[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 1827-1828]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

HONORING IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CATHOLIC CHURCH ON RECEIVING AN OFFICIAL TEXAS HISTORICAL MARKER
       Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Immaculate Conception Catholic Church on receiving an official Texas Historical Marker. The current Pastor is Rev. Kevin A. Collins and the church is composed of people from all walks of life. I am proud to honor Immaculate Conception, located in Magnolia Park, for receiving this marker.
     On Monday, February 20, 2012, the Texas Historical Commission will dedicate the historical marker with the following text:

     In October 1911, the oblates of Mary Immaculate established their Roman Catholic society's first parish in Harris County and named it Immaculate Conception. The site was chosen on Harrisburg Boulevard in the incorporated community of Magnolia Park, which was annexed by the City of Houston in 1926. For the parish's first anniversary on October 6, 1912, a three building campus compromising a wood-frame church, rectory, and school and boarding house was dedicated. The school and boarding house were administered by the Sisters of Divine Providence. A consolidated school and auditorium brick building dedicated in September 1936 replaced these facilities, with the school auditorium serving as the church. The 1912 church building was relocated two miles away and converted into a brick building to serve another parish, Queen of Peace, which was originally a mission church of Immaculate Conception. In March 1957, a neo-Romanesque style church was dedicated to complement the style of the 1936 school and auditorium. The boarding house ceased operating and in 1969 the school closed permanently.
     Adhering to their motto as oblates of Mary Immaculate, the priests of Immaculate Conception ministered to the needy and conducted extensive missionary work in southeast and central Texas. For decades, the priests were assigned the ministry for the state penitentiary system in Huntsville. Immaculate Conception was the mother church of the first predominantly Hispanic Catholic Church in Houston, named Our Lady of Guadalupe. At least nine parishes in Harris and surrounding counties can trace their histories to the missionary efforts of Immaculate Conception. Entering its second century of existence, Immaculate Conception continues to be an influential institution in the Magnolia Park community and beyond.

     And so it is with great pleasure that I recognize and congratulate Immaculate Conception Catholic Church on receiving an official Texas Historical Marker.