About San Ignacio de Loyola Mission · Tucson, Arizona
San Ignacio de Loyola Mission (Capilla San Ignacio de Loyola) is a small Catholic mission chapel in Tucson, Arizona, located at 785 W. Sahuaro Street in the historic Old Pascua neighborhood — the oldest Yaqui settlement in the Tucson area. It is one of five mission chapels served by the Native American parish of St. Kateri Tekakwitha in South Tucson, and like the others it is ministered to by the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity (M.S.S.S.T.) on behalf of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson. The chapel sits alongside the Yaqui community's profound Lenten traditions, which draw hundreds to its courtyard each Holy Week.
- Established
- 1996
- Patron
- St. Ignatius of Loyola
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson
Why belong here
San Ignacio de Loyola Mission is the parish chapel for the Yaqui Catholic community of Old Pascua in Tucson — one of the oldest and most culturally distinctive Yaqui neighborhoods in Arizona. Worshiping here means joining a living Native American Catholic tradition celebrated by the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, with sacraments, baptismal preparation, religious education, quinceañeras, and the famous Yaqui Lenten ceremonies all rooted in the parish family of St. Kateri Tekakwitha. For Yaqui families and anyone drawn to Native American Catholic spirituality in southern Arizona, the mission offers an authentic, multilingual place of prayer at the center of an enduring community.
San Ignacio de Loyola Mission at a Glance
San Ignacio de Loyola Mission — known in Spanish as Capilla San Ignacio de Loyola — is a Catholic mission chapel in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson at 785 W. Sahuaro Street, Tucson, Arizona 85705. It is a mission of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Indian Mission Parish in South Tucson and is served by the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, a religious institute whose members carry the post-nominal initials S.T. (or M.S.S.S.T.). The chapel sits in the Old Pascua neighborhood, identified by local reporting as the oldest Yaqui settlement in the Tucson area.
- Type: Mission chapel (mission of a parish)
- Parent parish: St. Kateri Tekakwitha, 507 W. 29th St., South Tucson, AZ 85713
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson
- Religious institute: Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity (M.S.S.S.T.)
- Patron: St. Ignatius of Loyola (feast day July 31)
History and Founding
The chapel was established in 1996 by the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity as one of several Yaqui mission chapels they opened in the Tucson area during the 1990s. The Marquette University Archives document sacramental records for San Ignacio de Loyola Chapel stretching from 1996 to the present, and describe the chapel as part of the Missionary Servants' wider urban Native American ministry that began in 1981 and has administered St. Kateri Tekakwitha Church since 1984. The chapel was created to serve the Yaqui Catholic community of Old Pascua, an established neighborhood near North Oracle and West Grant roads.
- Founded: 1996
- Founding order: Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity
- Wider program: Urban Native American ministry started by the M.S.S.S.T. in Tucson in 1981
- Parent parish mission network established alongside Cristo Rey, El Señor de los Milagros, San Martin de Porres, and San Juan Bautista chapels
Yaqui Lenten Ceremonies and Devotions
San Ignacio de Loyola Mission is one of the chapels at the heart of the Yaqui community's celebrated Lenten traditions, which are linked across the multiple mission chapels in the Tucson area. According to the Arizona Daily Star, the Holy Week ceremonies at the chapel include the Good Friday crucifixion of Christ followed by a procession and an all-night vigil of the body of Christ; the Holy Saturday La Gloria ceremony with the burning of the Judas figure and an all-night vigil; and an Easter Sunday morning Mass after the unbraiding of the maypole, followed by a final procession. Visitors are welcomed to observe but are not permitted to photograph or film the ceremonies.
- Good Friday: crucifixion reenactment, procession, all-night vigil
- Holy Saturday: La Gloria ceremony, burning of Judas, all-night vigil
- Easter Sunday: maypole unbraiding, Mass, final procession
- Photography of ceremonies is prohibited
Parish Family and Clergy
San Ignacio de Loyola is pastored together with the other Yaqui missions from St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, where the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity provide pastoral care. The Catholic directory records published by GuideStar list the priests assigned to Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Roman Catholic Missions Parish as Rev. Abram E. Dono, S.T., Rev. Ermeregildo Saldana-Taneco, S.T., and Rev. Seraphim Molina, S.T. The parish office at 507 W. 29th St., South Tucson is the main point of contact for all mission chapels, including San Ignacio de Loyola, and is open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- Parish office: 507 W. 29th St., South Tucson, AZ 85713
- Parish phone: (520) 622-5363
- Parish email: [email protected]
- Office hours: Monday–Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- Clergy listed at the parish: Rev. Abram E. Dono, S.T.; Rev. Ermeregildo Saldana-Taneco, S.T.; Rev. Seraphim Molina, S.T.
Sacraments and Religious Education
The sacraments offered across the parish family of St. Kateri Tekakwitha — which San Ignacio de Loyola Mission shares — include Baptism (with preparation classes held at Santa Rosa de Lima every Saturday at 10:00 a.m.; an online preparation course is also available), Quinceañera (candidates must be registered and have received Confirmation, with scheduling at least six months in advance), Anointing of the Sick, Communion visits to the homebound, and Funeral Mass. Religious education enrollment is open for children across the missions, and adult sacramental preparation is offered at the parish office.
- Baptism preparation: Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. at Santa Rosa de Lima (or online)
- Quinceañera: parish registration + Confirmation required; schedule six months ahead
- Religious Education: applications available for 2024–25 academic year
- Adult sacraments: registration via parish office
- Anointing of the Sick and home Communion by appointment
Getting Involved and Visiting
San Ignacio de Loyola Mission is part of the broader St. Kateri Tekakwitha parish family, which has launched a new Youth Ministry Program offering service opportunities, social events, and discussion of Catholic identity for young people. Visitors seeking the mission should call the parish office at (520) 622-5363 for current Mass and devotion schedules, as published online Mass-time directories note that Mass times vary and should be confirmed by phone. The mission shares its sacramental life with five other Yaqui chapels in the Tucson area, making it a doorway into one of the most distinctive Native American Catholic communities in the American Southwest.
- Parish phone for schedules: (520) 622-5363
- Youth Ministry Program available through St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish
- Five sister mission chapels: Cristo Rey, El Señor de los Milagros, San Martin de Porres, Santa Rosa de Lima, San Juan Bautista (Marana)