About St. Mary Magdalene - Brackettville · Brackettville, Texas
St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish in Brackettville, Texas — the county seat of Kinney County — serving the small historic community on U.S. Highway 90 west of San Antonio near Fort Clark. It is the oldest church in Brackettville, established in 1875, and today is a bilingual (English and Spanish) parish of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio. The parish also oversees the Mission Church of St. Blaise in nearby Spofford, extending its reach across this rural stretch of the Texas–Mexico borderlands.
- Established
- 1875
- Patron
- St. Mary Magdalene
- Rector
- Father Sonny Arayanto, CICM
- Diocese
- Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio
Why belong here
St. Mary Magdalene offers a faithful, bilingual Catholic home in a small West Texas ranching community — the oldest church in Brackettville and a parish that still shepherds the Mission Church of St. Blaise in Spofford. Worshippers find a full weekly schedule with Mass in both English and Spanish, weekly Eucharistic Adoration, Saturday confessions, and the warm continuity of a parish whose sacramental records stretch back to 1875. For Catholics in Kinney County and the surrounding ranch country, it is the historic heart of local Catholic life under the care of the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
Mass times at St. Mary Magdalene - Brackettville
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Adoration times
- Wednesday 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
History of St. Mary Magdalene Parish
St. Mary Magdalene is the oldest church in Brackettville, founded in 1875 as the frontier settlement grew around Fort Clark and the San Antonio–El Paso Road. The Handbook of Texas confirms the parish's founding date, and Catholic parish registers for St. Mary Magdalene survive from 1875 through 1957. The parish has ministered continuously to the ranching and military community of Kinney County for nearly 150 years.
- Founded 1875 — Brackettville's first church.
- Parish registers on file with FamilySearch, 1875–1957.
- Designated Jubilee Holy Door Church, December 2015.
Parish Identity & Patron
The parish takes its name from St. Mary Magdalene, the disciple of Christ whom the Gospel names as the first witness to the Resurrection. The parish's feast is celebrated on July 22 in the Roman calendar. St. Mary Magdalene's bilingual character reflects the borderland heritage of Brackettville and Kinney County.
- Patron: St. Mary Magdalene
- Feast Day: July 22
- Bilingual: English and Spanish
Clergy & Pastoral Leadership
The parish is served by priests assigned through the Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio. As of the Archdiocese's 2026 clergy assignments, Father Sonny Arayanto, CICM (a member of the Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae), is assigned as pastor effective July 1, 2026. Pastors who have served the parish in recent decades include Father James Ikeatuegwu, who was pastor during the 2015 Jubilee of Mercy, and Father Antonio O. Moreno, who was parish priest in 2012.
- Current pastor: Father Sonny Arayanto, CICM (effective July 1, 2026)
- Recent pastor: Father James Ikeatuegwu
- Earlier pastor: Father Antonio O. Moreno
Mission Church of St. Blaise, Spofford
Parish directories note that the Parish of St. Mary Magdalene also oversees the Mission Church of St. Blaise in Spofford, Texas — a small community just south of Brackettville. The mission extends the parish's pastoral reach across this rural stretch of Kinney County.
- St. Blaise Mission, Spofford, Texas — served by St. Mary Magdalene parish.
Archdiocese & Deanery
St. Mary Magdalene is a parish of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio and is one of the parishes of the Uvalde Rural Deanery. In December 2015 Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller designated the church as the Holy Door for the deanery during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, and the ten priests of the deanery gathered at the parish for a day of prayer, Exposition, and confession.
- Diocese: Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio
- Deanery: Uvalde Rural Deanery
- Archbishop at time of Jubilee: Gustavo García-Siller
Visit & Contact
The parish church stands on South Ann Street in central Brackettville, just off U.S. Highway 90. Visitors are welcomed by phone, on Facebook, or in person; the parish office can be reached at (830) 563-2487.
- Address: 301 S. Ann Street, Brackettville, TX 78832
- Phone: (830) 563-2487
- Website: http://www.stmmbrackettville.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smm78832/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father James Ikeatuegwu
Pastor in 2015 during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy; later assigned to Sacred Heart Church in Del Rio effective July 1, 2026.
- Father Antonio O. Moreno
Parish priest in 2012, with scheduled Sunday Spanish Mass at 9:00 a.m., English Mass at 11:00 a.m., and Tuesday confession/Mass schedule.