About St. Martin of Tours · Sebastian, Texas
St. Martin of Tours is a Catholic mission church located in the small community of Sebastian, in Willacy County, deep in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. It is served as a mission of Prince of Peace Catholic Church in nearby Lyford, which also serves St. Monica Mission in Santa Monica — together forming a three-church parish family under the Diocese of Brownsville. The community gathers for a bilingual Sunday Mass and an English Tuesday evening Mass, with confession and Eucharistic Adoration offered on Tuesday evenings during the Holy Hour. The mission shares pastoral staff, faith formation programs, and communications with the main parish in Lyford.
- Patron
- St. Martin of Tours
- Rector
- Rev. Joshua A. Carlos
- Diocese
- Diocese of Brownsville
Why belong here
St. Martin of Tours offers a small, bilingual Catholic community right in the heart of Sebastian — a place where English and Spanish-speaking families worship side by side. Weekly life centers on a bilingual Sunday morning Mass and a Tuesday evening English Mass followed by a Holy Hour with Confession and Eucharistic Adoration, making the mission a peaceful anchor of prayer for the whole area. As part of the Prince of Peace family, the mission shares CCD religious education for children, youth, and high-school students, and benefits from shared pastoral staff and outreach coordinated through the Lyford parish office.
Mass times at St. Martin of Tours
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 8:00 AM – 8:30 AM (St. Martin)
- Tuesday: 6:30 PM – St. Martin de Tours (after Mass during Holy Hour)
Adoration times
- Tuesday: 6:45 PM – St. Martin de Tours
About St. Martin of Tours Mission
St. Martin of Tours is a Catholic mission church serving the small community of Sebastian in Willacy County, in the lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. Rather than standing alone as a parish, it is a mission of Prince of Peace Catholic Church in nearby Lyford, sharing one pastor and staff with its sister mission, St. Monica in Santa Monica. The three churches together form one parish family within the Diocese of Brownsville. The mission's mailing and physical address is 345 N. Martin Cavazos St., Sebastian, TX 78569, and it can be reached through the main parish office at (956) 347-3580.
Parish Family: Prince of Peace, Lyford
St. Martin of Tours does not operate as a standalone parish. It belongs to the parish of Prince of Peace in Lyford, which also includes St. Monica Mission in Santa Monica. The official website, lyfordcatholic.org, lists all three churches together, and the same pastoral team ministers across the cluster. The parish office — including the secretary, Director of Religious Education, bookkeeper, and Marketing & Media coordinator — is run out of Lyford.
- Prince of Peace Catholic Church — main parish, 8413 Park Ave., Lyford, TX 78569
- St. Martin de Tours — mission in Sebastian
- St. Monica — mission in Santa Monica, TX
Faith Formation & CCD
Children and youth from St. Martin of Tours participate in the parish's shared CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) program, organized out of Prince of Peace. The program exists to help children embrace the Word of God and lay the foundation of faith to become disciples of Jesus Christ. Classes are provided for Elementary, Middle School, and High School students, each led by a Catechist, and the program is the normal pathway for sacramental preparation in the parish family.
- Elementary CCD classes
- Middle School CCD classes
- High School CCD classes
- Sacramental preparation for First Holy Communion and Confirmation
Pastoral Team & Staff
All three churches of the parish family — Prince of Peace, St. Martin de Tours, and St. Monica — are served by the same pastoral team based in Lyford. The current pastor is Rev. Joshua A. Carlos. Lay staff include the parish secretary, Director of Religious Education, a bookkeeper, and a Marketing & Media coordinator, who together keep the office, faith formation, finances, and communications running across the cluster.
- Rev. Joshua A. Carlos — Pastor
- Marlena Rodriguez — Parish Secretary ([email protected])
- Ruben De La Rosa — Director of Religious Education ([email protected])
- Bookkeeper ([email protected])
- Annie Ortiz — Marketing & Media ([email protected])
Sacraments at St. Martin of Tours
Because St. Martin of Tours is a mission, sacramental preparation is coordinated through Prince of Peace in Lyford, while the sacraments themselves are regularly celebrated at the mission itself. Confession is heard at the mission on Sunday mornings before Mass and again on Tuesday evenings during the Holy Hour. Families seeking Baptism, Marriage, the Anointing of the Sick, or sacramental preparation for their children are encouraged to contact the parish office in Lyford.
- Eucharist — Sunday 8:30 AM (Bilingual) and Tuesday 6:00 PM (English)
- Penance (Confession) — Sunday 8:00–8:30 AM; Tuesday 6:30 PM
- Eucharistic Adoration — Tuesday 6:45 PM
- Baptism, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick — coordinated through Prince of Peace parish office
Church Building & Facilities
The current St. Martin de Tours church was built new in 2016 as a project for the Diocese of Brownsville, with Milnet Architectural Services PLLC as the design firm of record. The project, registered with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, carried an estimated construction value of approximately $650,000 and passed its state accessibility inspection in October 2016. The mission's listed church address on the new property is 435 W. 6th Street, Sebastian, TX 78569, while the parish mailing address remains 345 N. Martin Cavazos St.
- New church constructed 2016
- Owner: Diocese of Brownsville
- Architect: Milnet Architectural Services PLLC
- Estimated project value: ~$650,000
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) accessibility inspection passed October 2016
Stay Connected
Parish news, schedules, and updates are shared through the shared parish website and the parish family's social media channels. The Prince of Peace / St. Martin / St. Monica cluster maintains an active presence on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram under the parish name.
- Parish website: lyfordcatholic.org
- Facebook: facebook.com/POPLyford
- YouTube and Instagram — linked from the official parish website