About Our Lady of Saint John · Houston, Texas
Our Lady of Saint John (Nuestra Señora de San Juan de los Lagos) is a Roman Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, located at 7500 Hirsch Road on the east side of Houston, Texas. Founded in 1947 as a chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows and established as an independent parish in 1957, it is named for Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos, a popular Marian devotion brought from Jalisco, Mexico. The parish serves a predominantly Hispanic congregation of roughly 300 registered families with Masses celebrated mostly in Spanish alongside one English Sunday Mass, and is known for vibrant Marian devotion, weekly family home-altar visits with the pilgrim image of Our Lady, overnight First-Friday Eucharistic Adoration, and Bible study programs.
- Established
- 1948
- Patron
- Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos (Nuestra Señora de San Juan de los Lagos)
- Rector
- Rev. Jhon J. Flórez G. (Parish priest as of 2021; Fr. Edwin A. Coreas, J.C.L., served as pastor from 2001 into 2021 and is widely identified with the parish in recent years)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
Why belong here
Our Lady of Saint John is a tight-knit, predominantly Hispanic parish where four of every five weekend Masses are celebrated in Spanish and one in English, making it a welcoming place for Spanish-speaking Catholics across the east side of Houston. The community's spiritual life centers on Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos: every Sunday a different family takes the pilgrim image home, sets up a family altar, and commits to praying the Rosary daily together — a powerful Catholic tradition of faith passed on in the home. The parish also offers Bible study on Wednesdays, a two-month Scripture-prayer course, and an intense overnight First-Friday Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 8 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday for about 50 parishioners who pray for intentions left in a box at the previous week's Masses. Parishioners are well known for their warm welcome to visitors, standing at the doors before Mass and personally reaching out to newcomers, and the parish has grown social activities such as youth sports, piñatas, and Zumba to build community.
Mass times at Our Lady of Saint John
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Thursday after the 7:00 p.m. Mass
- By appointment
Adoration times
- Thursday 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. (Spanish)
- First Friday overnight: 9:30 p.m. Friday through 6:00 a.m. Saturday (Spanish)
About Our Lady of Saint John
Our Lady of Saint John (officially Nuestra Señora de San Juan de los Lagos) is a Roman Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, located at 7500 Hirsch Road on the east side of Houston, Texas. The parish community is predominantly Hispanic, with about 800 registered parishioners from 300 families, and serves both Spanish and English-speaking Catholics with one English Mass and four Spanish Masses each weekend.
- Patron: Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos
- Diocese: Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
- Address: 7500 Hirsch Rd., Houston, TX 77016
- Phone: (713) 631-0810
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: sites.google.com/view/virgendesanjuanhouston/home
History
The parish traces its origin to a rural mission Espíritu Santo run by Fr. Francisco Urbanosky, who catechized farmworkers across the diocese from a tent. In May 1948, under Fr. James Delaney, O.M.I., a 5-acre property at Hirsch Road and Denmark was purchased from Mr. Bud Cooper and his wife Grace. Fr. John L. Busch, O.M.I., was named pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows and given charge of building a filial chapel there; in November 1948 he bought a former military barracks with neighbors' help, hung a bell on a mesquite tree that rang each evening at 6 p.m. to summon 20 volunteers, and raised the first building — today the parish rectory. The first Mass was celebrated in February 1949. On 26 June 1949, Bishop Wendelin J. Nold of Galveston blessed the chapel and gave it the name Nuestra Señora de San Juan de los Lagos; for legal purposes the name was shortened to San Juan de los Lagos. In July 1957 the chapel was formally erected as its own parish, and on 21 May 1972 Bishop John L. Morkovsky dedicated a new church building. In 1979 the choir proposed commissioning a new patron image; it was funded by parishioners, produced in Guadalajara for about $2,000, and arrived in November 1980, then was blessed by Bishop Morkovsky on 14 December 1980.
- 1948: Property purchased from the Cooper family; construction of first chapel begins.
- Feb 1949: First Mass celebrated in the completed chapel building.
- 26 Jun 1949: Bishop Wendelin J. Nold blesses the chapel and names it Nuestra Señora de San Juan de los Lagos.
- Jul 1957: Chapel established as an independent parish, separated from Our Lady of Sorrows.
- 21 May 1972: Bishop John L. Morkovsky dedicates the new church building.
- Nov 1980: A new image of the patroness arrives from Guadalajara; blessed 14 Dec 1980.
- 2018 (60th anniversary milestone): approximately 800 registered parishioners / 300 families served.
