HISTORY OUR LADY OF SORROWS PARISH COMMUNITY (since1905) AND OF THE CHURCH BUILDING (since 1915). The FOUNDATION OF Our lady of Sorrows Parish dates back to 1905 when the Claretian Fathers from San Fernando Cathedral established a catechetical center on Valdez Street near the present church. The first liturgies were celebrated under the tent. The site of the future church was purchased in 1911 at the intersection of Broad Street and Jones Avenue (now the corner of E. Mistletoe and N. St. Mary’s). The original church was built in 1915 and named Our Lady of Sorrows (Nuestra Señora de los Dolores) in memory of Mrs. Dolores Rodriguez, whose son, Fred, gave a substantial donation for the project. The immediate area served by the church was known as "La Piedrera" after the rock quarry on the present site of the Sunken Garden Theater and the Japanese Tea Garden. The church was served as a mission of San Fernando Cathedral until 1926 when it was entrusted to the care of the Spanish Dominican Fathers from the Vice Province in Mexico City. They built the present rectory in 1928, a school and convent in 1929 and enlarged the church in 1934.Thus after 1926 became quasi independent parish, When the Dominicans returned to Mexico in 1944 the church was assigned to the Oblate Fathers and attached as a mission of St. Mary’s Parish. When Our Lady of Grace was erected as a parish in 1952, Our Lady of Sorrows became a mission of that parish and continued in that relationship until ain December 8, 1977 when it was erected as an independent parish. During its long history, Our Lady of Sorrows operated a parochial school for 40 years until it was closed in 1970. Three school buildings have stood on the site of the present school which is now used as a catechetical center. Dominican, Teresian and Sacred Heart Sisters staffed the school for 5 varying periods of time. For several years the former convent building has served as a branch office of the Catholic Family and Children Services, then as a lawyers’ office, and presently as Dr. Dutra’s office (therapy). Since September 1986 Our Lady of Sorrows has been the base of operations for the spiritual care of Polish immigrants (known as Polish Catholic Mission) and Rev. Boleslaw (Fr.Bill) Zadora, SDS was appointed their first pastoral caregiver. Presently Father Marian Piekarczyk, SDS, is serving in this ministry. On June 1st, 2003 Our Lady of Sorrows was been entrusted to the order of the Polish Salvatorian Fathers with Father Thaddeus Tabak, SDS as a pastor of tri-lingual parish as Archbishop Patrick Flores stated in the document of the assignment. Today, Our Lady of Sorrows Parish "technically" numbers almost 600 families, down from a peak of over 700 families before the McAllister freeway was built and property near the church was cleared for future commercial development.
The irregular boundaries of the parish extend from McCullough and Carleton on the west to the San Antonio River on the east and from Locust on the south to Huisache and Hildebrand on the north. Included in the boundaries area portion of the Brackenridge Park Golf course, the sunken Garden Theater, Japanese Tea Garden and the San Antonio Zoo (we have a ZOO in the parish!). The parish registers include records of more than 5500 Baptisms and 1000 Marriages, in addition to the Confirmations and First Communion. Older records of Sacraments administered in Our Lady of Sorrows prior to 1926 are kept in the Cathedral archives. But some of the records can still be found at San Fernando, St. Mary’s or Our Lady of Grace Churches. The Jubilee Year of 100th Anniversary of our church will begin in 2014 on the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, September 15th, and will conclude in 2015 on the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.
In this 100th year of the parish, OLS is working to carry out various renovations for which it is soliciting contributions from friends and parishioners. Contributions and any historical data about the church may be directed to [email protected] or to our Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/OLScentennial2015/