About St. Andrew - Lytle · Lytle, Texas
St. Andrew Catholic Church is a small, family-oriented Roman Catholic parish in Lytle, Texas, part of the Archdiocese of San Antonio. Founded in 1948 on Main Street, it succeeded the older Immaculada Concepcion chapel in the Coal Mine community, whose parishioners built the new church because the roads to the original site had become impassable. According to local tradition, a generous donation from a passing stranger inspired the dedication of the new church under the name of St. Andrew. Today the parish ministers to Lytle and the surrounding area of western Medina / southern Bexar County, and also shepherds two mission communities: St. John Bosco in Natalia and Immaculada Concepcion (the 'Little Church of Coal Mine'). Sunday Mass is offered in both English and Spanish.
- Established
- 1948
- Patron
- St. Andrew the Apostle
- Rector
- Rev. Varghese Antony
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of San Antonio
Why belong here
St. Andrew is the kind of small, multigenerational parish where the bell tower, the rosary, and the priest's name are all part of the community's memory — parishioner Pablo Cortez still climbs to help at the annual festival drawing in honor of the men who raised that steeple in 1948. The parish worships bilingually, with English and Spanish Masses each Sunday, and it serves three congregations across Lytle, Natalia and Coal Mine from a single pastor, making every household's involvement genuinely felt. Regular First Friday adoration, weekday Communion services, weekly rosary, and the Coal Mine mission chapel give plenty of ways to grow in prayer and serve a real rural Texas Catholic community.
Mass times at St. Andrew - Lytle
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Friday 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM (First Fridays)
- Friday 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM (First Fridays)
Adoration times
- Friday 7:30 AM – 10:00 PM (First Fridays)
History of St. Andrew Parish
St. Andrew Catholic Church in Lytle was founded in 1948, succeeding the older Immaculada Concepcion chapel in the nearby Coal Mine community. According to local tradition preserved by longtime parishioner Pablo Cortez, the new church was built on Main Street because roads to Coal Mine had become impassable, and its dedication to St. Andrew came after a generous donation from a stranger passing through town. The Archdiocese of San Antonio marked the parish's 75th anniversary at a Mass on the Ascension of the Lord in 2023.
- 1948 – parish founded on Main Street, Lytle
- Parish named for St. Andrew following a large donation from a passing stranger
- Steeple cross and bell set by local men including Aniceto Cortez of Coal Mine
- 2023 – 75th anniversary celebrated at the Ascension of the Lord Mass
Pastor and Leadership
St. Andrew is administered by Rev. Varghese Antony, who is listed as pastor/administrator across the official parish website, the City of Lytle, and directory sites such as joinmychurch.com. Father Anthony also serves the mission chapels under the parish's care, including the Immaculada Concepcion chapel in Coal Mine.
- Rev. Varghese Antony — Administrator / Pastor
Mission Churches
St. Andrew oversees two mission communities in addition to the Lytle church. St. John Bosco in Natalia hosts Masses on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, while the historic Immaculada Concepcion chapel in Coal Mine — the parish's spiritual ancestor — is used for special occasions including a monthly Spanish Mass.
- St. John Bosco, Natalia – Mass on Friday, Saturday & Sunday
- Immaculada Concepcion (Coal Mine) – First Sunday Spanish Mass at 1:00 PM
- Immaculada Concepcion – Rosary on Wednesdays at 7:30 PM
Sacramental Life
Beyond the regular Mass schedule, St. Andrew provides First Friday Eucharistic Adoration from 7:30 AM until 10:00 PM, with the sacrament of Confession offered during two windows that day. The parish also joins the wider Archdiocese of San Antonio tradition of Seven Churches Visitation during Holy Week, with a full schedule at St. Andrew on Holy Thursday.
- Adoration: First Friday 7:30 AM – 10:00 PM
- Confession: First Friday 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM and 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM
- Holy Thursday: Mass of the Lord's Supper 7:00 PM; Adoration 9:30–10:30 PM (English), 10:30 PM–12:00 AM (Spanish)
Parish Community & Festival
St. Andrew has a notably warm, multigenerational character rooted in the small-town life of Lytle and the Coal Mine area. The parish's signature community event is its annual St. Andrew Catholic Church Festival, a ticket-drawing fundraiser that has drawn extraordinary effort from individual parishioners — Pablo Cortez alone sold 1,392 tickets and raised $6,960 in one recent year, inspired by his father's role in raising the original steeple.
- Annual St. Andrew Catholic Church Festival & drawing
- Longtime fundraising tradition rooted in the parish's Coal Mine heritage
Contact & Visiting
The parish office can be reached by phone at (830) 709-4287 or by email at [email protected], and the church sits on Main Street in central Lytle, easily found within the small town.
- Address: 14831 Main Street, Lytle, TX 78052
- Phone: (830) 709-4287
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://standrewlytle.com/