About St. John the Evangelist · Emory, Texas
St. John the Evangelist is a Roman Catholic parish in Emory, Texas, serving the small Rains County community as a Mission of the Diocese of Tyler since January 1996 (with roots in a faith community gathered as early as 1994). The parish worships on the same FM 2795 property where its original sanctuary once stood and where the present church is being rebuilt after an April 2017 tornado destroyed the building. Today it offers five weekly Masses (including a Sunday Mass in Spanish), the sacraments of Reconciliation and Anointing, Eucharistic Adoration on First Fridays, parish-based faith formation for children, and the Totus Tuus summer youth program.
- Established
- 1996
- Patron
- St. John the Evangelist (one of the Twelve Apostles, traditionally identified as the author of the Gospel of John; patron saint of authors and friendships)
- Rector
- Rev. Michael Ledesma (current pastor per the parish's own Contact page); Rev. Victor Hernandez served as pastor at the time of the 2017 tornado and through the rebuilding
- Diocese
- Diocese of Tyler
Why belong here
St. John the Evangelist offers a close-knit, bilingual Catholic home for the families of Emory and Rains County — with Sunday Mass celebrated in both English (11:00 AM) and Spanish (12:30 PM), weekday Masses Tuesday evening, Thursday morning, and Friday morning, and a generous confession schedule four days a week. Children grow in faith through Tuesday-evening Religious Education classes and the summer Totus Tuus youth program, and adults seeking to become Catholic are welcomed through the OCIA process. The parish gathers regularly for Eucharistic Adoration and a First Friday Rosary, and its rebuilt sanctuary is itself a witness to a community that has weathered storm and come through stronger together.
Mass times at St. John the Evangelist
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday: 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
- Tuesday: 5:30 PM – 5:50 PM (before the 6:00 PM Mass)
- Thursday: 7:30 AM – 7:50 AM (before the 8:00 AM Mass)
- Friday: 7:30 AM – 7:50 AM (before the 8:00 AM Mass)
Adoration times
- First Friday: 8:30 AM – 6:00 PM (Eucharistic Adoration)
Parish History & the 2017 Tornado
St. John the Evangelist began as a worshipping Catholic community in the Emory area in 1994 and was formally established in January 1996 as a Mission of the Diocese of Tyler. On the evening of April 29, 2017, during a graduation reception attended by about 45 parishioners, a tornado ripped apart the sanctuary and classrooms while families sheltered safely in a hallway. The parish rebuilt its sanctuary in the same footprint and worshipped in a portable building during construction, an experience pastor Father Victor Hernandez called 'a blessing in disguise' that unified the parish's many cultures and age groups.
- First Mass / formal establishment: January 1996 (community worship from 1994)
- Diocese: Tyler
- April 29, 2017 tornado destroys the original sanctuary; no injuries reported
- Temporary worship in a portable building through 2017–2018
- Reconstruction of the new church in the footprint of the old one, completed circa spring 2018
Clergy & Parish Staff
The parish is led today by its pastor along with two deacons and a small office staff who handle the day-to-day work of the mission.
- Rev. Michael Ledesma — Pastor
- Rev. Victor Hernandez — Pastor during the 2017 tornado and rebuilding
- Dcn. Federico Aguilar — Deacon
- Dcn. Marcellino Espinosa — Deacon
- Diane Eaton — Bookkeeper
- Pete Diaz — Office Manager
Faith Formation & Religious Education
Faith formation for children takes place weekly on Tuesday evenings after the 6:00 PM Mass, allowing parents to bring their children straight from Mass into class. In summer the parish hosts Totus Tuus, a traveling Catholic youth program focused on catechesis, evangelization, Christian witness, and Eucharistic worship.
- Religious Education — Tuesday evenings, following the 6:00 PM Mass
- Totus Tuus — annual summer youth program
OCIA / RCIA — Becoming Catholic
Adults discerning full communion with the Catholic Church are welcomed through the parish's OCIA (formerly RCIA) process, walking through the periods of inquiry, catechumenate, and Mystagogia alongside the parish community.
- OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) — adult initiation
- Inquiry, catechumenate, and sacramental preparation at Easter Vigil
Parish Life & Community
St. John the Evangelist is a multicultural, bilingual parish that draws its families from across Rains County. The community is described on the parish site as 'a fellowship of believers, made in God's image and called as disciples of Christ to share the Good News' — and the rebuilding of the church after the 2017 tornado deepened that sense of shared mission. The parish has organized fundraising meetings to support the construction of the new church building.
- Bilingual worship in English and Spanish
- Parish fundraising meetings in support of church construction
- Welcoming atmosphere for visiting Catholics and newcomers to the area
Visiting & Directions
Travelers and newcomers find the church easy to reach on the east side of Emory along FM 2795. Office staff and the pastor can be reached during weekday hours for pastoral needs, sacrament preparation, and parish registration.
- Address: 551 E FM 2795, Emory, TX 75440
- Phone: (903) 473-5116
- From Hwy 69 south, turn left onto Hwy 515 (Brookshire's at corner), continue ~1.5 miles, turn right onto FM 2795; church is on the left
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Victor Hernandez
Pastor at the time of the April 29, 2017 tornado that destroyed the sanctuary; led the parish through worship in the temporary portable building and the construction of the new church on the same footprint; quoted in KLTV coverage calling the experience 'a blessing in disguise.'
- Rev. Michael Ledesma
Current pastor listed on the parish website Contact/Staff page.