Baptismal Font -- St. Joseph-St Stephen's Catholic Church, Houston TX
N 29° 45.959 W 095° 22.385
15R E 270553 N 3295214
A beautiful stone baptismal font from around 1880s-1900s time frame stands at the back of the sanctuary at St. Joseph-St Stephen's Catholic Church in Houston
Waymark Code: WMVD63
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/03/2017
Views: 0
This elegant white marble baptismal font stands at the back of the sanctuary of historic St. Joseph-St Stephen's Catholic Church. The church is located at 1505 Kane Street slightly northwest of downtown Houston.
Blasterz are no experts, but this looks to us like it could be the original font from first St. Joseph's Catholic Church sanctuary which was destroyed by the infamous Galveston hurricane of 8 Sep 1900, that also did a lot of damage in Houston. At the latest, this font dates from the church's reconstruction in 1901.
The historic parish of St Joseph was merged with a nearby parish of St Stephen in 2016 to form the new St. Joseph-St Stephen's parish. See: (
visit link)
"Welcome to the 2nd Oldest Catholic Church in Houston?
In 1879, the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament founded a school to serve Houston’s Sixth Ward. One year later, St Joseph Parish was founded in 1880 to serve the school and surrounding community. This Romanesque Revival structure, designed by Patrick S. Rabbit and built in 1901, replaced the earlier sanctuary destroyed in the great hurricane of 1900.
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After over a century of serving the people of Houston as St Joseph Parish, it was Decreed by Extinctive Union that on May 8, 2016 St Joseph Parish and St Stephen Parish would merge to become St Joseph - St Stephen Parish. We are now one Body ... Ephesians 4:4-6"
A state historic marker issued to St Joseph Church in 1989 is located at the garden in front of the church, and reads as follows:
"St. Joseph's Catholic Church
A school, founded by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament to serve Houston's Sixth Ward, opened near this site in 1879. St. Joseph's Parish, the third Catholic church organized in Houston, was founded in 1880 to serve the school and community. This Romanesque Revival structure, designed by Patrick S. Rabbit and built in 1901, replaced an earlier sanctuary destroyed in the 1900 storm. It features a basilica plan, extensive corbelled detailing, and decorative brickwork. Serving a multi-ethnic congregation, St. Joseph's is an integral part of the community.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1989"