About St. Mary Star of the Sea · Freeport, Texas
St. Mary Star of the Sea is a bilingual Roman Catholic parish in Freeport, Texas, on the Gulf Coast in Brazoria County. It belongs to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and serves a community of English- and Spanish-speaking Catholic families along the Texas coast. Weekend Masses are offered in both English and Spanish, and the parish has been a fixture of local Catholic life since the mid-1920s, when Freeport's maritime and industrial workforce first organized a parish there.
- Established
- 1924
- Patron
- Our Lady, Star of the Sea (Stella Maris)
- Rector
- Fr. Steven Tran
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
Why belong here
St. Mary Star of the Sea welcomes English- and Spanish-speaking Catholic families into a small, close-knit coastal parish where every member can be known by name. Daily Mass is celebrated four days a week, plus a Saturday Vigil and two Sunday liturgies (one in Spanish), and the parish also offers Thursday Eucharistic Adoration, the Sacrament of Reconciliation before the Vigil and before the Spanish Mass, and ongoing faith formation for children and adults. For Catholics on the upper Texas Gulf Coast who want a parish rooted in traditional devotion — Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet, Our Mother of Perpetual Help, First Fridays — and attentive sacramental ministry, St. Mary Star of the Sea is a faithful home.
Mass times at St. Mary Star of the Sea
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Thursday 5:30 PM – 6:00 PM (before the Spanish Mass)
- Saturday 4:30 PM – 5:00 PM (before the Vigil Mass)
- Saturday 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM (also listed in some directories)
Adoration times
- Thursday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Spanish Mass to follow)
Parish Identity and History
St. Mary Star of the Sea is a bilingual Catholic parish on the upper Texas Gulf Coast, founded to serve the Catholic families of Freeport — a working port town on the Brazos River near the Gulf of Mexico. Its earliest parish registers survive from 1924, and GCatholic gives 1926 as the parish's formal founding year. The parish belongs to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
- Founded 1924 (parish registers begin); GCatholic lists 1926 as the formal year of establishment.
- Patroness: Our Lady, Star of the Sea (Stella Maris) — the traditional patron of seafarers.
- Jurisdiction: Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
- Parish registers, 1924–1957, are preserved at the FamilySearch Library.
Parish Life and Ministries
The parish combines traditional Catholic devotions with a bilingual liturgical and formation life. Faith formation for children is coordinated through the parish office, and a roster of weekly devotions — Rosary for Peace, Our Mother of Perpetual Help, First Fridays, and the Divine Mercy Chaplet — runs alongside daily Mass.
- Faith Formation (CCD / children's religious education) — coordinated by Becki Pena ([email protected]).
- Tuesday Rosary for Peace at 6:00 PM before the 6:30 PM Mass.
- Wednesday Our Mother of Perpetual Help Devotion after the 8:30 AM Mass.
- First Fridays: Holy Rosary, Mass, and breakfast fellowship.
- Friday Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3:00 PM.
Sisters of Loretto and the Parish School
From 1949 to 1965 the Sisters of Loretto — a teaching order founded in Kentucky in 1812 — staffed St. Mary Star of the Sea's parochial elementary school, one of several Texas schools the order served during the 20th century. Their tenure in Freeport is documented in the Texas State Historical Association Handbook entry on the Sisters of Loretto.
- Sisters of Loretto staffed St. Mary Star of the Sea School, 1949–1965.
- The school has since closed; the parish itself continues to serve Freeport-area Catholic families.
Other Devotions and Services
In addition to daily Mass, the parish offers a small but steady rhythm of traditional Catholic devotions each week.
- Tuesday 6:00 PM – 6:20 PM: Rosary for Peace (Mass follows).
- Wednesday 9:00 AM – 9:15 AM: Our Mother of Perpetual Help Devotion.
- First Fridays 8:00 AM – 8:20 AM: Holy Rosary, followed by Mass and a breakfast.
- Friday 3:00 PM – 3:20 PM: Divine Mercy Chaplet.
Parish Clergy and Staff
The parish is led by its pastor and supported by two retired deacons and a small office staff who handle secretarial duties, faith formation coordination, and bookkeeping.
- Deacon Wally Shaw — Retired.
- Deacon Felipe Garza — Retired.
- Cynthia Morales — Secretary ([email protected]).
- Becki Pena — Faith Formation Coordinator ([email protected]).
- Melissa Rivera — Bookkeeper ([email protected]).
Visit, Contact, and Directions
St. Mary Star of the Sea is located in Freeport on West 6th Street. The parish office can be reached by phone during the week, and the parish keeps an active Facebook page for announcements and community news.
- Address: 1019 W 6th Street, Freeport, TX 77541.
- Phone: (979) 233-5271.
- Email: [email protected].
- Website: http://stmarystarofthesea.org/.
- Official Facebook: facebook.com/p/St-Mary-Star-of-the-Sea-100064332025704/.
- From Highway 288, take FM 1495 toward the coast, then turn onto West 6th Street.