About St. Ann Mission - Southton · San Antonio, Texas
St. Ann Mission – Southton is a small Catholic mission church located at 11862 Southton Rd. on the South Side of San Antonio, Texas, in the Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio. The mission is pastorally paired with Mission San Juan Capistrano (a UNESCO World Heritage site) in the Archdiocese's Southeast Urban deanery, and is currently served by Franciscan (OFM) friars under Pastor Fr. Clifford Hennings, OFM, with Fr. Jorge Hernandez, OFM, as Administrator and Parochial Vicar. The community traces its roots to 1923, when the Redemptorists of Our Lady of Perpetual Help began ministering to a small Spanish-speaking farming community in the Southton area near the historic San Antonio Missions. It remains a modest, bilingual worship community where Mass is celebrated in English and Spanish, supporting the spiritual life of families in southeast Bexar County.
- Established
- 1923
- Patron
- St. Ann (St. Anne), mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Rector
- Fr. Clifford Hennings, OFM
- Diocese
- Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio
Why belong here
St. Ann Mission – Southton offers Catholics on San Antonio's South Side a small, welcoming bilingual community where Mass is celebrated in English and Spanish, with Saturday vigil and Sunday morning Masses. As a mission paired with the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano, it is cared for by Franciscan friars and retains the legacy of generations of South Side farming families — a heritage locals can still trace through the nearby St. Anne–Southton Cemetery. For parishioners seeking an intimate parish rooted in the older San Antonio mission country, it provides the essentials of Catholic life: weekend Mass, confession, and a quiet, faith-filled atmosphere.
Mass times at St. Ann Mission - Southton
Weekly Mass schedule
Overview
St. Ann Mission – Southton is a small Catholic mission church serving the South Side of San Antonio from 11862 Southton Rd., ZIP 78223. It belongs to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio and, since the 2010s, has been pastorally paired with Mission San Juan Capistrano in the Archdiocese's Southeast Urban deanery, sharing Franciscan (OFM) priests.
- Type: Mission
- Deanery: Southeast Urban
- Jurisdiction: Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio
- GCatholic Church ID: 33007
- Listed founding date: 1923
History
The mission traces its beginnings to 1923, when the bishop of San Antonio invited the Redemptorists of the St. Louis Province to minister to Spanish-speaking Catholics in the San Antonio mission area. From their home base at Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro, the Redemptorists — including, later, Father Ray Nowak — traveled to a small chapel dedicated to St. Anne in the rural Southton community, about two miles east and south of Mission Espada. They served there until 1956, when the dispute between Archbishop Robert E. Lucey and the order ended Redemptorist ministry in the San Antonio missions. After that, diocesan clergy and later Franciscans took up the care of the mission, which continues today as a partner parish with Mission San Juan Capistrano.
- 1923 – Redemptorists begin ministry at St. Anne's, Southton
- Early 1950s – Father Ray Nowak, OFM, oversees the mission alongside Espada
- 1956 – Redemptorists withdraw from San Antonio missions under Archbishop Lucey
- Today – Care provided by OFM friars of the Mission San Juan Capistrano / St. Ann – Southton cluster
Clergy & Parish Leadership
The mission is currently served by Franciscan (OFM) friars of the Order of Friars Minor, who shepherd it jointly with Mission San Juan Capistrano. The pastor of the cluster is Fr. Clifford Hennings, OFM, and the administrator / parochial vicar is Fr. Jorge Hernandez, OFM. Listings for the cluster appear on the San Antonio Vocations 'Called by Name' regional page.
- Fr. Clifford Hennings, OFM — Pastor
- Fr. Jorge Hernandez, OFM — Administrator / Parochial Vicar
Location & Contact
The mission is located on Southton Road in southeast San Antonio, in Bexar County (ZIP 78223), close to the San Antonio Missions World Heritage corridor. It is part of the Archdiocese of San Antonio's parish directory and shares pastoral and online giving infrastructure with Mission San Juan Capistrano.
- Address: 11862 Southton Rd., San Antonio, TX 78223
- Phone: (210) 534-3161 or (210) 532-2806
- Online giving cluster: 'San Juan Capistrano & St. Ann Southton Missions' (GiveCentral)
Heritage Sites Nearby
St. Ann Mission sits in the agricultural country just east of the four Spanish colonial missions of San Antonio, and the older farming community it grew up to serve is still marked today by the historic St. Anne–Southton Cemetery. Many of that cemetery's grave markers were lost to floods beginning in 1925, leaving the exact burial count unknown.
- St. Anne–Southton Cemetery (Bexar County) — located approximately 3.5 miles north of IH-37
- Sister communities: Mission San Juan Capistrano (9101 Graf Road), Mission San Francisco de la Espada, and the broader San Antonio Missions UNESCO World Heritage Site