About Our Lady of Lourdes · Chireno, Texas
Our Lady of Lourdes is a Roman Catholic mission church in rural Nacogdoches County, serving the small community of Chireno, Texas. It is a mission of Sacred Heart Parish in Nacogdoches and is part of the Diocese of Tyler. The church and its adjacent cemetery sit on County Road 353 about 4.5 miles northwest of the town of Chireno, accessible via Texas State Highway 21 East. Mass is celebrated on a limited schedule (the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month at 8:30 AM), reflecting its mission status within the Catholic Nacogdoches deanery.
- Established
- 1925
- Patron
- Our Lady of Lourdes
- Rector
- Rev. George Elliott (Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Nacogdoches — pastoral care for the mission is coordinated from Sacred Heart)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Tyler
Why belong here
Our Lady of Lourdes Mission offers rural East Texas Catholics a quiet, intimate place of worship closely tied to the historic Sacred Heart Parish in Nacogdoches. It is ideal for families in the Chireno area who want a small, traditional Catholic community with a peaceful cemetery, while still being connected to the wider Catholic Nacogdoches cluster of parishes — including Our Lady of Guadalupe, Immaculate Conception (Moral), and St. Mary's Catholic Campus Ministry — that together carry out works of charity such as the annual MissionNac home-repair service projects. Visitors and parishioners are welcomed at a regular twice-monthly Mass and are part of a mission whose roots stretch back to the 1925 founding and the broader Catholic Nacogdoches heritage.
Mass times at Our Lady of Lourdes
Weekly Mass schedule
History of Our Lady of Lourdes Mission
The mission was founded in 1925 under the name 'Sacred Heart' as a small rural church serving Catholic families in the Chireno area of Nacogdoches County, East Texas. On May 20, 1966, the church and its adjoining cemetery were renamed 'Our Lady of Lourdes.' It has always operated as a mission attached to Sacred Heart Parish in Nacogdoches, the mother Catholic parish of the Pineywoods region whose Catholic roots trace back to the 1716 Spanish Franciscan mission founded by Venerable Antonio Margil.
- Founded 1925 as 'Sacred Heart'
- Renamed 'Our Lady of Lourdes' on May 20, 1966
- Mission of Sacred Heart Parish, Nacogdoches
- Diocese of Tyler
Pastoral Care and Clergy
Pastoral care of Our Lady of Lourdes Mission is coordinated from Sacred Heart Parish in Nacogdoches. Following the September 2018 reassignment by Bishop Joseph E. Strickland (effective October 1, 2018), Rev. Joseph Lourdusamy was moved from Priest-in-Charge of Our Lady of Lourdes (Chireno) and Immaculate Conception (Moral) to become Parochial Administrator of St. Leo the Great Parish in Centerville. Pastoral care of the mission then returned to Sacred Heart, with Rev. George Elliott as pastor and parochial vicars Rev. Hector Arvizu and Rev. Luis Carlos Peña assisting.
- Rev. George Elliott — Pastor of Sacred Heart, coordinates mission care
- Rev. Hector Arvizu — Parochial Vicar of Sacred Heart, assists
- Rev. Luis Carlos Peña — Parochial Vicar of Sacred Heart, assists
- Rev. Joseph Lourdusamy — former Priest-in-Charge (until October 2018)
Location and Directions
The mission is located at 1620 County Road 353, Chireno, TX 75937. It sits in a very rural area of Nacogdoches County, about 4.5 miles northwest of the town of Chireno and accessed via Texas State Highway 21 East. From Loop 224 in Nacogdoches, one travels 15.2 miles east on TX 21, then turns north (left) onto CR 353 and travels 1.5 miles. CR 353 is a bumpy dirt road requiring slow speeds.
- Address: 1620 CR 353, Chireno, TX 75937
- From Chireno: ~4.5 mi NW on SH 21E, then right (north) on CR 353 for ~2.5 mi
- From Nacogdoches Loop 224: 15.2 mi east on TX 21, left on CR 353, 1.5 mi
- Coordinates: 31.54877, -94.38550
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Cemetery
Directly across CR 353 from the church sits the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church Cemetery. Originally established together with the church in 1925 under the name 'Sacred Heart,' the cemetery was renamed along with the church in 1966. Find a Grave lists approximately 192 memorials documented at the site. The cemetery is the resting place of many local Catholic families, including Genevieve C. Armstrong, Elizabeth Biedzycki, and others whose families have been part of the mission since its founding.
- Established 1925 (with the original Sacred Heart church)
- Renamed 1966
- Approximately 192 memorials
- Cemetery ID: 2207375 (Find a Grave)
Catholic Nacogdoches Cluster
Our Lady of Lourdes is part of the Catholic Nacogdoches deanery cluster, which joins together Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Nacogdoches), Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission (Nacogdoches), St. Mary's Catholic Campus Ministry (Nacogdoches/SFA), Immaculate Conception Mission (Moral), and Our Lady of Lourdes Mission (Chireno). Together the cluster undertakes shared works of evangelization and charity. A notable example is the annual summer MissionNac partnership, in which Catholic Nacogdoches volunteers complete home-repair projects for low-income parishioners and neighbors in need.
- Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Nacogdoches — mother parish
- Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission, Nacogdoches
- St. Mary's Catholic Campus Ministry (SFA)
- Immaculate Conception Mission, Moral
- Our Lady of Lourdes Mission, Chireno
- Summer MissionNac home-repair service projects (3+ years, 13 families served by 2021)
Contact
Because Our Lady of Lourdes is a mission, administrative contact runs through Sacred Heart Parish in Nacogdoches. The published phone number for the mission is (936) 560-3200. The mission's online information is hosted on the Catholic Nacogdoches website at catholicnac.org/lourdes/.
- Phone: (936) 560-3200
- Website: https://catholicnac.org/lourdes/
- Diocese of Tyler parish directory: https://www.dioceseoftyler.org/parishes/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Joseph Lourdusamyuntil October 2018
Priest-in-Charge of Our Lady of Lourdes Mission in Chireno (with Immaculate Conception Mission in Moral); reassigned by Bishop Joseph E. Strickland effective Oct. 1, 2018 to Parochial Administrator of St. Leo the Great Parish in Centerville.
- Rev. George ElliottOctober 2018 – present
Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Nacogdoches; coordinates pastoral care of Our Lady of Lourdes Mission in Chireno, with assistance from parochial vicars Rev. Hector Arvizu and Rev. Luis Carlos Peña.