About St. Francis X. Cabrini · San Antonio, Texas
St. Frances X. Cabrini (Santa Francisca X. Cabrini) is a Catholic mission parish in San Antonio, Texas, sharing one pastorate with the historic Mission San Francisco de la Espada. The two communities worship at separate locations — Cabrini at 1606 San Casimiro Street, the older Espada mission at 10040 Espada Road — but are described as 'one body in Christ.' Served by Franciscan (OFM) friars, Cabrini is a bilingual (primarily Spanish-speaking) parish in the Archdiocese of San Antonio, with a strong tradition of devotion, religious education, and outreach through the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
- Patron
- St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (Mission San Francisco de la Espada is dedicated to St. Francis of the Sword / St. Francis of Assisi)
- Rector
- Fr. Rommel Perez, OFM (Administrator / Pastor)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of San Antonio
Why belong here
Cabrini is a warm, bilingual Franciscan community where Spanish and English-speaking families worship side by side. Weekday and Sunday Masses are offered in Spanish and bilingually, with Holy Hour and Eucharistic Adoration on Thursday evenings including Praise & Worship, plus a committed religious education program for grade- and high-school students and an active St. Vincent de Paul Society for outreach to neighbors in need. Sharing a pastorate with the 1731 Mission San Francisco de la Espada — a UNESCO World Heritage Site on San Antonio's Mission Trail — Cabrini offers parishioners a rare chance to be part of a living Catholic community with deep historical roots on the south side.
Mass times at St. Francis X. Cabrini
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Thursday 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM (at Sta. Francisca X. Cabrini, 1606 San Casimiro)
- Also by appointment / Disponible haciendo una cita
Adoration times
- Thursday 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM — Holy Hour with Praise & Worship, 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM, at Sta. Francisca X. Cabrini, 1606 San Casimiro
About St. Frances X. Cabrini Parish
St. Frances X. Cabrini (often referred to in Spanish as 'Santa Francisca X. Cabrini') is a Catholic mission parish located at 1606 San Casimiro Street on San Antonio's south side. It is one of two worship sites that together form a single Franciscan pastorate, the other being the historic Mission San Francisco de la Espada at 10040 Espada Road. According to the parish's own description: 'We are very blessed to have two parish communities. Parishioners from Mission San Francisco de la Espada and St. Frances X. Cabrini Church may worship at separate locations but are one body in Christ.' Both communities share the same pastor, staff and sacramental life.
- Two worship sites, one parish community
- Served by Franciscan (OFM) friars
- Part of the Archdiocese of San Antonio
History of Mission San Francisco de la Espada
The mission parish that Cabrini belongs to traces its story back more than 330 years. Franciscan Father Damián Massanet founded the original Mission San Francisco de los Tejas in East Texas on May 24, 1690 — the first Spanish mission in Texas. After abandonment and several moves, the mission was re-established on the San Antonio River on March 5, 1731 and renamed Mission San Francisco de la Espada. A friary was built in 1745 and the present stone chapel was completed in 1756. To bring water from the San Antonio River to mission fields, Franciscans and Indigenous laborers built a 270-foot dam and the Espada Aqueduct; the resulting acequia system, still operational, is the oldest continuously used irrigation system in the United States. The mission was partially secularized in 1794 and fully secularized by the Mexican government in 1824. In 2015 the San Antonio Missions, including Espada, were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- 1690 — founded in East Texas as Mission San Francisco de los Tejas
- 1731 — relocated to the San Antonio River, renamed San Francisco de la Espada
- 1745 — friary built; Espada Dam and Aqueduct constructed
- 1756 — present chapel completed
- 1794 — partial secularization; 1824 — full secularization
- 2015 — designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the San Antonio Missions
The Patron: St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
The Cabrini site is named for St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850–1917), the Italian-born foundress of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In 35 years of work she founded 67 institutions dedicated to caring for the poor, the abandoned, the uneducated and the sick. Seeing great need among Italian immigrants who were losing their faith, she organized schools and adult education classes. At the urging of Pope Leo XIII she went 'west instead of east,' founding schools, hospitals and orphanages across the Americas. She became a United States citizen in 1909 and was the first U.S. citizen to be canonized (1946). Her deep trust in the loving care of her God gave her the strength to be 'a valiant woman doing the work of Christ' — a mission that resonates with the immigrant roots of San Antonio's south-side Catholic community.
- First United States citizen to be canonized (1946)
- Founded 67 institutions serving immigrants, the poor, the sick and the uneducated
- Patron of immigrants; her witness connects to the bilingual, largely Hispanic congregation at Cabrini
Sacraments
As a Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Cabrini (together with Mission Espada) prepares parishioners for and celebrates the seven sacraments. The parish website lists a 'Liturgy & Sacraments' page covering the major sacraments. Public sacramental milestones celebrated in recent years — visible on the parish Facebook feed — include First Holy Communion (2019) and Confirmation (2019), as well as blessings for graduates.
- Baptism
- First Holy Communion
- Confirmation
- Matrimony
- Anointing of the Sick
- RCIA / Christian Initiation of Adults
Parish Staff and Clergy
The united Espada–Cabrini parish is led by Franciscan friars. According to the parish's official 'Our Staff' page and directory listings, current leadership includes Fr. Rommel Perez, OFM (Pastor / Administrator), Fr. Nicholas 'Nick' Baxter, OFM (Senior Associate Pastor), and Deacon Albert Rodriguez. Lay staff include Celia Carrigan (Parish Administrator), Sonia Trevino (Secretary / Administrative Assistant), JoAnn Jimenez (Bookkeeper), Sonia Valero (Grade & High School Religious Education at Cabrini), Irene Sandoval (Religious Education at the Mission site), and Margie Jimenez (St. Vincent de Paul Society).
- Pastor — Fr. Rommel Perez, OFM
- Senior Associate Pastor — Fr. Nick Baxter, OFM
- Deacon Albert Rodriguez
- Parish Administrator — Celia Carrigan
- Secretary — Sonia Trevino
- Bookkeeper — JoAnn Jimenez
- Religious Education (Cabrini) — Sonia Valero
- St. Vincent de Paul Society — Margie Jimenez
Ministries and Faith Formation
Cabrini maintains an active religious education program for grade-school and high-school students, prepares children for First Holy Communion and Confirmation, and supports an active St. Vincent de Paul Society for outreach to neighbors in need. A parish music ministry supports liturgy, and the parish regularly hosts community festivals and celebrations. All parishioners from Cabrini and Mission Espada participate in these ministries together as one parish family.
- Religious Education (Grade & High School)
- First Holy Communion preparation
- Confirmation preparation
- St. Vincent de Paul Society
- Music Ministry
- Parish festivals and community events
Mission Trail and UNESCO Heritage
Because Cabrini is part of the same pastorate as Mission San Francisco de la Espada, parishioners are also part of the community that cares for one of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park sites — a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015. The eight-mile Mission Trail follows part of the original El Camino Real and connects Espada to the other Spanish colonial missions of San Antonio. Mission Espada's acequia, dam and aqueduct (built 1745) are the most complete and original acequia system in the park and the oldest continuously operating irrigation system in the United States.
- Part of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
- UNESCO World Heritage Site (2015)
- Espada Dam, Aqueduct and acequia — oldest continuously operating irrigation system in the U.S.