Cathedral of San Agustin (Laredo, Texas)

 cathedral, church, region

The Cathedral of San Agustin is the seat of the Diocese of Laredo in Laredo, Texas. It is located at 214 San Bernardo Avenue in the heart of the downtown area in the San Agustin Historical District. The church dates from 1755. The bishop is the Most Reverend James Anthony Tamayo. As of 2000, the cathedral was the mother church for 222,250 Catholics in the diocese.

The San Agustin Cathedral (formerly the San Agustin Church) was built in 1778 as a small parish by the Bishop of Guadalajara. In 1866, work began to turn the small parish into a large church. San Agustin Church is a Gothic structure with a five-story- 141ft (43m) bell / clock tower. All the windows have the traditional Gothic shape with stained glass located between structural bays of its masonry walls. A French priest, Father Pierre Yves Keralum, was the designer and architect for this historical monument. The new church was opened in December 12, 1872