St. Cecilia

About St. Cecilia Parish

St. Cecilia is a Roman Catholic parish in Los Fresnos, Texas, a small but growing town in the Rio Grande Valley of Cameron County. The parish is part of the Diocese of Brownsville and serves a bilingual community with Masses in both English and Spanish. Its central location on West Ocean Boulevard places it within easy reach of Los Fresnos residents and of nearby communities in the lower Valley.

History & Founding

St. Cecilia Parish was established in Los Fresnos in 1965, the same year that the Diocese of Brownsville was itself erected, separating from the Diocese of Corpus Christi. It was one of three parishes founded in that inaugural year, alongside Sacred Heart in Elsa and St. Isidore in San Isidro. The creation of new parishes reflected the rapid growth of the Catholic population in the Rio Grande Valley during the 1960s, and St. Cecilia quickly became a spiritual anchor for Los Fresnos and surrounding rural areas.

• Parish founded: 1965 (Diocese of Brownsville timeline). GCatholic lists 1964 as the founding date, likely reflecting pre-diocese canonical setup.
• Founding coincided with the creation of the Diocese of Brownsville (1965).
• First bishop of Brownsville: Most Rev. Adolph Marx, installed September 2, 1965.

Parish Leadership & Staff

The parish is currently led by Rev. Msgr. Pedro Briseño, who was appointed pastor effective October 15, 2012, according to the Diocese of Brownsville's parish finder. Two lay staff members support the day-to-day operations and faith formation mission of the parish.

• Rev. Msgr. Pedro Briseño — Pastor (effective 10/15/2012)
• Cecilia Peralez — Parish Bookkeeper
• Karen Cordova — Coordinator of Religious Education (CRE)

Faith Formation & Religious Education

Religious education at St. Cecilia is coordinated by Karen Cordova, who serves as the parish's Coordinator of Religious Education (CRE). In this role she oversees faith formation programming for children and likely coordinates preparation for the sacraments, in line with the diocesan model used across the Diocese of Brownsville.

• Coordinator of Religious Education: Karen Cordova
• Religious Education / Sacramental preparation for parish children and families

Languages & Parish Life

Reflecting the demographics of Los Fresnos — a town that is roughly 90% Latino — St. Cecilia's liturgical life is built around both English and Spanish. Two of the four Sunday Masses are celebrated in Spanish, one in English, and one is fully bilingual. All five weekday Masses follow the bilingual pattern, ensuring no parishioner is excluded from the parish's daily liturgical rhythm.

• English-language Sunday Mass: 11:00 AM
• Spanish-language Sunday Masses: 7:00 AM and 9:00 AM
• Bilingual Sunday Mass: 5:00 PM
• Bilingual weekday Masses: Monday–Friday at 7:00 AM

Diocese of Brownsville

St. Cecilia is one of 72 parishes in the Diocese of Brownsville, which was canonically erected in 1965 and covers 4,296 square miles across a four-county area in deep South Texas. The diocese serves more than one million Catholics — roughly 85 percent of the region's total population — through its parishes, 43 mission churches, and approximately 109 priests. As a founding-year parish of the diocese, St. Cecilia holds a special place in its history.

• Diocese established: 1965
• Geographic area: 4,296 square miles across four counties
• Parishes: 72 (plus 43 mission churches)
• First Bishop: Most Rev. Adolph Marx (installed September 2, 1965)

Visiting & Contact

St. Cecilia is located at 606 W. Ocean Blvd., Los Fresnos, TX 78566. The parish office can be reached at (956) 233-5619, with a fax line at (956) 233-5565, and email at [email protected]. The parish is listed through the Diocese of Brownsville parish finder (cdob.org), which provides the canonical Mass schedule and contact information.

• Address: 606 W. Ocean Blvd., Los Fresnos, TX 78566
• Phone: (956) 233-5619
• Fax: (956) 233-5565
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: cdob.org/parishfinder