A Chalice Between Them
September 22, 2020
Above, a detailed shot of the at least 169-year-old chalice. Below: close up shots shows a handmade cherub angel and an inscription on the base of the chalice shows: “EPISC. GALVESTON 1851,” in addition to other detailed artwork.
HOUSTON — The chalice and paten Daniel Cardinal DiNardo used in celebrating the Mass for Father Eurel Manzano’s installation as rector at St. Mary’s Seminary on Sept. 13 belonged to Bishop Jean Marie Odin, who served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Galveston from 1847 to 1861.
Bishop Odin received the chalice from Blessed Pius IX in 1851, according to the inscription on its base.
A second inscription noted that it was originally a gift that same year from the Marchese di Vulci, perhaps intended for a mission diocese, as Galveston then was. Another inscription, this one from 1880, indicated that the chalice was given to the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in Galveston, perhaps by their founder, the second bishop of Galveston, Bishop Claude M. Dubuis.
The chalice was then later returned to the Chancery and is now in the Archives for the Archdiocese, one of only a few artifacts from Bishop Odin’s tenure.
