About St. Martin de Porres · Corrigan, Texas
St. Martin de Porres is a Catholic mission church in the small East Texas town of Corrigan, part of the Diocese of Beaumont and served as a mission of St. Joseph Parish in Livingston. The mission was canonically established in 1971 and serves a predominantly Spanish-speaking community, celebrating one Sunday Mass each week at 1:00 PM. It is named for St. Martin de Porres (1579–1639), the Dominican lay brother from Lima, Peru, who is honored as a patron of social justice and of those who serve the poor and sick — a fitting patron for a mission that grew out of one sister's visit to a town where there was no Catholic church and roughly fifty families were sending their children to a Baptist Sunday school for any religious education at all.
- Established
- 1971
- Patron
- St. Martin de Porres (1579–1639), Dominican lay brother from Lima, Peru; patron of social justice, of mixed-race people, barbers, public health workers, and those who serve the poor and sick.
- Rector
- Rev. Paul Kahan, SVD (Divine Word Missionary), Pastor of St. Joseph, Livingston, with oversight of St. Martin de Porres, Corrigan
- Diocese
- Diocese of Beaumont
Why belong here
St. Martin de Porres is a small, mission-sized Catholic community in the heart of the East Texas piney woods, with deep roots in the Hispanic Catholic families of Polk County. It offers a weekly Sunday Mass in Spanish, the regular availability of Confession before Mass, and a tight-knit fellowship in which families support one another — much like the original group of about fifty families who, together with Sister Ramona Johnson, OSF, literally built this church out of a donated house in 1985. For Catholics in and around Corrigan who want a parish of their own within the Diocese of Beaumont, it is a place where the patron's example of humble service to the poor is lived out in the life of the community itself.
Mass times at St. Martin de Porres
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 12:30 PM – 12:50 PM (immediately before the 1:00 PM Mass)
History of St. Martin de Porres Mission, Corrigan
The mission was canonically erected in 1971 in the Diocese of Beaumont and began its active, physical life in 1980 through the pastoral work of Sister Ramona Johnson, OSF. Visiting Corrigan, she found roughly fifty Catholic families with no Catholic church in town and children attending the local Baptist Sunday school for any religious education. She rented a closed school building for $25 a month and the families raised funds and prepared it themselves; Bishop Ganter blessed and dedicated this Catholic Center on May 10, 1980. In 1985 a donated house was cut into two pieces and moved onto ten acres on Highway 287, with twenty feet added on to become the church; the other half was converted into classrooms, meeting rooms, a kitchen, and Sister Ramona's office. The mission's annual feast day of St. Martin de Porres is celebrated each November. By the time of the 2019 diocesan directory, the mission had 107 registered families and remained attached to St. Joseph Parish, Livingston.
- 1971 — Mission canonically erected (Diocese of Beaumont directory).
- 1980 — Sister Ramona Johnson, OSF, begins Catholic ministry in Corrigan; Bishop Ganter blesses the Catholic Center, May 10, 1980.
- 1985 — Donated house moved onto ten acres on Highway 287 and converted into church + parish hall/classrooms.
- November each year — Feast of St. Martin de Porres celebrated with the parish community.
- 2019 diocesan directory — 107 registered families; mission of St. Joseph, Livingston.
Our Patron: St. Martin de Porres
The mission is named for St. Martin de Porres (1579–1639), the Dominican lay brother from Lima, Peru, who is honored as a patron of social justice, of mixed-race people, of barbers, of public health workers, and of those who care for the poor and sick. He is widely remembered for his humility and his hands-on service to the most marginalized people of colonial Lima. The choice of patron reflects the mission's own story: a small community that built its own church out of a donated house so that its children could receive a Catholic religious education. The feast of St. Martin de Porres (November 3) is celebrated by the parish each November.
- Dominican lay brother, b. 1579 in Lima, Peru — d. 1639.
- Patron of social justice and of those who serve the poor and sick.
- Feast day November 3; celebrated locally in November each year.
Parish Staff & Leadership
St. Martin de Porres is staffed as a mission of St. Joseph Parish, Livingston, and shares clergy and office staff with that parish. The Diocese of Beaumont priest directory currently lists Rev. Paul Kahan, SVD as Pastor of St. Joseph, Livingston, with pastoral oversight of the Corrigan mission; a parochial vicar assists him at both parishes. The 2019 diocesan directory recorded Rev. Tarsisius Puling, SVD as Pastor and Rev. Abelardo Gabriel, Jr., SVD as Parochial Vicar, with parish secretary Isis Martin, bookkeeper Mary Ann Wilson, and director of religious education Sylvia Vitela. Rev. Clifton Labbé, SVD also appears on diocesan records as having served both St. Joseph, Livingston and St. Martin de Porres, Corrigan. The mission's modern founding is credited to Sister Ramona Johnson, OSF.
