About Good Shepherd · Johnson City, Texas
Good Shepherd Catholic Church is a mission church in Johnson City, Texas, the county seat of Blanco County in the Texas Hill Country. It is currently a mission of St. Ferdinand Parish in nearby Blanco, from which it was originally founded, and it falls under the Diocese of Austin. The small community gathers for Sunday Mass at 9:00 AM and a Thursday evening Mass at 6:00 PM, with First Thursday Eucharistic Adoration and the sacrament of Reconciliation offered on a regular schedule. Its mission identity means it is served by the pastor and staff of St. Ferdinand while maintaining its own worship life and worship site at 285 US 281 Loop Road.
- Patron
- Good Shepherd
- Diocese
- Diocese of Austin
Why belong here
Good Shepherd offers a small, intimate Catholic community in the heart of the Texas Hill Country with two Masses a week (Sunday morning and Thursday evening) and a faithful Eucharistic Adoration holy hour on the First Thursday of each month. As a mission of St. Ferdinand in Blanco, parishioners benefit from the larger parish's sacramental and formation programs while worshiping at a convenient local site. It is an ideal parish for families and ranchers in Johnson City and Blanco County who want a close-knit Catholic worship community grounded in the Diocese of Austin.
Mass times at Good Shepherd
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 8:15 AM – 8:40 AM (before 9:00 AM Mass)
- Thursday 5:15 PM – 5:40 PM (before 6:00 PM Mass)
- First Thursday 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM and 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM (during Adoration)
Adoration times
- First Thursday of the month, 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM
About Good Shepherd Catholic Mission
Good Shepherd is a small Catholic mission church serving Johnson City, the seat of Blanco County in the Texas Hill Country. The mission is rooted in the longer Catholic history of Blanco County, with the first Catholic families having moved to Blanco from New Braunfels in the early 1850s and worshiped in homes and community centers until 1899. Today the mission gathers at 285 US 281 Loop Road and shares its pastoral life with the parent parish of St. Ferdinand in Blanco.
- Mission church in Johnson City, Blanco County, Texas
- Mission of St. Ferdinand Parish, Blanco
- Diocese of Austin
- Worship site: 285 US 281 Loop Road, Johnson City, TX 78636
History of the Catholic Community in Blanco County
The first Catholic families moved to Blanco from New Braunfels in the early 1850s, and for decades they worshiped in private homes and community centers across the rural county. A parcel of land was purchased in 1887 and on June 25, 1899, the first Catholic Church in Blanco County — Our Lady's Help of Christians — was dedicated. By 1940 a larger church, St. Ferdinand in Blanco, was built under the auspices of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, and its bell tower received the bell from the earlier mission church of St. Mary's. Over the years the Catholic presence expanded outward from Blanco into surrounding Hill Country communities, with Good Shepherd in Johnson City, St. Mary's in Wimberley, and St. Martin de Porres in Dripping Springs all founded as mission churches of St. Ferdinand. When the Diocese of Austin was created in 1947, Blanco County and its missions — including what would become Good Shepherd — became part of the new diocese.
- 1850s: first Catholic families arrive in Blanco from New Braunfels
- 1887: land purchased for a Catholic church in Blanco County
- June 25, 1899: Our Lady's Help of Christians dedicated as the first Catholic church in the county
- March 1940: St. Ferdinand Church in Blanco dedicated
- 1947: Diocese of Austin established; Blanco County and its missions join the new diocese
- Good Shepherd, St. Mary's (Wimberley) and St. Martin de Porres (Dripping Springs) founded as missions of St. Ferdinand
Parish Identity & Governance
Good Shepherd functions as a mission of St. Ferdinand Catholic Church in Blanco and is part of the Diocese of Austin. As a mission, it relies on the pastoral leadership of St. Ferdinand and benefits from the parent parish's Religious Education building, parish halls, and sacramental programs. The mission itself focuses on offering the regular Mass schedule, Eucharistic Adoration, and Reconciliation to Catholics in Johnson City and the surrounding ranch and Hill Country communities of Blanco County.
- Parent parish: St. Ferdinand Catholic Church, Blanco, TX
- Jurisdiction: Diocese of Austin
- Type: Mission church
- Mailing/listed contact: 25 Main St, Blanco, TX 78606 (per Charity Navigator listing of the incorporated entity)
Visiting Good Shepherd
Visitors are warmly welcomed to celebrate Mass with the mission community. The mission's location off US-281 in Johnson City makes it accessible to residents of Johnson City, Blanco, and the wider Hill Country. Arriving a little early on Sunday morning or Thursday evening allows time to attend Reconciliation before Mass.
- Address: 285 US 281 Loop Road, Johnson City, TX 78636
- Phone: (830) 833-5227
- Website: http://www.goodshepherdjctx.org/
- Directions: Off US-281 on CR 213, one mile south of FM 2766