and Bishop of San Jose Brendan John Cahill, appointed Bishop of Victoria in Texas in 2015 Coat of arms The coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston is composed of a blue fielded shield on which is displayed a scattering of silver and white roses and topped with a bishop's mitre. The roses represent the Blessed Virgin Mary, in her title of the Mystical Rose, titular of the Cathedral-Basilica in the see city of Galveston. The red cross represents the Faith, with a square center containing a single silver star to represent Texas, the Lone Star State. Statistics Approximately 1.7 million Catholics live within the boundaries of the Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston (equaling 26% of the total population), making the archdiocese the largest in the state of Texas and the fifth largest in the United States. The archdiocese's 146 parishes are served by approximately 435 priests (193 diocesan, 195 religious, and 47 other) and 411 permanent deacons. Parishes and churches Education As of 2018, the Catholic school network of the archdiocese is the largest private school network in the State of Texas. As of that year the archdiocese had 59 schools, with about 19,500 students enrolled. In 2005 the school system had 17,000 students prior to Hurricane Katrina; the hurricane meant that an additional 1,700 attended Houston-area Catholic schools. From 2005 to 2012 total enrollment was consistently around 18,000. Several new schools were being established at the time. In 2012 it operated thirteen schools in the central areas of Houston; that year they had 2,000 students, with about 66% of the students being Catholic. The growth in Houston's Catholic school system contrasted with Catholic schooling systems in many other parts of the United States, which faced steep enrollment declines. Sarah "Sally" Wilson Landram served as the superintendent of schools beginning in 2004. She was scheduled to retire on June 30, 2007, but fell ill with lung cancer and died at age 72 on June 28, 2007. Significant structures Province of Galveston–Houston See List of Catholic Dioceses in the United States Other Dioceses in the Ecclesiastical Province: Diocese Of Corpus Christi Diocese of Austin Diocese of Brownsville Diocese of Beaumont Diocese of Victoria Diocese of Tyler See also Catholicism Christianity in Houston Galveston, Texas References External links - Previous official site domain Schools office St. Mary Cathedral Basilica 1847 establishments in Texas Galveston-Houston Religion in Galveston, Texas Religion in Houston Religious