About St. Mark the Evangelist · Silsbee, Texas
St. Mark the Evangelist is a Roman Catholic parish in Silsbee, Texas, belonging to the Diocese of Beaumont. Located at 905 N 9th Street in this East Texas lumber town, the parish serves a bilingual Catholic community with a Sunday Mass celebrated in both English and Spanish, a Saturday Vigil Mass, and a Tuesday morning weekday Mass. The parish is distinguished by its Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration chapel, one of the few in the region, allowing prayer before the Blessed Sacrament around the clock. It is pastored today by Father Constantino Barrera, who also serves the nearby parishes of Infant Jesus in Lumberton and Holy Spirit in Kountze as part of a tri-parish grouping in Hardin County.
- Established
- 1940
- Patron
- St. Mark the Evangelist
- Rector
- Rev. Constantino Barrera
- Diocese
- Diocese of Beaumont
Why belong here
St. Mark the Evangelist offers something rare for a parish of its size: a Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration chapel open around the clock, allowing parishioners to spend time before the Blessed Sacrament any hour of the day or night. The community is bilingual, with a Sunday Mass celebrated in both English and Spanish, reflecting the make-up of Hardin County. Because it is grouped with Infant Jesus in Lumberton and Holy Spirit in Kountze under one pastor, parishioners belong to a network of three neighboring Catholic communities across the Big Thicket region, and the parish's small size makes it easy to know fellow worshippers and serve together.
Mass times at St. Mark the Evangelist
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 2:45 PM – 3:45 PM (or by appointment)
Adoration times
- Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration (24 hours a day)
- First Thursdays, 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM (September through May)
History of St. Mark the Evangelist Parish
Catholics in Silsbee were first visited in 1917 by Father R. C. Frei, who traveled from St. Mary Church in Orange. In 1932 the priests of St. Anthony in Beaumont took responsibility for the community, and Mass was celebrated in private homes. Property was purchased on North Seventh Street in 1938, and the first Catholic church was dedicated on July 2, 1940, with Bishop Byrne present. The community was originally named All Souls. Over the following decades, the parish had an unusually high pastoral turnover — eight pastors in nine years at one stretch — and took on missionary duties, including the temporary attachment of St. Francis of Assisi in Buna during Father Golasinski's pastorate. The parish also served as the parent mission for Infant Jesus in Lumberton from 1971 to 1975. Under Father Ronald Bollich, ground was broken on September 14, 1980 for a new 6,000-square-foot church, exactly sixty-three years after the first priest began visiting Silsbee. Bishop Ganter took the occasion to rename the parish from All Souls to St. Mark the Evangelist, and the new building was dedicated by Bishop Ganter in 1982.
- First priestly visit to Silsbee Catholics: 1917, by Father R. C. Frei from St. Mary, Orange
- Pastoral responsibility assumed by priests of St. Anthony, Beaumont, in 1932
- Property purchased 1938 on North Seventh Street
- First church dedicated July 2, 1940 by Bishop Byrne
- Original parish name: All Souls
- Ground broken for new church: September 14, 1980
- Parish renamed St. Mark the Evangelist by Bishop Ganter around 1980
- New church dedicated by Bishop Ganter in 1982
Clergy & Pastoral Team
The parish is part of a tri-parish grouping in Hardin County, sharing one pastor and one parochial vicar across St. Mark the Evangelist in Silsbee, Infant Jesus in Lumberton, and Holy Spirit in Kountze.
- Rev. Constantino Barrera — Pastor
- Rev. Senovio Sarabia Jr. — Parochial Vicar
The Tri-Parish Grouping: Lumberton, Silsbee, and Kountze
St. Mark the Evangelist is no longer an isolated rural mission. Together with Infant Jesus Parish in Lumberton and Holy Spirit Mission in Kountze, it forms a single pastoral grouping led by Father Constantino Barrera, with Father Senovio Sarabia Jr. as parochial vicar. This arrangement reflects the diocese's effort to coordinate priestly ministry across the small Catholic communities of Hardin County and the Big Thicket region. Infant Jesus in Lumberton actually began as an outreach of the Silsbee community: in 1947 Father Herman J. Vincent, then chaplain of St. Therese Hospital in Beaumont, served the Silsbee church and on his drives around Loeb, Lumberton, Chance, Voth, and Stonetown discovered many Catholics 'on the verge of falling away' from the faith. He organized fifty-seven families, founding what would become Infant Jesus Parish — originally a mission of the Silsbee church until Bishop Boudreaux designated it independent in 1975. Holy Spirit in Kountze was established in 1986 by Sister Bernita Hessling, OP, a Sinsinawa Dominican, who had earlier worked out of Silsbee conducting a census of Catholic families in Hardin County. It is administered today from St. Mark's.
- Infant Jesus, Lumberton — founded 1948; mission of Silsbee 1971–1975; now an independent parish in the same tri-parish grouping
- Holy Spirit, Kountze — founded 1986; originally administered by Sister Bernita Hessling, OP
- Shared pastor: Father Constantino Barrera
- Shared parochial vicar: Father Senovio Sarabia Jr.
Parish Identity & Community
With bilingual Sunday Mass, around-the-clock adoration, and a tight-knit tri-parish network in the pineywoods of East Texas, St. Mark the Evangelist combines small-parish warmth with rare devotional opportunities. Parishioners come from Silsbee and across Hardin County, and the parish continues the legacy of those Catholic families who first hosted traveling priests in their homes more than a century ago.
- Bilingual (English/Spanish) Sunday Mass
- Perpetual Adoration chapel
- Part of the Diocese of Beaumont
- Tri-parish grouping with Lumberton and Kountze
Visiting & Contact Information
Parishioners and visitors are welcomed at 905 N 9th Street in Silsbee. The parish office can be reached by phone or email for information about Mass intentions, sacraments, or holy hour sign-ups.
- Address: 905 N 9th Street, Silsbee, TX 77656
- Phone: (409) 385-4498
- Email: [email protected]
- Diocese of Beaumont parish page: dioceseofbmt.org/parishes-of-the-diocese/st-mark-the-evangelist-parish-silsbee/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father R. C. Frei1917–
First priest to visit Silsbee Catholics; came from St. Mary Church in Orange.
- Priests of St. Anthony, Beaumont1932–
Took over responsibility for the Silsbee Catholic community; Mass then celebrated in private homes.
- Father Golasinski1978 era
Pastor of All Souls when St. Francis of Assisi in Buna returned to mission status and was attached to the parish.
- Father Ronald Bollicharound 1980
Supervised the building of the new 6,000-square-foot church, dedicated by Bishop Ganter in 1982. The parish was renamed St. Mark the Evangelist during his pastorate.
- Rev. Constantino Barreracurrent
Current pastor; also serves Infant Jesus, Lumberton, and Holy Spirit, Kountze, as part of a tri-parish grouping.