SAN ANTONIO – There is a saying that home is where the heart is.
When it comes to Denver Heights, though, home is also where the soul is.
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The neighborhood on the East Side of San Antonio is home to numerous churches that date back more than a century.
Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, located on Nevada Street near Gevers Street, is just one of many that have acted as spiritual sanctuaries for generations of Denver Heights residents.
Established in 1901, the church originally served poor African Americans in the community.
Later, it became one of three Catholic parishes in San Antonio with predominantly Black congregations.
Currently, Holy Redeemer Catholic Church is the last one standing.
“It was a place where they weren’t relegated to the back of the church. They were the church,” Holy Redeemer Catholic Church pastor Rev. Kevin Fausz, CM, said. “To have a place where you could come to pray, to have a place where you could come to socialize, to have a place where your children were in school — that was major.”
Fausz has overseen the church for the past 17 years.
However, he is well-versed in the pain people experienced in the past as members of a larger faith segregated due to the color of their skin.
Leo Edwards, M.D., who also serves as Holy Redeemer’s historian, is also a lifelong member.
To the congregation, Edwards said the church has always been a place for more than religion. Worshippers have also relied on it for leadership beyond the pulpit.
“That had us marching, participating in civil rights activities as a parish,” Edwards said.
The role that Holy Redeemer has played in the community is not unlike that of other Denver Heights churches.
The neighborhood is home to at least 10 churches that have nurtured people’s souls and eased their minds for more than a century.
They include: St. Michael Catholic Church (established in 1866); New Light Baptist Church (est. 1870); Mt. Zion First Baptist Church (est. 1871); Holy Redeemer Catholic Church (est. 1901); Greater Corinth Baptist Church (est. 1905); Friendship Missionary Baptist Church (est. 1910); St. Gerard Catholic Church (est. 1911); Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church (est. 1913); Denver Heights Church of God in Christ (est. 1913) and Porter Memorial CME Church (est. 1918).
In addition to overseeing Holy Redeemer, Fausz is also pastor of two other historic churches: Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. Michael.
Throughout the years, Fausz said the neighborhood, particularly surrounding Holy Redeemer, has changed.
As African Americans have moved out of the area, he has seen his congregation become more of a melting pot.
Edwards, whose family has been part of the church for generations, would like to see the soul of it remain even if the congregation changes.
“I hope that it continues to grow,” Edwards said. “We are a special, special place.”
