time was the equally remarkable Father Thomas Kavanaugh.
       I have come to notice that Father Van has a very scientific mind, and seems to have at least a passing interest in astronomy. His homilies are always excellent, partly I'm sure due to the fact that he is so well travelled. He always has some story to relate that drives the message home. His order is the Congregation of the Mission, founded by St Vincent de Paul.
      The only other Catholic church near where I live would be St Henry Mission in Catarina, about the same distance away as Cotullla. The mission is one of two operated out of Immaculate Conception Church in Asherton, however the weekly Mass is in Spanish only.
       The spiritual heart of my part of South Texas is in Laredo, home of San Agustin Cathedral, one of the oldest and most beautiful churches in the state of Texas. San Agustin parish was founded in 1789 by the order of the Bishop of Guadalajara. At the time, Texas was part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain and Laredo was in the diocese of Guadalajara (a testament to the sparse population on New Spain's norther frontier). Records show that, at the time, the population of Laredo was only about 700 families. Before this time, spiritual needs had to be met by travelling priests sent over vast distances to administer the sacraments.
       Although Laredo had been the residence of Bishop Pedro Verdaguer of the diocese of Brownsville, this was only due to the fact that Bishop Verdaguer was a native of Spain and felt more comfortable in the prevailing Hispanic culture of the area. In 1912 the diocese of Corpus Christi was founded and the see
was moved to that city on the coast, which was growing rapidly. However, Laredo was soon to gain a huge flood of Church dignitaries.
       In the early 1920's the Mexican government turned violently against the Catholic Church and tried to stamp out Christianity throughout the country. Laredo, still a very devout city, welcomed Church refugees with open arms. At one point, Laredo was home to 14 Bishops and Archbishops from Mexico who had been forced to leave their parishes. Laredo itself however remained under the Corpus Christi
diocese for many more years to come.
       The moment many in the local church had been waiting for came on August 9, 2000 when Monsignor James A. Tamayo was installed as the first Bishop of the new diocese of Laredo. It was the first such ceremony I had ever seen. Laredo is the 15th Catholic diocese in the state of Texas.
       Bishop Tamayo had long been something of a local celebrity, due to his work in "international relations" with the diocese of Nuevo Laredo, his leadership in the pro-life movement on the border and care of the people of the colonias in south Laredo. Since taking up the pastoral staff Bishop Tamayo has also organized new efforts to promote Catholic education, encourage vocations and done considerable charity work to aid Mexican immigrants who cross the border, often illegally, with nothing but the clothes on their back. Other programs include the foundation of KHOY 88.1fm Catholic radio station and the Catholic Sharing Appeal.
< Most Reverend Bishop James Tamayo
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