About St. Isidore Mission · Coyanosa, Texas
St. Isidore Mission is a small Roman Catholic mission church serving the rural community of Coyanosa, a tiny census-designated place in Pecos County in Texas's Permian Basin. It is one of four clustered parishes in the far western reaches of the Diocese of San Angelo, joined with Good Shepherd Parish in Crane, Our Lady of Lourdes Mission in Imperial, and Sacred Heart Parish in McCamey, which serves as the main parish office. The mission offers one weekly Mass on Saturday evening along with the sacrament of Reconciliation beforehand, and is cared for by a pastor and three deacons who serve the wider cluster of faith communities.
- Established
- circa 1962
- Patron
- St. Isidore the Farmer (likely, given the rural West Texas farming/ranching context)
- Rector
- Rev. Kumar Jujjuvarapu
- Diocese
- Diocese of San Angelo
Why belong here
St. Isidore Mission offers Catholics in Coyanosa and the surrounding Permian Basin ranchland a weekly Saturday evening Mass and the sacrament of Reconciliation, all within a tight-knit four-parish cluster that shares pastoral care. Belonging here means joining a small, faithful community sustained across generations of ranching and farming families, supported by a pastor and three deacons who serve alongside Good Shepherd Parish (Crane), Our Lady of Lourdes Mission (Imperial), and Sacred Heart Parish (McCamey). For visitors and locals alike, it is a place where the Catholic faith has been kept alive in one of the most sparsely populated corners of West Texas since the early 1960s.
Mass times at St. Isidore Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:30 PM
About St. Isidore Mission
St. Isidore Mission is the Catholic mission church serving Coyanosa, Texas, a tiny census-designated place in Pecos County in the heart of the Permian Basin. The mission is administered by the Diocese of San Angelo and is part of a four-parish cluster that also includes Good Shepherd Parish in Crane, Our Lady of Lourdes Mission in Imperial, and Sacred Heart Parish in McCamey, the latter serving as the main parish office and mailing address. The mission offers a single weekly Mass on Saturday evening along with the sacrament of Reconciliation beforehand. Because Coyanosa is a small rural community, the mission's Catholic life is closely tied to the broader cluster of faith communities scattered across the West Texas oil patch and ranch country.
- Diocese: Diocese of San Angelo
- Type: Mission
- Pastor: Rev. Kumar Jujjuvarapu
- Saturday Mass: 5:00 PM
- Reconciliation: Saturday 4:30 PM
History of St. Isidore Mission
The mission dates to the early 1960s, a period of both ecclesiastical and civic change in West Texas. The Diocese of San Angelo was newly erected in 1962, carved largely from the Diocese of Amarillo, and Bishop Thomas Drury asked Father Francis X. Frey — the first pastor of nearby Saint Agnes Parish in Fort Stockton — to oversee the completion of a church that had been only partially built in Coyanosa. Within about six months, Father Frey was also asked to assume pastoral care of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Imperial, integrating both small communities into the missionary territory served from Saint Agnes. The mission's founding coincided with Coyanosa's brief mid-century boom. Originally settled as a ranching community in the early 1900s, the town had expanded rapidly in the 1950s and early 1960s as irrigation wells were drilled across the Permian Basin to support cotton farming; by the early 1960s, Coyanosa's population had risen to roughly 600. Increasing fuel prices in the mid-1970s made irrigation unprofitable, and the town's population steadily declined — to about 270 by 1990, and to 155 by the 2020 census. Throughout these demographic shifts, St. Isidore Mission has remained a faithful Catholic presence in this small West Texas community.
- Mission completed circa 1962
- Originally administered from St. Agnes Parish, Fort Stockton
- First pastor involved: Fr. Francis X. Frey
- Bishop involved in founding: Bishop Thomas Drury
- Coyanosa population peaked near 600 in the early 1960s
Clergy & Pastoral Leadership
St. Isidore Mission is served by the pastor and deacons of the cluster, rather than by a resident priest stationed solely in Coyanosa. The current pastor is Rev. Kumar Jujjuvarapu, who also cares for Good Shepherd Parish in Crane, Our Lady of Lourdes Mission in Imperial, and Sacred Heart Parish in McCamey. Three deacons assist in ministering to the cluster: Dcn. Julio Carrasco, retired Dcn. Apolonio Gutierrez, and Dcn. Felix Segura.
- Pastor: Rev. Kumar Jujjuvarapu
- Dcn. Julio Carrasco
- Dcn. Apolonio Gutierrez (retired)
- Dcn. Felix Segura
Cluster of Parishes
St. Isidore Mission is part of a four-church cluster in the far western reaches of the Diocese of San Angelo. Sacred Heart Parish in McCamey serves as the main parish office, with its mailing address used for St. Isidore Mission as well. Good Shepherd Parish in Crane is the principal parish, while St. Isidore Mission in Coyanosa and Our Lady of Lourdes Mission in Imperial serve as mission churches of the cluster. Together these four communities share a single pastor and team of deacons to sustain Catholic life across the sparsely populated ranch and oil country of the Permian Basin.
- Good Shepherd Parish, Crane — principal parish
- Sacred Heart Parish, McCamey — main parish office (710 S Burleson Ave, McCamey, TX 79752)
- St. Isidore Mission, Coyanosa
- Our Lady of Lourdes Mission, Imperial
Visit & Contact
St. Isidore Mission is located at 4614 S Frank in Coyanosa, Texas 79730. Because it is administered as part of a multi-parish cluster, mail is directed through Sacred Heart Parish in McCamey (PO Box 1320, McCamey, TX 79752-1320), and phone calls are handled through the main parish office at 432-652-8216. Email inquiries can be directed to [email protected]. The diocese's directory page at sanangelodiocese.org/coyanosa serves as the mission's online presence.
- Church address: 4614 S Frank, Coyanosa, TX 79730
- Mailing address: c/o Sacred Heart Parish, PO Box 1320, McCamey, TX 79752-1320
- Phone: 432-652-8216
- Email: [email protected]
- Online directory: sanangelodiocese.org/coyanosa
The Community of Coyanosa
Coyanosa is a tiny census-designated place in Pecos County in West Texas's Permian Basin, with about 155 residents recorded in the 2020 census. Originally a ranching community settled in the early 1900s, Coyanosa boomed briefly in the 1950s and 1960s when irrigation wells were drilled to support cotton farming and the population reached around 600. Rising fuel prices in the mid-1970s ended that era of irrigation agriculture, and the community has since been a small, quiet ranching settlement. The Coyanosa Draw runs adjacent to the town. St. Isidore Mission is one of the few institutions that has remained a constant in the community across these decades of change.
- Location: Pecos County, Texas (Permian Basin)
- Population: approximately 155 (2020 census)
- Originally a ranching community settled in the early 1900s
- Population peaked near 600 in the early 1960s
- Coyanosa Draw lies adjacent to the town