The number of African-American Catholics in Houston increased after the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 affected rural areas in the Southern United States . Most of them moved to the Fifth Ward . Due to a perception of the Catholic church being more favorable to African-Americans than Protestant churches , the Catholic church in Houston increased in popularity with African-Americans in the 1930s . The third black church , St. Anne de Beaupre in the Houston Heights , named after the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré , Quebec , Canada , opened in 1938
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
History of African Americans in Houston