Claretians of the United States celebrating 100th anniversary

The Claretians of the United States are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first settlement of priests in this country.  

In the early 1900s, the first Claretians came to the United States from Spain through Mexico.

They started out in San Antonio, Texas, at the invitation of the bishop.

A team of three Claretian priests came to San Antonio in 1902 to fulfill the bishop’s request.

Within two years the Claretians built and took charge of their own Mother House for the United States.

By 1912, they had also built their own parish, the now historic Immaculate Heart of Mary Church.

“Very early on, the Claretians set out from the San Antonio Mother House to California, Arkansas, Arizona, Oklahoma, throughout Texas—and then all the way up to Chicago—to preach and establish the congregation,” says Fr. Rosendo Urrabazo, the Provincial Superior of the U.S.A.

The coming New Year marks the 100-year anniversary celebration of the completion of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church.

In honor of the milestone, the Claretians are undertaking the renovation and preservation of the Mother House.