About Sacred Heart · Ricardo, Texas
Mission of the Sacred Heart is a small Roman Catholic mission church in Ricardo, Texas, serving the rural community along Highway 77 South in Kleberg County. It is one of three church locations that together make up Our Lady of Consolation Parish, Vattmann — the other two being Our Lady of Consolation Church in Vattmann and Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission in Riviera. The mission falls under the Diocese of Corpus Christi and is pastored by Father Andy Sensenig, OMI (Oblates of Mary Immaculate), with Deacon Mike Valenzuela assisting. Because Ricardo, Riviera, and Vattmann are sparsely populated ranching and farming communities, the faithful of Sacred Heart Mission gather for a weekly Saturday Vigil Mass and share clergy and faith formation with their sister churches.
- Patron
- Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Rector
- Father Andy Sensenig, OMI
- Diocese
- Diocese of Corpus Christi
Why belong here
Sacred Heart Mission is a welcoming, mission-station style Catholic community in a quiet part of South Texas where neighbors know each other by name. Parishes who join or visit become part of Our Lady of Consolation Parish — a three-church family (Vattmann, Riviera, Ricardo) led by Oblates of Mary Immaculate and supported by Deacon Mike Valenzuela — that celebrates the Sacraments faithfully and forms young people in the faith through parish-wide programs. It is an ideal spiritual home for Catholic families and ranchers of the Ricardo area who want the steady rhythm of a Saturday Vigil Mass and the closeness of a close-knit rural parish.
Mass times at Sacred Heart
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturdays 4:30–5:00 PM (immediately before Vigil Mass)
About the Mission
Mission of the Sacred Heart, Ricardo, is a small Roman Catholic mission church serving the rural Ricardo community in Kleberg County, South Texas. It is one of three worship sites that together form Our Lady of Consolation Parish. The mission's official address is on County Road 2160, about a mile west of U.S. Highway 77 South, and the listed phone number is (361) 297-5255.
- Designation: Mission (Diocese of Corpus Christi)
- Address: CR 2160 West, Ricardo, TX 78379
- Phone: (361) 297-5255
- Part of Our Lady of Consolation Parish, Vattmann
Mission Statement
The combined parish mission statement reads: "Our Lady of Consolation Parish, Vattmann, with its two missions at Our Lady of Guadalupe, Riviera, and Sacred Heart Mission, Ricardo, under the patronage of our Blessed Mother, as a united Catholic community, is committed to bringing the Triune God to people, and people to Him, through the Word of God and Sacraments, in obedience to the Church."
Clergy and Pastoral Leadership
Sacred Heart Mission is led by the pastor and staff of Our Lady of Consolation Parish. The current pastor is Father Andy Sensenig, OMI, a member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and the parish deacon is Mike Valenzuela.
- Father Andy Sensenig, OMI — Pastor
- Deacon Mike Valenzuela
- Staffed by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI)
Parish Family: Our Lady of Consolation Parish
Because Sacred Heart is a mission rather than an independent parish, the day-to-day life of the community is shared with Our Lady of Consolation Church in Vattmann and Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission in Riviera. The three churches together constitute one registered Roman Catholic parish of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, sharing one pastor, one deacon, and one set of faith-formation programs.
- Our Lady of Consolation Church — Vattmann, Texas
- Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission — Riviera, Texas
- Sacred Heart Mission — Ricardo, Texas
- Single pastor and deacon serve all three sites
Faith Formation and Youth Ministry
Faith formation for children and youth at Sacred Heart Mission is delivered through the parish-wide programs of Our Lady of Consolation Parish. In recent years the parishes have highlighted Catholic Youth Week as a key youth event, and Sacramental preparation (First Communion, Confirmation) is run jointly for all three worship sites.
- Catholic Youth Week
- Sacramental preparation across all three church locations
History of the Community
Sacred Heart Mission belongs to a long-standing network of small mission churches that the Catholic Diocese of Corpus Christi has historically maintained across the ranches and small towns of South Texas. Ricardo is a tiny community between Kingsville and Riviera in Kleberg County, and the mission continues the rural Texas Catholic tradition of bringing the Sacraments — especially the Saturday Vigil Mass and Confession — to farming and ranching families who live far from a large parish church.
- Served the rural Ricardo / Kleberg County community for decades
- Part of the Corpus Christi diocese's network of South Texas missions
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Varghese K. Ethappiri
Listed as pastor of the mission on older aggregator listings (joinmychurch.com).
- Father Andy Sensenig, OMI
Current pastor of Our Lady of Consolation Parish, which includes Sacred Heart Mission, per the parish's own website.