About Corpus Christi · Macon, Mississippi
Corpus Christi is a Catholic mission church located in Macon, Noxubee County, Mississippi, entrusted to the Diocese of Jackson. Liturgically and pastorally it is joined at the hip with St. Joseph Parish in nearby Starkville — it is staffed by St. Joseph's pastor and parochial vicar and uses St. Joseph's phone line for contact, making it a small but regularly served weekend Mass community in the rural east-central Mississippi prairies. As a diocesan mission, Corpus Christi exists to bring the Sunday Eucharist and the sacraments to Catholics scattered across Noxubee County who do not have a parish church of their own in town, and it is supported in that mission by a pastoral associate and (as of late 2025) a newly ordained transitional deacon.
- Patron
- Corpus Christi (the Body of Christ)
- Rector
- Rev. Jason Johnston
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson
Why belong here
Corpus Christi is a Saturday-evening mission community for Catholics in and around Macon who want a regular, local Catholic Mass and sacramental life without driving 30 minutes to Starkville. Worship is in English, confessions are heard after Saturday Mass, and the community is anchored by a dedicated pastoral associate and supported pastorally by two diocesan priests and (from late 2025) a transitional deacon. For Catholics in Noxubee County it is the primary Catholic presence in town — small, intimate, and tied to the wider St. Joseph-Starkville cluster of parishes.
Mass times at Corpus Christi
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 6:00 PM (after Mass)
Identity and Status
Corpus Christi in Macon, Mississippi is classified as a 'mission' of St. Joseph Parish, Starkville, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson — not a standalone parish. This status, noted on the diocese's official Parish Finder page, means day-to-day pastoral care, sacramental coverage, and even telephone answering (662-323-2257) are provided through St. Joseph's team in Starkville. The mission's Rite is Roman-Latin and its liturgy is celebrated in English.
Clergy and Pastoral Staff
The mission is served by the pastor and parochial vicar of St. Joseph Parish, Starkville, together with a lay pastoral associate on site and, from late 2025, a newly ordained transitional deacon. This cluster staffing model lets a small rural mission share ordained and lay ministerial resources with a larger parish.
- Rev. Jason Johnston — Pastor (since July 1, 2019)
- Rev. Tristan Stovall — Parochial Vicar; also Assistant Vocation Director, Diocese of Jackson
- Will Foggo — Transitional Deacon (assigned effective Dec. 3, 2025 after ordination Nov. 29, 2025)
- Joan Shell — Pastoral Associate
Liturgy and Sacraments
The mission publishes a single weekend liturgy: a Saturday Vigil Mass at 5:00 PM in English, with the sacrament of Reconciliation heard immediately after Mass (about 6:00 PM) on Saturdays. No weekday Mass schedule, adoration, or additional devotions are published on the diocesan listing; visitors are directed to confirm with St. Joseph Parish for current or seasonal information.
- Saturday Vigil Mass — 5:00 PM, English
- Confessions — Saturday after Mass (~6:00 PM)
Service Area and Pastoral Cluster
Corpus Christi Mission exists to serve Catholics in Macon and across Noxubee County who do not have their own parish. Pastorally it is joined to St. Joseph Parish, Starkville (about 30 miles north), which supplies priests and sacramental coverage. During periods of pastoral vacancy or crisis the diocese has also drawn on Annunciation Parish in Columbus and assigned a separate priest to handle weekend ministry at Corpus Christi, illustrating how thinly stretched rural Catholic ministry is in east-central Mississippi.
- St. Joseph Parish, Starkville — sponsoring parish
- Annunciation, Columbus — provided administrator during 2018–2019 crisis
- Macon / Noxubee County — primary service area
Recent History and the Vargas Crisis
The most documented chapter in the mission's recent history is the 2018 federal investigation of Father Lenin Vargas-Gutiérrez, then pastor of St. Joseph Starkville and Corpus Christi Macon. A 37-page affidavit alleged he had solicited donations — including through GoFundMe and a purported Mexican chapel project — by telling parishioners he had cancer, when in fact he had been diagnosed with HIV and attended the Southdown Institute in Toronto. Bishop Joseph Kopacz removed him from ministry, commissioned an audit, and published a pastoral letter calling for 'restorative justice and reconciliation' and scheduling an Advent Reconciliation Service for the affected parish communities. The diocese later confirmed Vargas's death on April 1, 2025.
- 2018: Federal investigation into Fr. Lenin Vargas-Gutiérrez
- Bishop Joseph Kopacz's pastoral letter on restorative justice
- Joint Advent Reconciliation Service at St. Joseph's for both parish communities
- Fr. Vargas died April 1, 2025
Restoration and Renewed Staffing (2019–2025)
The appointment of Fr. Jason Johnston as pastor effective July 1, 2019 marked the restoration of stable pastoral leadership. The diocese then assigned a parochial vicar (Fr. Tristan Stovall, also serving as Assistant Vocation Director) and, on October 8, 2025, announced that Will Foggo would be ordained a transitional deacon on November 29, 2025 and assigned to St. Joseph Parish and its mission Corpus Christi in Macon effective December 3, 2025.
- Fr. Jason Johnston appointed July 1, 2019
- Fr. Tristan Stovall assigned as Parochial Vicar
- Will Foggo assigned as Transitional Deacon Dec. 3, 2025
Contact and Visiting
Because Corpus Christi is a mission of St. Joseph Parish, the official contact number (662-323-2257) is the Starkville parish office. The mailing address is 206 N. Washington Street, Macon, MS 39341. The Diocese of Jackson's Parish Finder is the authoritative source for Mass and confession times; visitors should call ahead for holidays or special liturgical schedules.
- Address: 206 N. Washington Street, Macon, MS 39341
- Phone: 662-323-2257 (St. Joseph, Starkville)
- Official listing: jacksondiocese.org/parishfinder
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Lenin Vargas (Vargas-Gutiérrez)approximately 2013 – 2018
Former pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Starkville and its mission Corpus Christi, Macon; removed from ministry after federal investigation into alleged fundraising fraud tied to a false cancer diagnosis. Died April 1, 2025.
- Rev. Jeffrey Waldrep2018 – 2019 (administrator)
Pastor of Annunciation, Columbus, served as administrator for St. Joseph Parish and Corpus Christi Mission after Fr. Vargas's removal.
- Rev. Rusty Vincent2018 – 2019
Assigned to handle pastoral ministry at St. Joseph Parish and Corpus Christi Mission during the diocesan audit period.
- Rev. Jason JohnstonJuly 1, 2019 – present
Appointed Pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Starkville and Corpus Christi Mission, Macon effective July 1, 2019.