About St. Helen · Rio Hondo, Texas
St. Helen is a Roman Catholic parish in the small Rio Grande Valley town of Rio Hondo, Texas, serving the Cameron County community since 1943. The parish is part of the Diocese of Brownsville and is bilingual, celebrating Mass in both English and Spanish to serve the largely Hispanic population of the region. It also shepherds St. Vincent de Paul Mission in nearby Lozano, a mission church that gathers one Sunday Mass each week.
- Established
- 1943
- Patron
- St. Helen (Saint Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine the Great)
- Rector
- Rev. Salvador Ramirez
- Diocese
- Diocese of Brownsville
Why belong here
St. Helen is a welcoming, bilingual parish at the heart of Rio Hondo that offers daily Mass, Saturday confessions, and weekly Eucharistic Adoration — plenty of opportunities to grow in prayer throughout the week. The parish also tends St. Vincent de Paul Mission in Lozano, so worshipping here connects you to a wider rural Catholic community in the lower Rio Grande Valley. Families, Spanish-speakers, and English-speakers alike can find a place at the table here.
Mass times at St. Helen
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:00 PM
Adoration times
- Thursday 6:00 PM
Parish Identity and History
St. Helen Parish was established in 1943 in Rio Hondo, Texas, and is recorded as such on the Diocese of Brownsville's official parish timeline. The parish is named for Saint Helena (Helen), the mother of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, who is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church on August 18. For more than 80 years, the parish has served the Rio Hondo community and the surrounding rural areas of Cameron County in the lower Rio Grande Valley.
- Founded: 1943
- Diocese: Brownsville
- Rite: Roman (Latin)
- Languages: English and Spanish
St. Vincent de Paul Mission, Lozano
St. Vincent de Paul Mission in Lozano, Texas, is a dependent mission of St. Helen Parish. It is located at 2513 Lozano Road, Lozano, TX 78568, and shares the parish's phone number for pastoral contact. A Spanish-language Sunday Mass is celebrated at the mission each week.
- Address: 2513 Lozano Road, Lozano, TX 78568
- Phone: (956) 748-2327 (shared with St. Helen)
- Sunday Mass: 12:00 PM (Spanish)
- Approximately 6.7 km from the mother parish in Rio Hondo
Clergy and Staff
The parish is led by its pastor, with the assignment recorded in the Diocese of Brownsville parish finder. No additional clergy or staff are publicly listed on the diocesan or aggregator pages consulted.
- Pastor: Rev. Salvador Ramirez (effective June 17, 2019)
Contact and Location
St. Helen Parish is located on Huisache Avenue in Rio Hondo, in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley. Parishioners and visitors can reach the parish office by phone, fax, or email, and a mailing address is provided for correspondence.
- Street address: 228 Huisache Avenue, Rio Hondo, TX 78583
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 451, Rio Hondo, TX 78583
- Phone: (956) 748-2327
- Fax: (956) 748-0089
- Email: [email protected]
Online Presence and Communication
The parish maintains an official Facebook page, which is its primary online presence. During the COVID-19 shelter-in-place period in spring 2020, the parish used the page — listed as 'St. Helen Catholic Church / St. Vincent de Paul Mission' — to livestream Masses for parishioners at home.
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sthelenriohondo/
- Diocese listing: cdob.org parish finder
Patron Saint: St. Helena (St. Helen)
The parish is named for Saint Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, who is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church on August 18. Helena is traditionally credited with discovering the True Cross during her pilgrimage to the Holy Land and is the patron saint of new discoveries. Her feast day, August 18, is a fitting annual celebration for this Rio Grande Valley parish named in her honor.
- Patron: St. Helena / St. Helen
- Feast day: August 18
- Patronage: new discoveries
- Historical note: credited with finding the True Cross in Jerusalem