About Saint Thomas More · Hilltop Lakes, Texas
Saint Thomas More is a small Catholic mission in the resort community of Hilltop Lakes, Texas, in the Diocese of Tyler. It is served as a mission of St. Leo the Great Parish in Centerville, with the same priest caring for both communities. Sunday Mass is celebrated at 8:30 a.m., with weekday Mass on Thursday, First Friday and First Saturday devotions to the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart, and weekly adoration. The mission grew from a handful of Catholics meeting for Saturday Mass in private homes in 1988 into a built-and-debt-free church consecrated in December 2011.
- Established
- 1988
- Patron
- St. Thomas More
- Rector
- Rev. Fr. Joseph Lourdusamy
- Diocese
- Diocese of Tyler
Why belong here
Saint Thomas More is a small, hard-built Catholic community where every Mass and devotion has been shaped by lay effort — from the first Saturday Masses in parishioners' living rooms, to Mass in a fire station and an open field, to a borrowed Fellowship Hall for nineteen years, to the church consecrated in 2011. Parishioners gather for Sunday Mass with the rosary beforehand, a Thursday Mass and holy hour, and First Friday and First Saturday devotions to the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart. It is a mission that lives by word-of-mouth, hospitality, and the steady work of a few families, making it a good fit for anyone seeking an intimate rural Catholic community in the Hilltop Lakes / Normangee area.
Mass times at Saint Thomas More
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 8:00–8:15 AM
- Thursday 9:00–9:15 AM
- First Friday 9:00–9:20 AM (during First Friday Devotion)
Adoration times
- Thursday 8:30–9:30 AM
- First Friday 8:30–9:30 AM (Adoration and Confession, followed by Mass at 9:30 AM)
History of the Saint Thomas More Community
The Catholic presence in Hilltop Lakes is one of lay-led persistence: from a single letter to a bishop in 1988 to a consecrated church in 2011. The community lived and prayed in homes, a fire station, an open field, and a borrowed Fellowship Hall for more than two decades before building its own home.
- July 1988 – Resident writes to Bishop Charles Herzig of Tyler requesting a priest
- September 3, 1988 – Father Thomas Davy celebrates the first Mass in a parishioner's home
- 1988–1992 – Saturday afternoon Masses in private homes, then at the Hilltop Lakes Volunteer Fire Department
- 1992 – After a windy outdoor Mass on an election day, an Interdenominational Chapel trustee invites the community to use the Chapel's Fellowship Hall, where Mass is celebrated on Saturdays for nineteen years
- March 5, 1998 – Bishop Edmond Carmody places the Hilltop Lakes Catholic community under the patronage of St. Thomas More
- September 17, 1998 – Bishop Carmody assigns a priest resident at St. Leo the Great, Centerville, with responsibility for the St. Thomas More community
- February 21, 2003 – Community acquires five acres in Hilltop Lakes Section 60 as a future church site
- November 29, 2007 – Building Committee formed under Bishop Alvaro Corrada and Father Luis Roncancio; Callahan & Freeman (Fort Worth) design the church, DWP Architects (Katy) draw construction plans, Stewart Builders (Houston) named general contractor under Craig Stewart
- Palm Sunday 2011 – Bishop Corrada leads groundbreaking; construction begins July 2011
- December 4, 2011 – Bishop Corrada consecrates the completed church
Building the Parish Hall and Education Building
Almost from the day the church was consecrated, the community turned its attention to a Parish Hall and Education Building. Generations of COVID and weather have pushed the project back, but fundraising resumed in 2023 to break ground in 2024.
- 2014 – Father Nolan Lowry and Craig Stewart begin designing a Parish Hall and Education Building
- 2015 – Fundraising launches with a matching grant from the Stewart Family Foundation
- Late 2019 – Parish resumes planning for the Hall
- 2020 – COVID-19 pandemic halts progress
- 2021 – Severe winter freezing causes flooding that damages the church, further delaying the project
- June 2023 – New fundraising campaign launched under Rev. Fr. Joseph Lourdusamy to construct the Parish Hall in 2024
Pastor and Pastoral Care
Saint Thomas More is a 'mission of' St. Leo the Great Parish in Centerville. The two share one priest: the Parochial Administrator of St. Leo the Great is also Priest-in-Charge of St. Thomas More Mission, an arrangement that has been in place since at least 1998 and was confirmed in the Diocese of Tyler's September 2018 priest assignments.
- Rev. Fr. Joseph Lourdusamy – current pastor; assigned by the Diocese of Tyler in September 2018 as Parochial Administrator of St. Leo the Great, Centerville, and Priest-in-Charge of St. Thomas More Mission, Hilltop Lakes
- Sister parish: St. Leo the Great, 549 South Commerce Street, Centerville, TX
Devotions
The mission's website features the traditional First Friday and First Saturday devotions of the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart, including the full Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Prayer of Adoration and Love to the Sacred Heart.
- First Friday Devotion to the Sacred Heart (monthly)
- First Saturday Mass in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (monthly)
- Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Prayer of Adoration and Love to the Sacred Heart
- Holy Week liturgies (Holy Thursday Mass, Good Friday Stations and Passion, Easter Sunday Mass)
Faith Formation and Family Life
The parish lists a Sunday School / Children and Youth Activities program among its ministries. There is no separate parish school; the planned Parish Hall and Education Building is intended to give the community dedicated space for religious education and parish gatherings.
- Sunday School / Children and Youth Activities
- Planned Education Building component within the Parish Hall project (in fundraising stage)
Getting Involved and Outreach
As a small mission, the parish's public ministries center on its liturgical life and ongoing building campaign. The mission page lists 'Local outreach & community activities' alongside the parish's devotion and formation offerings.
- Local outreach and community activities
- Building Committee and Parish Hall fundraising (2023–2024 campaign)
Visiting the Mission
Saint Thomas More is located in the resort and retirement community of Hilltop Lakes, in Leon County, Texas. Mail addressed to the parish may use Normangee, TX 77871 — the church's physical address is on Ranch Road within Hilltop Lakes. Visitors are encouraged to confirm Mass and confession times with the parish office before traveling, as the mission's schedule of weekly and holy-day Masses is brief.
- Physical address: 1 Ranch Road, Hilltop Lakes, TX 77871
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 1745, Hilltop Lakes, TX 77871
- Parish office phone (via St. Leo the Great, Centerville): 903-536-5012
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Thomas Davy1988–c.1998
Priest-in-charge of Blessed Kateri in Buffalo; celebrated the first Mass in a Hilltop Lakes home on September 3, 1988 and continued to serve the community from Buffalo.
- Father Deveraj Arulappa1998–
Cited as the priest in charge at St. Leo the Great/STM from around 1998 under Bishop Carmody's 1998 assignment; began early fundraising for a permanent church.
- Father Luis Roncancio
Priest in charge who, with Bishop Alvaro Corrada, encouraged the 2007 Building Committee that launched the design of the new church.
- Father Nolan Lowry
Priest in charge who, with Craig Stewart, began designing the Parish Hall and Education Building in 2014; fundraising with the Stewart Family Foundation matching grant began in 2015.
- Rev. Fr. Joseph Lourdusamy2018–present
Assigned by the Diocese of Tyler in September 2018 as Parochial Administrator of St. Leo the Great, Centerville and Priest-in-Charge of St. Thomas More Mission, Hilltop Lakes; launched a new fundraising campaign in June 2023 to build the Parish Hall in 2024.