About Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission - Leming · Leming, Texas
Our Lady of Guadalupe is a small Roman Catholic mission church serving the rural community of Leming, Texas, in the far south of Bexar/near the Atascosa County line. It operates as a mission of St. Luke Parish in nearby Loire (3930 FM 536), sharing clergy and offices with that parish under the Archdiocese of San Antonio. The mission worships at 170 Hackberry Street and offers Sunday Mass plus two weekday Masses, with Sunday confessions before Mass. The parish is rooted in the Mexican-American Catholic life of the Leming community and takes its name and devotion from Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, whose feast is celebrated on December 12.
- Established
- 1952
- Patron
- Our Lady of Guadalupe
- Rector
- Rev. Stefan Wiera (Administrator, shared with St. Luke Parish, Loire)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of San Antonio (Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio)
Why belong here
Our Lady of Guadalupe is the longtime spiritual home of the Mexican-American Catholic community in rural Leming and welcomes anyone seeking an intimate, bilingual-friendly small-town parish in the San Antonio archdiocese. As a mission of St. Luke Parish in Loire, it offers Sunday and weekday Mass, Sunday confessions before Mass, and ongoing parish life including a Festival Committee led by devoted parishioners. Visitors and newcomers are warmly invited to join the Sunday 8:30 AM Mass at 170 Hackberry Street and experience a mission church whose history stretches back more than seventy years.
Mass times at Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission - Leming
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 8:00 AM – 8:30 AM
Overview & Identity
Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission is a small Roman Catholic mission church at 170 Hackberry Street in Leming, Texas, part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio. It is one of two worship sites of St. Luke Parish in Loire — the parish church is at 3930 FM 536, Loire — and the mission shares its clergy, offices, and phone line ((830) 393-6021) with St. Luke. The mission takes its name from Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, and is closely tied to the Mexican-American Catholic heritage of the Leming community.
- Type: Mission church (Roman Rite)
- Diocese: Archdiocese of San Antonio
- Parent parish: St. Luke, Loire (3930 FM 536, Pleasanton mailing address)
- Phone (shared with St. Luke): (830) 393-6021
- Address: 170 Hackberry Street, Leming, TX 78050
History
The mission traces its origin to 1952, when Santos Silva sold two lots to the Archdiocese of San Antonio so local Catholics would no longer have to travel four miles north to St. Joseph's Church in Las Gallinas. The first chapel was an old Army barracks hauled in from San Antonio, served originally by priests from St. Andrew's in Pleasanton. Archbishop Lucey later stopped in Leming while traveling from Corpus Christi and, hearing that worshipers stayed away in winter because the barracks was too cold, proposed merging with St. Joseph's; the older congregation refused, so a new cement-block church was built on land donated by Mariano Valdez and blessed on January 14, 1962. The old barracks was preserved as a parish and community hall, and in 2003 the church was renovated with a new building over the existing cement-block walls.
- 1952: Santos Silva sells two lots to the Archdiocese; mission founded.
- Original chapel: Army barracks brought from San Antonio.
- Archbishop Lucey visits Leming and helps shape the decision to build a new church.
- January 14, 1962: present cement-block church blessed on land donated by Mariano Valdez.
- 2003: renovation adds a new building over the existing cement-block walls.
- August 27, 1981: nearby St. Joseph's, Las Gallinas closes.
- December 15, 1983: St. Joseph's destroyed by fire.
Clergy & Leadership
Because Our Lady of Guadalupe is a mission of St. Luke Parish in Loire, its clergy are shared between the two worship sites. The current administrator is Rev. Stefan Wiera, who is also listed as celebrant at St. Luke's, Loire in local funeral and parish notices. The Archdiocese of San Antonio's official clergy assignments list, effective July 1, 2026, names Father Thomas Olikunnel, HGN, as the next administrator of both St. Luke Church in Loire and Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Leming.
- Current Administrator: Rev. Stefan Wiera (also serving St. Luke, Loire)
- Incoming Administrator (effective July 1, 2026): Father Thomas Olikunnel, HGN
- Shared parish office phone: (830) 393-6021
Parishioner Life & Parish Festival
Parish life at Our Lady of Guadalupe centers on regular Sunday worship and the long-running parish festival tradition supported by longtime volunteers. The Archdiocese of San Antonio's 2026 Lumen Gentium feature recognized Leming parishioner Elizabeth Castillo for her steady, generous service on the parish Festival Committee, calling her a very devoted member of the community.
- Festival Committee active at the parish
- Elizabeth Castillo recognized in the Archdiocese's 2026 Lumen Gentium feature