 In 1979, in recognition of the Galveston Cathedral's importance to the community and state, as well as its historical role as the mother church for Catholicism in the state of Texas, Pope John Paul II elevated St. Mary's to the status of Cathedral Basilica.The third Bishop of Galveston, Nicholas A. Gallagher, established Sacred Heart parish in downtown Houston as the fourth parish in the city on November 22, 1896, to serve the growing Catholic population.The Reverend Thomas Keaney, became the first pastor of Sacred Heart Church.