Texas

The arrival of Franciscan friars of the Jalisco Province in Mexico escaping religious persecution in 1926 to Hebbronville, a rural community in South Texas, is an enduring story that still resonates in the hearts of many. Since then, Franciscans have been dedicated to the cultural, educational, and spiritual needs of Hebbronville and surroundings communities that have supported them over the years.

One of the many remarkable contributions of the Franciscan legacy in Hebbronville is the Scotus College, a majestic four-story seminary building considered a Texas historic treasure and a preeminent local architectural landmark. This book is the pictorial account of these events that led a group of Franciscans to offer their lives, full of unwavering faith and boundless hope, to a community that embraced them. It is an inspiring story that becomes a lesson about love, devotion, and sacrifice in appreciation to the people of Hebbronville that helped persecuted Franciscan friars survive. 

Fr. Juan Jose Ibarra, OFM, founder of the Franciscan Museum of Hebbronville whose archives have contributed to this book, has worked closely with the Archivo Histórico Franciscano de Zapopan in Mexico and the Jim Hogg County Historical Commission. He currently serves as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish and guardian of the Franciscan Friary in Hebbronville, Texas.

Franciscan friars entered the religious landscape of the United States in 1539 and remained part of colonial history in Georgia, Florida, New Mexico, Texas, California, and Louisiana until they were no longer colonies.

A Franciscan mission revival began in the 1840s when groups of Franciscan friars arrived with Irish, German, Polish, Italian, and eastern European immigrants.In the 20th century, the friars began to accompany Latin American and Vietnamese immigrants.The number of Franciscan friars peaked in the United States in the 1960s.In the midst of that boom, they engaged in such issues as civil rights and the changes that came to the Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council.Despite aging and declining numbers in the last 50 years, the Franciscan friars remain active.Franciscans were—and still are—woven deep into the fabric of US history, and in their archives, they have the pictures to prove it.Images of work with Native Americans, in soup kitchens, with social service agencies, and in parishes, schools, and universities provide a compelling look at this little-known part of US history.