About El Carmen - Losoya · San Antonio, Texas
El Carmen Catholic Church – Losoya, formally known as Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Nuestra Señora del Carmen), is a historic Roman Catholic parish in the South Bexar County community of Losoya, on the south side of San Antonio, Texas. The parish belongs to the Archdiocese of San Antonio and serves roughly 750 families across an area of approximately 50 square miles. Today Mass is offered in both English and Spanish, with the administrator Rev. Dennis Venegas overseeing parish life at 18555 Leal Road.
- Established
- 1817
- Patron
- Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Nuestra Señora del Carmen)
- Rector
- Rev. Dennis Venegas, Administrator
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of San Antonio
Why belong here
El Carmen offers bilingual (English and Spanish) Mass seven days a week — including a Spanish Mass each Sunday at 12:30 PM — making it a home for the whole South Bexar County community. Parishioners worship on a site with nearly two centuries of continuous Catholic witness, while benefiting from weekday adoration and a 1967 church flanked by the original 19th-century bell tower and the historic El Carmen Cemetery. The parish plant — church, rectory, convent, parish hall, activity center, computer lab and three religious education buildings — supports faith formation, parish life and outreach to the wider community.
Mass times at El Carmen - Losoya
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:30 PM – 5:15 PM
- or by appointment / o por cita
Adoration times
- Thursday 8:30 AM – 8:00 PM
Our Story: From Battle of Medina Battlefield to Living Parish
El Carmen's origins lie on the killing field of the Battle of Medina (August 18, 1813), the largest battle ever fought on Texas soil. In 1817, Spanish commander Joaquín de Arredondo ordered a chapel and crypt — Nuestra Señora del Carmen de Medina — built over the mass grave as a memorial. By 1854 it had grown into a church with a rectory, dedicated on January 24, 1855 in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. After fires in 1872 and 1904 and stints as a mission of San Fernando Cathedral, Immaculate Heart of Mary, and St. Leo's, the parish was re-established independently in 1959. The current church was dedicated on December 17, 1967, while the original 19th-century bell tower still stands.
- 1813 – Battle of Medina fought nearby
- 1817 – Chapel and crypt erected over the soldiers' burial site
- 1855 – Enlarged chapel dedicated as Our Lady of Mount Carmel
- 1959 – Re-established as an independent parish
- 1967 – New church dedicated December 17
Parish Priests & Pastoral Succession
Catholic ministry at El Carmen has been carried out by diocesan, Jesuit, Claretian, and Vincentian priests over more than 170 years. Fr. F. Bouchu was resident priest at the 1855 dedication; he was followed in 1872 by Fr. Emilio Chapolard, whose tenure coincided with the first church fire. Jesuit Fr. Tomas Mas took up residence in 1874. The Claretian Fathers served El Carmen from San Fernando Cathedral and Immaculate Heart of Mary for forty years, until Archbishop Robert Lucey entrusted the parish to the Vincentian Fathers at St. John's Seminary in 1944. Fr. Raymond F. O'Brien, C.M., moved in when St. Leo's Parish was also given to the Vincentians, restoring daily Mass and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for the first time in fifty years. Rev. Dennis Venegas currently serves as Administrator.
Sacraments
Information on how to prepare for and receive the sacraments is available through the parish office. Baptisms are registered online; weddings are registered online at least six months in advance; the Anointing of the Sick is arranged by calling the office.
- Baptism – register online
- Wedding – register online at least 6 months in advance
- Anointing of the Sick – call the office
Parish Ministries & Outreach
Faith formation and outreach have defined El Carmen from the days of the Ladies of Charity, who arrived in 1958 to teach catechism and later staffed the parish's maternity and medical clinic (erected in 1964). The parish continues that tradition today through three religious education buildings and an associated nonprofit (El Carmen Losoya, EIN 32-0290440) that exists to 'provide assistance to anyone in need.'
- Ladies of Charity (since 1958)
- Religious Education
- Maternity / medical clinic (since 1964)
- Human services / charitable assistance
El Carmen Cemetery & Local Landmarks
The El Carmen Cemetery is the parish's most tangible link to early Texas history. 19th-century journals and historical accounts trace its origin to the burial of the Battle of Medina casualties between 1813 and 1817; a chapel was built directly over the soldiers' crypt, and the burial ground later expanded into a community cemetery as pioneer families settled the area. Among those interred are members of the Domingo Losoya and Dionicio Martínez land-grant families, Enrique Esparza (a child survivor of the Battle of the Alamo), and the French immigrant-naturalist Gustave Toudouze. The cemetery association was formed in 1927 and continues to maintain the Hispanic site, which is still in use for the local community.
- Burial site of Battle of Medina casualties (1813–1817)
- Losoya, Martínez, Esparza and Toudouze family plots
- Enrique Esparza, Alamo survivor
- Cemetery association organized 1927
Parish Facilities
The parish plant covers roughly 50 square miles of southern Bexar County and includes the church, the historic bell tower of the 19th-century structure, the rectory, a convent, the cemetery, a parish hall, an activity center, a computer lab, and three religious education buildings.
- Church (1967) + historic bell tower
- Rectory and convent
- Parish hall and activity center
- Computer lab
- Three religious education buildings
- El Carmen Cemetery
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. F. Bouchu1855–1872
Resident priest at the dedication of the enlarged chapel on January 24, 1855
- Fr. Emilio Chapolard1872–
Succeeded Bouchu; church burned the same year he arrived
- Fr. Tomas Mas, S.J.from September 1874
Jesuit priest who took up residence at El Carmen
- Fr. Raymond F. O'Brien, C.M.from c. 1956
Vincentian; took up residence at El Carmen when St. Leo's was entrusted to the Vincentian Fathers; restored daily Mass and exposition after 50 years
- Fr. Carl Maurerfrom June 1, 2002
Assigned as pastor/administrator