About Mission San Juan Capistrano (World Heritage Site) · San Antonio, Texas
Mission San Juan Capistrano is a historic Catholic parish on the south side of San Antonio, Texas, situated on the eastern bank of the San Antonio River and administered by the Archdiocese of San Antonio. Originally established as a Spanish Franciscan mission in 1731, it remains an active parish with Sunday Mass in English and Spanish, and is one of four San Antonio missions inscribed together as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015. The parish shares its grounds (managed by the National Park Service as part of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park) with an enduring Hispanic community whose roots go back to the mission's original Coahuiltecan neophytes.
- Established
- 1731
- Patron
- St. John of Capistrano
- Rector
- Fr. Dennis Schafer (Interim Pastor)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of San Antonio (Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio)
Why belong here
Mission San Juan Capistrano offers a rare opportunity to belong to a parish whose worship is rooted in a 290-year-old site of Catholic living, with the rhythm of bilingual (English and Spanish) Sunday Mass and a small, neighborly devotion life. Active members keep a weekly Tuesday morning prayer group at Slattery Hall (with personal prayer requests and homebound visits available), gather for a monthly Healing Mass on the last Tuesday morning, and pray for vocations as a member of the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Society. Weekday confession is conveniently heard at nearby Mission San José on Saturday afternoons, and the church itself hosts quarterly adoration. Joining or visiting means joining a community whose Catholic identity in San Antonio literally precedes the city — and whose descendants still walk the same grounds as a parish.
Mass times at Mission San Juan Capistrano (World Heritage Site)
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturdays 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM at Mission San José (6701 San José Drive, San Antonio, TX 78214), or by appointment
Adoration times
- 2nd Wednesday of the month at 1:00 PM (no adoration in December)
History of Mission San Juan Capistrano
The mission's story begins in 1716, when Spanish Franciscans founded Misión San José de los Nazonis in East Texas for the Nazonis people. After that mission failed, the community was relocated and on March 5, 1731, refounded on the east bank of the San Antonio River under the new name San Juan Capistrano, honoring the 15th-century Italian priest St. John of Capistrano. Over the mid-18th century it grew into a self-sufficient community with a working granary, friary, cloth works, carpenter shop, and forge. A larger stone church begun in 1772 was halted in 1786 as labor dwindled. After secularization in 1794 the mission was largely neglected, but diocesan priests resumed services in 1840 and a Hispanic neighborhood — partly descended from the original mission community — grew around the site. The Franciscans returned in 1967, a major stabilization of the church was completed in 2012, and the San Antonio missions were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015.
- 1716 — First foundation as Misión San José de los Nazonis in East Texas
- March 5, 1731 — Reestablished on the San Antonio River and renamed San Juan Capistrano
- 1756 — Stone church, friary, and granary completed
- 1772–1786 — Larger east-side church begun but never completed
- July 14, 1794 — Mission secularized
- 1840 — Diocesan priests resume regular Mass
- 1855 — Nearby railroad accelerates neighborhood growth
- 1967 — Franciscan order returns
- 2012 — $2.2 million foundation and re-plastering renovation
- 2015 — Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (San Antonio Missions)
Parish Devotions and Prayer Life
In addition to Sunday Mass and monthly adoration, the parish sustains a small, faithful devotion life centered at Slattery Hall. The Tuesday morning Prayer Group gathers for intercession and fellowship, and the parish is also home to a chapter of the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Society.
- Sunday Rosary at 8:30 AM before the English Mass
- Prayer Group — Tuesdays 9:30–10:45 AM at Slattery Hall; open to all parishioners, with personal prayer-request and homebound-visits ministry
- Healing Mass — last Tuesday of each month at 9:00 AM
- Adoration — 2nd Wednesday of each month at 1:00 PM
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help Society — affiliated devotion
Facilities and Grounds
The active parish church sits within the historic mission compound on the east bank of the San Antonio River. The mission grounds themselves are managed by the National Park Service as part of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, while the Archdiocese of San Antonio maintains the church building, rectory, parish parking lot, and Slattery Hall, the parish hall across Villamain Road used for prayer groups, social events, and ministry gatherings.
- Active parish church — Archdiocese of San Antonio
- Rectory (priest's quarters)
- Parish parking lot — Archdiocese of San Antonio
- Slattery Hall — 9006 Villamain Rd, San Antonio, TX 78223 (parish hall)
- Mission compound, plaza, and ruins — managed by the National Park Service
Pastoral Leadership
The parish is currently led by Fr. Dennis Schafer as Interim Pastor (per the Archdiocese of San Antonio's Pilgrimage Sites page). The Archdiocese's Official Clergy Assignments also name Fr. Clifford Hennings as Administrator, designated to Pastor effective July 1, 2026.
- Fr. Dennis Schafer — Interim Pastor
- Fr. Clifford Hennings — Administrator (to be Pastor effective July 1, 2026 per Archdiocese of San Antonio clergy assignments)
Plan Your Visit
The mission grounds are open to visitors every day from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and the active parish church continues to welcome worshippers from across South Texas and beyond. Pilgrims are directed to nearby Mission San José for Saturday confessions.
- Visiting hours: Daily 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Prayer Spaces: Inside Mission San José and the Prayer Grotto
- Address: 9101 Graf Rd, San Antonio, TX 78214
- Parish contact: (210) 532-2806
Connection to the UNESCO World Heritage Site
Mission San Juan Capistrano is one of four Spanish Franciscan missions in San Antonio — alongside Concepción, San José, and San Francisco de la Espada — collectively inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015. Mission San Juan is also part of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park managed by the National Park Service, making it one of the few parishes in the United States whose parish church sits within both a state-blessed pilgrimage site and an active national park.
- Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on July 5, 2015 (San Antonio Missions)
- Located within the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park (National Park Service)
- Among the oldest active Catholic parishes in continuous use in Texas