About Holy Family [Spanish] · La Grulla, Texas
Holy Family [Spanish] is a small Roman Catholic parish in La Grulla, Texas, a community in Starr County in the Rio Grande Valley. It belongs to the Diocese of Brownsville and is served by the Franciscan order, with Masses celebrated in both Spanish and English. The parish was established in 1967 and remains a bilingual faith community rooted in a long-standing Mexican-American Catholic tradition. Its official presence is on Facebook at facebook.com/holyfamilycath/.
- Established
- 1967
- Patron
- Holy Family (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Brownsville
Why belong here
Holy Family offers a bilingual Catholic home in the heart of La Grulla, with Saturday evening Mass in English at 5:30 PM and Sunday Mass at noon, along with weekly confessions and Eucharistic Adoration on Tuesday evenings. As a Franciscan-served parish under the Diocese of Brownsville, it carries on the traditional devotional life of the Rio Grande Valley — including a popular chapel devotion to Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos. It is a place where generations of the same families have worshipped, making it a welcoming parish for longtime residents and newcomers alike.
Mass times at Holy Family [Spanish]
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Tuesday 6:00 PM – 6:45 PM
Adoration times
- Tuesday 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
- Tuesday 6:30 AM – 4:30 PM (Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos Chapel)
- Wednesday 6:30 AM – 4:30 PM (Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos Chapel)
- Thursday 6:30 AM – 4:30 PM (Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos Chapel)
- Friday 6:30 AM – 4:30 PM (Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos Chapel)
Parish Identity and Patron
The parish is dedicated to the Holy Family — Jesus, Mary, and Joseph — whose feast is celebrated in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar on December 30. As with most parishes of this name, the devotion reflects the ideal of family life modeled on the Nazareth household, an especially resonant theme in a closely-knit bilingual community like La Grulla.
- Patron: Holy Family (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph)
- Feast Day: December 30
History of the Parish
Holy Family was established in 1967 during Bishop John Joseph Medeiros's tenure as Bishop of Brownsville. The diocese's timeline confirms Holy Family Parish in La Grulla among the many new parishes founded that year. The construction of the church in the late 1960s and early 1970s involved local families, some of whose descendants still belong to the parish.
- Founded: 1967
- Founding wave: Parish expansion under Bishop John J. Medeiros of Brownsville
Mass and Liturgical Schedule
Masses are offered in both Spanish and English. The published weekend schedule is Saturday at 5:30 PM (English) and Sunday at 12:00 PM (Spanish). Parishes in the Brownsville diocese also list weekday Masses; specific daily times for Holy Family are posted via the parish Facebook page (facebook.com/holyfamilycath/).
- Saturday 5:30 PM (English)
- Sunday 12:00 PM (Spanish)
Devotion to Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos
The parish keeps an active side chapel dedicated to Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos, a widely venerated Marian title among Mexican-American Catholics. The chapel is open for extended periods of adoration on most weekdays, giving the faithful a place for quiet prayer outside of Mass times.
- Chapel adoration Tuesday–Friday, 6:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Francican Pastoral Leadership
The parish is listed as being served by the Franciscans (Order of Friars Minor). This mendicant-friar pastoral tradition shapes the spiritual character of the parish and connects Holy Family to a wider network of Franciscan-served communities in the Rio Grande Valley.
Sacramental Life
As a Catholic parish, Holy Family celebrates the seven sacraments, including the regular celebration of First Communion in the spring. Couples seeking marriage are typically asked to contact the parish office to begin preparation, and baptisms and other rites are coordinated through the parish.
- First Communion (celebrated in spring)
- Baptism
- Marriage (by appointment)
- Confession
Contact, Location, and Communication
The parish office can be reached by phone at (956) 487-3365 or by email at [email protected] (the Diocese of Brownsville email routing). The parish communicates with parishioners through its Facebook page at facebook.com/holyfamilycath/, where homily reflections, Sunday readings, and announcements (including First Communion information) are regularly posted.
- Phone: (956) 487-3365
- Email: [email protected]
- Facebook: facebook.com/holyfamilycath/
Diocese of Brownsville
Holy Family is one of more than 50 parishes in the Diocese of Brownsville, which covers a four-county area in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and serves more than one million Catholics through approximately 109 priests. The diocesan headquarters is in Brownsville, and its website is cdob.org.
- Diocese: Diocese of Brownsville
- Diocesan website: cdob.org