Heritage of the Patroness
Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos is one of the titles under which the Immaculate Conception is venerated. According to the tradition kept by the parish, around 1623 a small image of the Immaculate Conception was brought to the town of San Juan de los Lagos in Mexico by missionaries and began drawing the faithful. That year a young acrobat from a family of circus performers was fatally injured in an accident; an indigenous woman placed the image of the Immaculate Conception over the girl's body and begged the Virgin to intercede, and the girl miraculously returned to life. A diocesan investigation confirmed the miracle, and from this event devotion to the Immaculate Conception under the title of the Virgin of San Juan arose and spread through colonial Mexico (which then included the Southwestern United States).
- Patroness of the parish: Nuestra Señora de San Juan de los Lagos.
- Feast day: 2 February (Candlemas).
- Image commissioned by the parish choir, 1979; produced in Guadalajara; blessed by Bishop Morkovsky on 14 Dec 1980.
Devotions and Marian Life
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and especially to Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos sits at the heart of parish life. Every Sunday a different family takes the pilgrim image of Our Lady of Saint John home, sets up a family altar for her, and commits to praying the Rosary daily as a family — a living tradition of family faith formation rooted in Mexican Catholic piety. Devotions to Our Lady of Guadalupe are also important to parishioners, and during Holy Week (especially Good Friday) the parish re-enacts a Hispanic 'Procession of Silence and Flowers' followed by a live Stations of the Cross, with about 500 parishioners taking part in a tradition that Fr. Coreas re-introduced for new generations.
- Sunday pilgrim image — one family takes the image of Our Lady of Saint John home and sets a family altar with daily Rosary commitment.
- First Friday overnight Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
- Good Friday 'Procession of Silence and Flowers' and live Stations of the Cross (~500 participants).
Faith Formation and Bible Study
The parish offers ongoing Scripture formation on Wednesdays, with Bible study classes and a two-month course that teaches parishioners how to pray portions of Scripture one line at a time — a method of meditative prayer that has become a key pillar of adult faith formation at Our Lady of Saint John.
- Weekly Wednesday Bible Study classes
- Two-month Scripture-prayer course (line-by-line meditation)
Parish Life and Community
Parishioners are well known for their warm welcome: members of the parish stand at the church entrances before each Mass and personally reach out to first-time visitors, with Father Coreas noting that 'there is almost always someone new at Mass,' often brought by a family member or visiting from a neighboring parish. The parish is also building a fuller social life alongside its liturgical and devotional life, with parishioner-led planning for youth and adult sports programs, a planned soccer tournament, piñata games, and Zumba fitness activities aimed at keeping parishioners on the church grounds and building an even deeper sense of community.
- Welcome ministry — parishioners greet at the doors and reach out to first-time visitors
- Children's and adult sports (planning stage)
- Parish soccer tournament (planned; pastor offered to be goalie)
- Piñata games and Zumba fitness (planning stage)
Contact and Visit
Parishioners and visitors can reach the rectory by phone, email, or in person at the Hirsch Road location. The parish's official website is hosted on Google Sites in bilingual (Spanish/English) form and includes a Donar (donation) link for online giving, as well as pages on the Mass schedule, confessions, history, and parish community.
- Address: 7500 Hirsch Rd., Houston, TX 77016-6215
- Phone: (713) 631-0810
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://sites.google.com/view/virgendesanjuanhouston/home
- Diocese: Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
- Parish staff listed elsewhere (Catholic Church Directory): Rev. Edwin A. Coreas, Pastor; Sonia Aleman, Receptionist; Ivonne Zarate, Secretary; Rogelio Camacho, Director of Religious Education
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Padre John Busch, O.M.I.1948–1949
Named pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows in May 1948 and given charge of building the San Juan chapel on Hirsch Road; oversaw its construction and the first Mass in Feb 1949.
- Padre Charles Conady, O.M.I.1949–1950
Succeeded Busch after the chapel was blessed by Bishop Nold in June 1949.
- Padre Frank Triggs1950–1951
- Padre Frank Decker1951
- Padre Agustine Perez1951–1957
- Padre Lawrence Pequero1957–1975
Oversaw the July 1957 establishment as an independent parish and the 1972 dedication of the new church building by Bishop Morkovsky.
- Padre Armando Rodriguez1980–1999
Directed interior and exterior improvements after the new patron image arrived from Guadalajara in November 1980; it was blessed by Bishop Morkovsky on 14 December 1980.
- Rev. Edwin A. Coreas, J.C.L.2001–2021
Third pastor; led the parish for more than 17 years; named in the 2018 Texas Catholic Herald feature as the long-serving pastor.
- Rev. Jhon J. Flórez G.2021–present
Current pastor listed by the parish.