About Santa Rosa De Lima · Benavides, Texas
Santa Rosa de Lima Parish is a small Roman Catholic parish serving the rural community of Benavides in Duval County, South Texas, in the Diocese of Corpus Christi. The faith community traces its roots to a chapel built in 1887, was formally established as a mission in 1903, and was raised to parish status in 1940 with the construction of its present Mission Revival-style church. The parish also reaches beyond Benavides by serving the mission churches of St. Joseph in San Jose and Sacred Heart in Realitos, giving it a pastoral footprint across a wide stretch of the South Texas brush country.
- Established
- 1887
- Patron
- St. Rose of Lima (Santa Rosa de Lima), first canonized saint born in the Americas
- Rector
- Rev. George Thomas Parappallil
- Diocese
- Diocese of Corpus Christi
Why belong here
Santa Rosa de Lima is the spiritual heart of Benavides, a small South Texas community where the Catholic faith has been celebrated continuously since 1887. Worshippers find a historic 1940 Mission Revival church with twin bell towers, weekday and weekend Masses in the heart of town, Saturday confession and adoration, and the pastoral reach of a parish that also looks after the mission communities of San Jose and Realitos. It is a place where the long Spanish-Catholic heritage of the borderlands — once tended by Spanish Dominican priests — is still very much alive, welcoming anyone who wishes to worship at the first native-born saint of the Americas.
Mass times at Santa Rosa De Lima
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM (or by appointment)
Adoration times
- Saturday 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM (or by appointment)
History of the Parish
Catholic worship in Benavides dates to 1887, when A. L. Muel completed a small church. The chapel first appeared in the Official Catholic Directory in 1890 as a station served from San Diego, was formally listed as a mission in 1903, and was raised to parish status in 1940 with the construction of the present Mission Revival church. For its first decades it was known as St. Paul, not Santa Rosa de Lima — that name only appeared around 1942 after the Spanish Dominican priests took charge and chose to honor the first native-born saint of the Americas, a figure with deep resonance for their Spanish-speaking congregation.
- 1887 – Catholic chapel built in Benavides by A. L. Muel (per Corpus Christi Caller, July 2)
- 1890 – First appearance in the Official Catholic Directory as a chapel visited from San Diego
- 1903 – Formally listed as a mission
- 1916 – Named 'St. Paul' in the OCD; the name was used until 1941
- 1932 – Spanish Dominican Fathers take over San Diego and its missions, including Benavides
- 1940 – New church built in Mission Revival style; community erected as a parish
- c. 1942 – Parish renamed Santa Rosa de Lima (Saint Rose of Lima)
The Patron Saint: St. Rose of Lima
The parish's present name was adopted under the Spanish Dominican Fathers, almost certainly because St. Rose of Lima — born Isabel Flores de Oliva in 1586 in Lima, Peru — was the first native-born saint of the Americas and a Dominican tertiary. Choosing her as patron linked the small Texas mission both to its Spanish-speaking community and to the Dominican tradition of its priests.
- St. Rose of Lima (1586–1617), born Isabel Flores de Oliva in Peru
- First canonized saint born in the Americas (canonized 1671)
- Dominican tertiary
- Feast day: August 23
Pastor & Pastoral Care
The parish is served by Rev. George Thomas Parappallil, who also pastors the mission churches of St. Joseph in San Jose and Sacred Heart in Realitos. Together these three communities make up a single pastoral unit in the Diocese of Corpus Christi, giving the priest a wide-ranging rural ministry across Duval County and surrounding areas.
- Rev. George Thomas Parappallil — Pastor (ordained September 27, 2000)
- Also serves: St. Joseph Mission, San Jose
- Also serves: Sacred Heart Mission, Realitos
Mission Churches Served
Beyond its main church in Benavides, Santa Rosa de Lima parish extends pastoral care to two small mission communities in the South Texas countryside.
- St. Joseph Mission, San Jose
- Sacred Heart Mission, Realitos
Architecture & Grounds
The present church was built in 1940 in the Mission Revival style that is characteristic of Catholic church building in the Southwest. Its most recognizable features are the twin bell towers that still call parishioners to Mass, and the surrounding plaza, which serves as a gathering place and a spot for quiet reflection through the week.
- Built: 1940
- Style: Mission Revival
- Twin bell towers
- Parish plaza used for social gatherings and reflection