- Rev. Paul Kahan, SVD — Pastor (current, per Diocese of Beaumont priest directory)
- Rev. Tarsisius Puling, SVD — Pastor (2019 diocesan directory)
- Rev. Abelardo Gabriel, Jr., SVD — Parochial Vicar (2019 diocesan directory)
- Rev. Clifton Labbé, SVD — previously assigned to St. Joseph / St. Martin de Porres
- Sister Ramona Johnson, OSF — foundress / pastoral minister (1980)
- Isis Martin — Parish Secretary (2019)
- Mary Ann Wilson — Bookkeeper (2019)
- Sylvia Vitela — Director of Religious Education (2019)
Sacraments at St. Martin de Porres
The mission celebrates the Sacraments of the Eucharist, Reconciliation, and Baptism on a regular schedule. Marriage arrangements and other pastoral needs are coordinated through the St. Joseph, Livingston parish office (the same phone number is published for both parishes).
- Eucharist — Sunday 1:00 PM; Holy Days 8:00 PM
- Reconciliation — Sundays 12:30–12:50 PM
- Baptism — first Saturday of February, April, June, August, October and December (per 2019 diocesan directory)
- Marriage — arrangements through St. Joseph, Livingston parish office
Religious Education & Faith Formation
Religious education for the children of the mission has been central to St. Martin de Porres since the very beginning — Sister Ramona Johnson's original visit to Corrigan was prompted by finding fifty families whose children had no Catholic catechesis available. Today, faith formation classes for the parish children are held in the classroom wing of the parish complex (the second half of the donated 1985 house), and the parish employs a Director of Religious Education (Sylvia Vitela, per the 2019 directory).
- Children's catechesis / Catecismo held in the parish classroom wing
- Director of Religious Education coordinates programs (2019: Sylvia Vitela)
- Origin in 1980: response to children with no Catholic religious education available locally
Community Life & Feast Day
St. Martin de Porres is a small, family-centered mission whose community identity has been shaped by the act of building the church together. Each November the mission gathers to celebrate the feast day of its patron, St. Martin de Porres, in a tradition that recalls both the saint and the laypeople who first brought Catholic life back to Corrigan in 1980. The mission's predominantly Spanish-speaking identity gives it a distinctive cultural character within the Diocese of Beaumont.
- Annual Feast of St. Martin de Porres — celebrated in November each year
- Spanish-language Catholic community in the East Texas piney woods
- Mission of St. Joseph Parish, Livingston (Diocese of Beaumont)
Parish Office, Contact & Visiting
Because St. Martin de Porres is staffed as a mission of St. Joseph Parish, the same phone line, office hours, and sacramental records are shared. The mailing and administrative address is in Livingston, while the worship site itself is on Highway 287 in Corrigan.
- Address: 104 Gossett Road (Hwy 287), Corrigan, TX 75939
- Phone: (936) 967-8385 (St. Joseph, Livingston parish office)
- Alternate Corrigan line: (936) 398-2807
- Fax: (936) 967-4657
- Email: [email protected]
- Office hours: Tuesday–Friday, 8:30 AM–12:00 PM and 1:00–4:30 PM (St. Joseph, Livingston office)
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 930, Livingston, TX 77351-0930
Parent Parish: St. Joseph, Livingston
St. Martin de Porres is a mission of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Livingston, the largest city in Polk County and, at the time the Diocese of Beaumont was created in 1966, the largest city in the new diocese with no Catholic presence. The former Catholic structure of St. Lawrence Mission in Woodville was moved to Livingston in 1970 and renamed St. Joseph, dedicated by Bishop Vincent Harris on September 13, 1970 with twelve founding families. Today St. Joseph Parish shares its priests, religious education programs, and outreach with the mission in Corrigan — including a food pantry for the needy in Livingston.
- Parent parish: St. Joseph Catholic Church, Livingston, TX
- Dedicated September 13, 1970 by Bishop Vincent Harris
- Shares clergy, office, phone, and outreach with the Corrigan mission
- St. Joseph pastor (current): Rev. Paul Kahan, SVD
Diocese of Beaumont
St. Martin de Porres is one of the missions and parishes that make up the Diocese of Beaumont in Southeast Texas. The diocese was established in 1966 and covers a largely rural, predominantly Protestant part of East Texas where Catholic communities have historically been small and widely scattered. The mission in Corrigan belongs to this same missionary tradition.
- Diocese of Beaumont (established 1966)
- Southeast Texas — part of the 'Bible belt' region
- Mission church served from St. Joseph, Livingston
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Sister Ramona Johnson, OSF (pastoral minister / foundress)1980–1985+
Franciscan sister who founded the Catholic Center in Corrigan in 1980 and oversaw its conversion into a permanent mission church in 1985.
- Rev. Tarsisius Puling, SVDas of 2019 directory
Listed as Pastor of St. Martin de Porres Mission in the 2019 Directory of the Diocese of Beaumont.
- Rev. Clifton Labbé, SVDprior assignment
Listed on the Diocese of Beaumont organizations page as serving St. Joseph, Livingston and St. Martin de Porres, Corrigan.
- Rev. Paul Kahan, SVDcurrent
Current Pastor of St. Joseph, Livingston, with pastoral oversight of the Corrigan mission, per the Diocese of Beaumont priest directory.