Born in the Cataluna region of Spain, the Most Rev. Peter Verdaguer de Prat studied in the United States, was ordained in 1862 in San Francisco, and ministered at Catholic Indian missions in California. While serving at Our Lady of the Angels Church in Los Angeles, he was nominated for the Vicariate of Brownsville. Consecrated a bishop in Barcelona in 1890, he sailed to Corpus Christi and in 1891 took up residence in Laredo. Entrusted with the care of 42,500 Catholics, he faced the extreme poverty of the Vicariate and the mobility of many Mexican-American among his flock, problems worsened by the great drought of the early 1890s. He spent much of his time traveling on horseback from Laredo to Victoria and Brownsville, baptizing, marrying, and confirming the faithful on south Texas ranches. Despite hardship, three new churches were built in Laredo from 1896 to 1909. During his tenure, the number of Catholics in the Vicariate rose to 82,000, and the number of churches, schools, and clergy increased significantly. After his death, the Vicariate continued to exist until 1913, when the Diocese of Corpus Christi was established.