About St. Joseph - Dilley · Dilley, Texas
St. Joseph Catholic Church is a bilingual Roman Catholic parish serving the small South Texas town of Dilley in Frio County. Located at 114 E. Frio Street, the parish belongs to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio and has been a fixture of Catholic life in Dilley since its establishment on February 11, 1899. Worship is offered in both English and Spanish, with multiple Sunday Masses and a full weekly schedule of Spanish-language weekday Masses, reflecting the deeply Hispanic character of the community. The parish is closely tied to its neighboring St. Mary's Chapel and the wider Frio County Catholic community, and is pastored by Father Agustin Estrada, who also extends his ministry to inmates at the nearby Briscoe Unit through Kolbe Prison Ministries.
- Established
- 1899
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Rev. Agustin Estrada
- Diocese
- Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio
Why belong here
St. Joseph is a small-town parish where English- and Spanish-speaking Catholics worship side by side, with a generous weekly schedule of Masses — three on the weekend and most weekdays — that makes daily Mass accessible to working families and farmworkers alike. The parish belongs to the Archdiocese of San Antonio, and its pastor extends ministry beyond the parish to the men incarcerated at the nearby Briscoe Unit, a reminder that this is a community with a deep sense of mission. Visitors and newcomers find a bilingual, family-oriented worship space in the heart of Dilley on Frio Street.
Mass times at St. Joseph - Dilley
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday: 1 hour before evening Mass (call parish to confirm)
About St. Joseph Parish
St. Joseph Catholic Church is a bilingual Roman Catholic parish in Dilley, Texas, a small community in southern Frio County about sixteen miles southwest of Pearsall. The parish belongs to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio and traces its origins to February 11, 1899. Worship is offered in both English and Spanish, and the parish maintains a connection to the nearby St. Mary's Chapel, which is used for some Masses and liturgical celebrations. The parish serves a community with deep Catholic roots in South Texas ranching, farming, and railroad heritage.
History
The parish was established on February 11, 1899, in the years when Dilley was growing as a railroad town on the International-Great Northern line from San Antonio into Mexico. Its sacramental registers from 1946 to 1957 (catalogued jointly with St. Mary) are preserved at the FamilySearch Library and remain an important resource for descendants of South Texas Catholic families. In 2016, the parish was designated a Jubilee Church during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy called by Pope Francis. The parish continues to grow as a bilingual worshipping community in the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
- Founded February 11, 1899
- Parish registers 1946–1957 held at the FamilySearch Library
- Designated a Jubilee Church in the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy (2016)
- Under the pastoral care of the Archdiocese of San Antonio since the diocese's creation
Parish Life & Clergy
St. Joseph is pastored by Father Agustin Estrada, a Roman-rite priest of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, who serves both as the parish's Parish Administrator and as chaplain to the men at the Briscoe Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Father Agustin is a former Parochial Vicar of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in San Antonio and has served in Dilley since July 2024. He brings the sacraments weekly to the prison population and is also involved in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA/OCIA) at the parish.
- Pastor: Rev. Agustin Estrada
- Archdiocese of San Antonio
- Father Agustin also serves as chaplain at the Briscoe Unit prison
Mass & Liturgical Schedule
St. Joseph offers a generous weekly schedule of Masses in both English and Spanish, with three Sunday Masses and most weekdays covered. The parish is officially listed in the Archdiocese of San Antonio's directory and on multiple Mass-times aggregators. Holy Week liturgies are bilingual and include the traditional Spanish devotion of Los Siete Dolores de la Santísima Virgen María on Good Friday morning.
- Sunday 8:30 AM — English
- Sunday 11:00 AM — English
- Monday 10:00 AM — Spanish
- Tuesday 10:00 AM — Spanish
- Wednesday 10:00 AM — Spanish
- Thursday 6:00 PM — Spanish
- Friday 6:00 PM — Spanish
- Saturday 6:00 PM — Spanish (Vigil Mass)
Sacramental & Devotional Life
The parish celebrates the full range of Catholic sacraments — Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, and Anointing of the Sick — and runs an RCIA/OCIA program for adults seeking full initiation into the Catholic Church. Confessions are generally heard on Saturday afternoons before the vigil Mass; parishioners are encouraged to call the parish office to confirm times. During Lent the parish prays the Stations of the Cross, and during Holy Week a bilingual liturgical celebration of the Lord's Passion is held, along with the traditional Good Friday devotions such as Los Siete Dolores.
- RCIA / OCIA for adults
- Saturday Confessions before vigil Mass
- Stations of the Cross in Lent
- Los Siete Dolores (Good Friday)
- Bilingual Easter Vigil
Parish Outreach & Charitable Works
Beyond its regular parish ministry, St. Joseph supports a St. Vincent de Paul Conference — the 'St. Joseph Dilley Conference' is registered as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization under the parish address. Through its pastor, the parish is also active in prison ministry: Father Agustin Estrada celebrates weekly Mass and offers the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the men at the Briscoe Unit, and assists Kolbe Prison Ministries' retreats there. The parish grounds also host community events such as the Easter Egg Hunt for children.
- St. Vincent de Paul Conference (St. Joseph Dilley Conference, 501(c)(3))
- Prison ministry at the Briscoe Unit through Kolbe Prison Ministries
- Easter Egg Hunt on the parish grounds
- Parish Way of the Cross procession
Visit, Contact & Directions
St. Joseph is located at 114 E. Frio Street, in the heart of downtown Dilley. The parish office can be reached at (830) 965-2080 or by email at [email protected]. The parish maintains a Facebook page at facebook.com/stjosephdilley and is listed on the Archdiocese of San Antonio website at archsa.org/parishes/st.-josephs. Travelers coming from I-35 should take Exit 85 and follow FM 117 south into Dilley; the church is a few blocks south of Main Street on Frio.
- Address: 114 E. Frio Street, Dilley, TX 78017
- Phone: (830) 965-2080
- Email: [email protected]
- Archdiocesan page: archsa.org/parishes/st.-josephs
- Facebook: facebook.com/stjosephdilley
- From I-35 Exit 85, take FM 117 south to Main St., then south to Frio St.