St. Edward Catholic Church - Fifth and Beech streets Catholics started worshipping on the Arkansas side of Texarkana on June 20, 1903. The Rev. E.W. Fowler celebrated the first Mass at the Miller County Courthouse. By December of that year, members had a chapel on Fourth and Hickory streets. The first Mass was celebrated there on Christmas Day by the Very Rev. Finton Kramer, vicar general of the Diocese of Little Rock. In 1904, the Rev. M.J. Daugherty became St. Edward's first pastor. In April 1922, members broke ground for the present church under the leadership of the Rev. Dr. Oliver Clarendon, who served the church from 1918 to his death in 1932. Dr. Clarendon became a monsignor before he died. Dr. Clarendon came to the church with impressive credentials. He had been professor of dogmatic theology at St. John's Seminary. Seminary officials and priest friends were on hand when St. Edward was completed and dedicated in 1923. Bishop John Morris dedicated the beautiful Romanesque-style church on April 8, 1923. The dedication service made diocesan history, for the bishop celebrated a solemn pontifical Mass. The pontifical ceremony is a cathedral feature, and for the first time in the history of the diocese it was celebrated in a church other than St. Andrew's Cathedral in Little Rock. Under Dr. Clarendon's leadership, Providence Academy was opened in 1922. In 1924, the church purchased 40 acres for Calvary Cemetery. Members celebrated the church's 75th anniversary in 1998, and the church's priest at that time said, "The people of St. Edward's Parish worked very hard and sacrificed much to move from a wooden church on Hickory Street to this wonderful edifice on Beech. "With the recent additions and remodeling, that same tradition of sacrifice and working together is still evident in our parish." The Rev. Phillip Reaves, pastor, said the parish council is a wonderful resource for him. The council represents the parish, he said. Council members formed many active committees such as a committee on education and a committee on liturgy. "The people are very hard workers who want to do a lot for the church," Reaves said. Reaves' associate pastor is the Rev. Vincent Ogbuji of Nigeria. Other staff members include Deacon Joe Bruick and Director of Religious Education Susan Mervish. The office staff consists of Janet Daddato and Maria Byrne. In July, another deacon will be added. Deacon Al Calzada will be director of Hispanic ministry. The church offers Masses in English and Spanish every Sunday and in Vietnamese every other month. Three choirs contribute music to the various services. St. Edward has two mission churches: St. Elizabeth Anne Seton Catholic Church in Ashdown, Ark., and Our Lady of Good Hope Church in Hope, Ark. St. Edward also has an outreach center that ministers to the needs of the poor. © VHR