ST. LAURENCE PARISH HISTORY

On August 1, 1985, St. Laurence Catholic Church was founded as a new parish in the Diocese of Galveston-Houston.  Fr. Laurence Connelly was appointed pastor and celebrated Mass for his parish of 210 families in an office building located on Sweetwater Boulevard in First Colony.  By August 1988, the Parish Hall was erected and every parish event was held in this multi-purpose building until construction of the church, offices, meeting rooms and classrooms was completed four years later.  On April 26, 1992, Bishop Joseph Fiorenza dedicated the newly constructed St. Laurence church building. 
 
Later that year, St. Laurence Catholic School opened its doors to 200 children in pre-kindergarten through the 4th grade, utilizing the newly completed courtyard classrooms.  Religious Education classes were taught in the same classrooms, but to provide for the large number of children in the program, many classes were taught in catechists’ homes. 
 
In 1994, Fr. John Weyer became pastor of St. Laurence.  Under his leadership the parish grew from 1,500 families to more than 3,700.  The parish school, too, was growing to accommodate students through Grade 8.  In 1996, a free-standing school and the Chapel of Divine Mercy were built on five adjacent acres.  In 1998, the parish purchased the Williams Trace Baptist Church property located directly across Sweetwater Boulevard.  These buildings became space for faith formation and home for the new Weekday Children's Program, an early childhood program for ages 6 weeks through 5 years.
 
Fr. Drew Wood became the third pastor of St. Laurence in September of 2002, and within five years the already large parish community swelled to over 5,800 families.  By this time, the need for additional seating in the church became critical and a plan was underway to enlarge the existing church building, while keeping intact its basic structure, stained glass and ambiance.  On the feast day of St. Laurence, August 10, 2008, His Eminence Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, rededicated the new church building in which we worship today. 

In 2013, the parish launched a campaign to build a new faith formation center and on December 6, 2015, Cardinal DiNardo blessed the opening of the Ave Maria Parish Life Center, the primary location for all faith formation classes, ministry meetings, spiritual direction and events of all sizes benefiting our entire community, including our popular Parish Bazaar.

In 2019, St. Laurence was presented the prestigious Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy Parish Stewardship Award at the 57th Annual Conference of the International Catholic Stewardship Council (ICSC), in recognition for outstanding work in Christian stewardship formation.

Nine months after receiving a cancer diagnosis, Fr. Drew died at home in the rectory of his beloved parish of St. Laurence, on September 12, 2024. Fr. Reginald Samuels was named the fourth pastor of St. Laurence and was warmly welcomed home to the parish where he was first assigned after his ordination in 2009.

Today, St. Laurence is a culturally diverse and vibrant parish of over 7,400 families that continues to grow as a result of the generous sharing of time, talent and treasure by our wonderful parishioners.  Through our more than 100 parish ministries, we offer numerous opportunities to love, learn, connect and grow in Catholic Christian discipleship, always centered in the love of Christ and living to glorify God in all we do.

We think you will find a wonderful home here at St. Laurence. Come and join us!