Come experience Port Arthur’s Iconic Faith Trail

Experience Port Arthur’s Iconic Faith Trail

The diversity of culture and religion in Port Arthur sets the back drop for a faith experience that is second to none. Historic cathedrals, Buddhist Temples and garden vistas are just a few ways to reconnect and relax.

In Port Arthur:
Buu Mon Buddhist Temple 
The Buu Mon Buddhist Temple’s gardens create a peaceful scene with fruit trees, lotus, bamboo and other foliage. A statue of Buddha, rimmed in lights, is at the head of a reflecting pool. A sitting Buddha watches over the koi pond. In 1980 Buu Mon was established in Beaumont, hence the name. The organization moved to Orange, then found a home in Port Arthur in 1986. The current building has been a Baptist Church and a Vietnamese Catholic Church. The temple, was dedicated August 15, 1987, with a four-tiered pagoda tower symbolizing tenets of Buddhism.

Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe is an iconic figure of Mexican-American Culture. Parishioners of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church built a shrine to commemorate the Virgin Mary’s appearance to Juan Diego with a 17-foot bronze sculpture and a statue of Diego set up on rocks from the apparition site in Mexico. The shrine includes a Rose Chapel.  

Short Drive:
First Presbyterian Church
Orange philanthropist Frances Ann Lutcher planned and financed this church as a memorial to her family. The Greek-Revival style building was dedicated in January of 1912 and features Texas pink granite and the only opalescent glass dome in the United States. It was one of the first air-conditioned buildings in the U.S. Other features: Woodwork of Honduras mahogany; a 1953 38-rank  Casavant organ; and three J.&R. Lamb art-glass windows.

St. Anthony Basillica
In 1879 pioneer priest Father Vitalus Quinon built St. Louis, a small frame church at Bowie and Orleans streets. Then in May of 1895, the church was moved to its current site. In 1903 the cornerstone was laid for a new church, completed in 1907 and dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua. The renovated basilica features a baldachino, and a Carrara marble altar. 

For more on these stops and more, Read More Here.