FEBRUARY 24, 2026 • ARCHGH.ORG/TCH
A LENT LIVED WELL
texas catholic herald 1
2025 ANNUAL REPORT
Archbishop Vásquez shares Pope Leo Ash Wednesday message ▪ SEE PAGE 2
Ministries focus on serving those in education, discernment ▪ SEE CENTER SECTION
Proclaiming the Good News to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston since 1964
FEBRUARY 24, 2026
BE MERCIFUL, O LORD
VOL. 62, NO. 17
SPIRITUALITY
Galveston’s Holy Rosary Church embraces historical faith with flair, deep devotion BY JAMES RAMOS Texas Catholic Herald GALVESTON — It’s not often that horns, drums and cheering marching band members stroll past a church, but on Galveston Island, it’s an annual tradition for parishioners who attend Holy Rosary Catholic Church. Part of Holy Family Parish of Galveston and Bolivar, longtime parishioners at Holy Rosary carry a deep faith in Christ and the Church’s Sacraments all year-round, not just during the Mardi Gras season, when the Krewe d’Esprit Rosaire, the island’s only Black Catholic krewe, revs up to celebrate Fat Tuesday. The church’s roots run deep into the island’s history. One of the state’s earliest Catholic parishes established for Black Catholics, Holy Rosary grew out of a small elementary school with 55 students, founded in 1886 by Bishop Nicholas A. Gallagher and PHOTOS BY JAMES RAMOS/HERALD
See HOLY ROSARY, page 3
Above, Father Vincent Tran, pastor of St. Theresa Catholic Church and School in Houston, places ashes on a young student’s forehead at an Ash Wednesday Mass on Feb. 18. Below, two students, paired for Mass, pray together during Ash Wednesday Mass. Parishes across the Archdiocese welcomed thousands for Ash Wednesday Liturgies, signaling the start of the Lenten season.
Confession leads to deeper conversion in Lent Throughout the season of Lent, many parishes offer the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the form of a penance service, when multiple visiting priests make themselves available one evening of the week for parishioners to attend confession at their home parish or to travel to a parish hosting the penance service. It is common to find weekly confession available at most parishes throughout the year; however, these penance services are scheduled during Lent for specific reasons. Pastors of Catholic churches are aware that some individuals would prefer to receive the Sacrament of
Reconciliation with a priest who does not personally know them. Furthermore, one to two priests may be assigned to serve a community with thousands of parishioners, whereas a penance service can bring together over a dozen priests to assist with hearing a large number of individual confessions. The hope is that parishioners and guests will feel encouraged to go to confession with a priest with whom they feel comfortable. Additionally, the central reason for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and
LIVING LENT
THE FIRST WORD † 3
EDUCATION STEPS FOR STUDENTS Annual race sees thousands run and walk for Catholic education ▪ SEE PAGES 4 -5
See RECONCILIATION, page 6
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COLUMNISTS † 10-11
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ESPAÑOL † 14
| AROUND THE ARCHDIOCESE † 16