About Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro Mission · Terra Bella, California
Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro Mission is a Catholic mission church serving the small rural community of Terra Bella in Tulare County, California. It is a mission of St. Anne's Parish in nearby Porterville and operates under the Diocese of Fresno, with the Rev. Msgr. Scott Daugherty — pastor of St. Anne's since 1993 — overseeing its pastoral care. The mission's parish life is overwhelmingly Spanish-speaking, with the Sunday liturgy celebrated in Spanish (Español), making it a spiritual home for the many Mexican and Latino families of the Terra Bella area. The church is named for Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro, the Mexican Jesuit priest and martyr executed in 1927, who remains a powerful symbol of Catholic faith and Mexican Catholic identity.
- Established
- 1993
- Patron
- Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro, S.J.
- Rector
- Rev. Msgr. Scott Daugherty
- Diocese
- Diocese of Fresno
Why belong here
Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro Mission offers the Terra Bella Catholic community a Spanish-language Sunday Mass close to home, without the drive into Porterville. As a mission of St. Anne's Parish, it shares in the pastoral care of Msgr. Scott Daugherty and the wider network of parishes and missions serving Porterville, Terra Bella, Springville, and the Tule River Reservation. The mission gathers regularly for Sunday liturgy and welcomes families for the monthly First Friday devotion — including bilingual Confession, Adoration, and Benediction at the church on Road 236.
Mass times at Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- First Friday 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM (Bilingual, at the mission in Terra Bella)
Adoration times
- First Friday 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM (Bilingual, Beato Miguel Agustin Pro, Terra Bella)
Our Story: A Church Bought in Faith
After years of work, prayer and anticipation, a church building was purchased in Terra Bella by and for the local Catholic community. The parish was dedicated to Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro, the Mexican Jesuit priest and martyr executed in Mexico City in 1923 during one of the major persecutions of the Catholic Church in Mexico. Blessed Miguel Pro is remembered by the parish as a powerful symbol of the living faith in the risen Lord Jesus Christ and of the enduring faith of the people of Mexico. The mission has been part of the Diocese of Fresno and a satellite of St. Anne's Parish in Porterville since its founding in 1993.
- Year established: 1993
- Dedicated to Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro, Mexican Jesuit priest and martyr (1891–1927)
- A mission of St. Anne's Parish, Porterville
The Patron: Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro
José Ramón Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez was born on January 13, 1891, in Guadalupe, Mexico. He entered the Society of Jesus and was ordained a priest in Belgium in 1925 after being forced to study abroad because of religious persecution in Mexico. Returning home, he ministered secretly during the Cristero era until he was arrested without trial and executed by firing squad on November 23, 1927, under false charges linking him to an assassination attempt. Declining a blindfold, he stretched out his arms in the form of a cross, holding a rosary in one hand and a crucifix in the other, and cried '¡Viva Cristo Rey!' — 'Long live Christ the King!' Pope John Paul II beatified him as a Catholic martyr in Rome on September 25, 1988. His feast is celebrated on November 23.
- Born: January 13, 1891, Guadalupe, Mexico
- Died: November 23, 1927, Mexico City
- Society of Jesus (Jesuits)
- Beatified: September 25, 1988, by Pope John Paul II
- Feast Day: November 23
Part of St. Anne's Parish Family
Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro Mission is one of five worship sites that together make up St. Anne's Parish, which serves the communities of Porterville, Terra Bella, Springville, the Tule River Reservation, Ducor, and Woodville. The wider parish family includes St. Anne's Church (Porterville), Holy Cross Church (Porterville), St. Maximillian Kolbe Mission (Springville), and Mater Dolorosa Mission (Tule River Indian Reservation). The pastor of the entire family is Rev. Msgr. Scott Daugherty, who has led the parish since 1993.
- St. Anne's Church, Porterville
- Holy Cross Church, Porterville
- Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro Mission, Terra Bella
- St. Maximillian Kolbe Mission, Springville
- Mater Dolorosa Mission, Tule River Indian Reservation
Visiting the Mission
The mission sits on Road 236 in the rural community of Terra Bella in eastern Tulare County, surrounded by the citrus groves and agricultural land that characterize the southern San Joaquin Valley. The parish office — which handles all sacramental records, calls, and correspondence for the mission — is reached through St. Anne's Parish in Porterville at (559) 784-2800. Visitors are warmly welcomed to the Sunday Spanish Mass at 9:30 AM, where the Terra Bella Catholic community gathers each week.
- Address: 9120 Road 236, Terra Bella, CA 93270
- Parish office phone: (559) 784-2800
- Sunday liturgy in Spanish