Architect Pierre Yves Keralum was ordained an Oblate priest at Marseilles, France, in 1852. That same year he came to south Texas as a member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (O. M. I.). Evidence of his architectural skill can be seen at Our Lady of Refuge Church in Roma and the Cathedral in Brownsville. As a missionary, Keralum covered a large area of South Texas, ministering to thousands of people. He disappeared while traveling in this area in 1872. His remains were not discovered until ten years later. (1989)