About Our Lady of the Angels Mission · Sonoita, Arizona
Our Lady of the Angels Mission Church is a small Roman Catholic mission located in the high-desert grasslands of Sonoita, Arizona, in Santa Cruz County's Mountain Empire region. It functions as a mission church of St. Therese of Lisieux Parish in neighboring Patagonia and belongs to the Diocese of Tucson. The mission grew out of a 1980s dream by devout local Catholics who first gathered for Mass in the community fire hall and borrowed worship space on Saturdays before building their own church on land donated by the family of U.S. Representative Rick Renzi. Today it is a beloved rural parish celebrated for its humble origin story, its tight-knit community, and the Angel Wings Thrift & Gift Shop that helped fund its construction.
- Established
- 1980s
- Patron
- Our Lady of the Angels (Mary, Queen of Angels)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Tucson
Why belong here
Our Lady of the Angels Mission is a small, close-knit Catholic community in the rolling grasslands of Sonoita that makes Mass accessible to Catholics in the Mountain Empire without a long drive to Patagonia or Nogales. Worshippers are drawn by the mission's remarkable origin story — a church built with dog-biscuit sales, aluminum-can drives, and the parish-run Angel Wings Thrift & Gift Shop — and by its continued weekly offering of Sunday Mass, weekday Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, and Rosary. It is the kind of parish where the people who built the place with their own hands still feel like family, and where faith, rural Arizona, and stubborn community spirit meet under the high desert sky.
Mass times at Our Lady of the Angels Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:00 PM at St. Therese of Lisieux Parish in Patagonia, or any time by appointment (served through the parent parish)
Adoration times
- Wednesday 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (Adoration and Rosary)
About Our Lady of the Angels Mission
Our Lady of the Angels Mission Church is a Catholic mission located in Sonoita, Arizona, in the Mountain Empire region of Santa Cruz County. It is a mission of St. Therese of Lisieux Parish in Patagonia and falls under the Diocese of Tucson. The parish's own website describes it as 'a powerful symbol of unity, resilience, and unwavering faith in the heart of Sonoita,' and emphasizes its origin as a community-built project in the 1980s. The mission offers Sunday and weekday Mass, weekly Eucharistic Adoration with the Rosary, and continues to operate the Angel Wings Thrift & Gift Shop that helped fund its construction.
- Location: 22 Los Encinos Road, Sonoita, AZ 85637
- Parent parish: St. Therese of Lisieux, Patagonia, AZ
- Diocese: Tucson
- Website: olamissionaz.com
History: A Labor of Divine Love
In the 1980s, a small group of devout Catholics in the Sonoita area began meeting for Mass in the local fire hall and borrowing worship space from other churches on Saturdays. The dream of a permanent church became possible when U.S. Representative Rick Renzi and his family donated 4.2 acres of land. To turn that dream into a building, parishioners ran a remarkable set of grassroots fundraisers — making and selling dog biscuits, collecting aluminum cans for recycling, hosting community events, and operating what became the Angel Wings thrift store. These efforts not only paid for the church building but also seeded a ministry that continues today.
- Started in the 1980s as Mass in the Sonoita fire hall and borrowed church space
- Land donated by U.S. Representative Rick Renzi and family (4.2 acres)
- Fundraising via dog-biscuit sales, aluminum-can recycling, community fundraisers
- Angel Wings thrift store founded alongside the church as a funding ministry
Mass & Worship Schedule
The mission celebrates Sunday Mass at 8:00 AM and a weekday Mass on Wednesday at 9:00 AM. In addition, the mission hosts weekly Eucharistic Adoration and the Rosary on Wednesday mornings. Catholics in the Sonoita area can also attend Mass and receive the sacraments at the parent parish of St. Therese of Lisieux in Patagonia, which offers a Saturday Vigil Mass at 5:30 PM and Sunday Mass at 10:30 AM, along with weekday Masses Tuesday through Friday.
- Sunday Mass — 8:00 AM
- Wednesday Mass — 9:00 AM
- Eucharistic Adoration & Rosary — Wednesday 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM
Sacraments
As a mission of St. Therese of Lisieux Parish in Patagonia, Our Lady of the Angels shares sacramental life with the parent parish. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is offered on Saturdays at 4:00 PM in Patagonia (before the Vigil Mass), or by appointment at any time. Weddings, baptisms, and other sacramental preparations are typically coordinated through the parish office at St. Therese of Lisieux, using the shared phone line and email.
- Confession — Saturday 4:00 PM in Patagonia, or by appointment
- Sunday and Wednesday Mass celebrated on site at the Sonoita mission
Angel Wings Thrift & Gift Shop
Angel Wings Thrift & Gift Shop is one of the defining ministries of Our Lady of the Angels Mission. It began as part of the parish's founding-era fundraising drive in the 1980s and has continued as a sustained ministry and community gathering place ever since. The shop is open Thursday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM and supports parish operations while serving shoppers across the Sonoita–Patagonia area.
- Hours: Thursday – Saturday, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
- Location: on the parish grounds at Los Encinos Road, Sonoita
- Founded as part of the parish's original building fund campaign
Patron & Marian Title
The parish is named under the Marian title 'Our Lady of the Angels,' which honors the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of Angels. This title is closely associated with the Portiuncula, the tiny chapel near Assisi, Italy, where St. Francis of Assisi understood his vocation and where the Franciscan order began. The feast of Our Lady of the Angels (the Portiuncula) is celebrated on August 2, and the indulgence associated with the Portiuncula is a devotional hallmark of churches bearing this name.
- Patron: Our Lady of the Angels (Mary, Queen of Angels)
- Feast day: August 2 (Our Lady of the Angels / Portiuncula)
- Franciscan spiritual heritage through the Portiuncula connection
Contact & Visit
Parishioners and visitors can reach the mission through the shared parish office of St. Therese of Lisieux in Patagonia. The mailing address is 22 Los Encinos Road, Sonoita, AZ 85637. Office phone is (520) 394-2954, and email is [email protected]. The mission's own website, olamissionaz.com, hosts the parish's about page and reflections on its history.
- Address: 22 Los Encinos Road, Sonoita, AZ 85637
- Phone: (520) 394-2954
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://olamissionaz.com