Gilmer, Texas is the county seat of Upshur County. 
Saint Francis of Assisi parish was established in the
spring of 1994 and four years later it was dedicated as
the first Catholic community in Gilmer.  The rural parish
sits quietly just minutes from downtown Gilmer and is
a short drive to Lake Gilmer. Its parishioners welcome

History of St. Francis of Assisi

Part I
"Where is Gilmer?"

In the parking lot of Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview, Texas Bishop Edmond Carmody of the Diocese of Tyler was talking to Father Dan Gonzales.  "Would you please go to Gilmer and look for Catholics?" asked the bishop.  "Okay, Bishop, but would you be so kind as to tell me--where is Gilmer?" he asked Bishop Carmody very inquisitively.  
 

Part II
"Wanted: Gilmer Catholics!" 

It was the Lenten season and the Bishop of the Tyler Diocese was convinced in his heart of hearts that Gilmer, being the seat of Upshur County, should undoubtedly have a presence of catholic believers!  So Fr. Dan Gonzales went to the small east Texas town to look for, what else--Catholics!  He did not fail at his task.  There was definitely an enthusiastic Catholic interest.  The Catholic Gilmerites were definitely eager about having their own mission and future community in the town.  
 

Part III
"We Commit"

By April 1994, fourteen families had committed to a local parish in Gilmer.  The families included: Barber, Bruns, Bukowsky, Cavazos, Daniels, Hudgins, Jones, Loy, Mannis, Osborne, Parsons, Pitman, Raabe, and Santos.  
 

Next, came another type of commitment.  A year lease was eventually signed for a place to gather the group each Sunday.  It was suitable both financially and in structure.  However, it would require a bit of creativity to turn the space, which looked like it came directly from an old television western, into a reverent place for Catholic mass.  

       Original Meeting Place of St. Francis
 

Current Sanctuary of St. Francis

Part IV
"Work In Progress"
 

En route to a confirmation, Bishop Carmody joined the congregation for mass; he was the first visitor!  Actually he was the first visitor at the first mission in the Diocese of Tyler.  This was a little known piece of trivia and a badge of honor worn proudly by the parish.  Many more missions would come in the future of the diocese.

The bishop recommended we submitted up to three possible names for the parish.  Brother Sun, also known as St. Francis of Assisi, was an easy first choice.  Worldwide St. Francis is venerated as the patron saint of animals and the environment.  He would be at home in the rural, agricultural town of Gilmer.

On Corpus Christi Sunday, May 22,1994, the bishop confirmed the name St. Francis of Assisi as the name of the mission.   Before Christmas religious education was organized and teachers were commissioned on Catechetical Sunday.    

Part V
"Well Under Way"
 

    The parish kicked into high gear with formation of religious education and catechetical preparations.  On FM 852 sat some land that looked quite attractive to the membership.  The simple, serene pasture land was the main contender for a building site for the parish.  

     Christmas was celebrated with Midnight Mass and “sleepy, heavy children.” A new year saw the first Holy Communion for 17 children, a growing Hispanic congregation, and steady financial growth aimed at building a facility for St. Francis.
 

Part VI
“Welcome to our Happy Home”

     With a great presentation prepared by a Nancy Hudgins approval was given for the building of a structure for St. Francis of Assisi.  On May 31, 1998, a happy congregation entered their church building for the first time.  Four years later on Pentecost Sunday, Bishop Carmody dedicated the church with a relic of St. Francis from Rome and Fr. Dan was installed as the first pastor.  The small parish had made a long journey and finally arrived to find themselves in a new building, with two congregations, a Ladies’ Guild, religious education, a stocked library of Catholic documents and books, and a yearly festival to remember their patron saint.  All of this and more can still be found in a quiet pasture, on a road leading to a lake, in a small, rural town, in the great state of Texas! Thanks be to God.