Lone Star Bishops: The Roman Catholic Hierarchy in Texas by Franklin C. Williams, Jr. (review)

658BOOK REVIEWS fornia missions. He held numerous administrative posts in California between 1833 and his death in 1875, and was secretary to the first bishop of the Californias in 1842. Upon that prelate's demise, González Rubio assumed administration of the diocese and negotiated a turbulent interregnum, 1846 to 1850, when the United States seized California in the war with Mexico, followed by massive immigration with the discovery of gold in 1848. With few priests, little money, and enormous needs for ministry, the Franciscan "administrator of the miter" capably managed as best he could to serve a vast multi-national flock. The author makes a significant contribution to the scholarship of the history of the West and of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States in his careful explanation of the complexities that González Rubio resolutely faced. Neri explains the social and economic catastrophes that befell Spanish-speaking Catholics with the imposition of American legal, political, and economic systems . He notes how these jarring changes coincided with the more rigorous religious discipline introduced with the arrival of the hierarchy in San Francisco and Monterey-Los Angeles. Ironically, the man who had labored hardest to preserve the Church during the earlier years of turmoil found himself the object of the ire of his new bishop,Thaddeus Amat. Neri offers a balanced and even-handed account of the origins of the serious disagreements Amat found with the Franciscan community in Santa Barbara, where González Rubio resided and served. Even when Amat suspended the Franciscan's priestly faculties, González Rubio never publicly criticized the ordinary of the diocese. This priest's action contrasted with his clerical counterpart in Taos, José Antonio Martinez, who clashed with Archbishop Lamy and eventually incurred excommunication. The Franciscans in California, however, like fellow religious in the state, the Jesuits and the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, resisted the hierarchy respectfully but tenaciously with extended and vigorous appeals to Rome. The extensive archival materials that document Amat's conflicts with the Franciscans provided the author with rich sources for developing this biography . Neri's significant monograph profitably uses the life of this dedicated cleric as a window onto a troubled era of transitions for church leaders and the laity. One hopes that we will soon see further works from this insightful and thought provoking scholar. Michael E. Engh, SJ. Loyola Marymount University, LosAngeles Lone Star Bishops: The Roman Catholic Hierarchy in Texas. By Franklin C. Williamsjr. (Waco:Texian Press. 1997. Pp. xi,621. $25.00.) In the preface to his study, the author states that, while he was always interested in the history of Texas, his particular attraction to the Catholic narrative BOOK REVIEWS659 of the state found its initial inspiration in his reading of Carlos Eduardo Casta ñeda's seven-volume study, Our Catholic Heritage in Texas. The final result of Williams' dedication to the story of the growth of the Catholic Church in Texas is his lengthy and detailed Lone Star Bishops: The Roman Catholic Hierarchy in Texas, a book that consumed more than twenty years in being researched and written. Dr. Williams is an independent scholar who has taught history at Stephen F. Austin State University, Austin Peay State University, East Texas State University, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he earned his doctorate in history. Williams' tome is organized into two parts, each of which could have been published as a smaller but valued contribution to the historiography of the Catholic Church in Texas. The first 184 pages of Lone Star Bishops, Part One, surveys in considerable depth varied aspects of the formation and operation of the episcopacy in Texas. This section of Williams' effort is divided into eleven areas. In his treatment here Williams offers an overview of the province of San Antonio, comments on the foundation of the office of bishop, describes the formative education of a bishop for Texas, analyzes the theological and juridical nature of the episcopate, defines how a bishop is designated, identifies types of bishops and their duties, reflects on episcopal style, reviews the development of the province of San Antonio within Texas, focuses on the topic of the...