About St. Peter · Rockport, Texas
St. Peter Catholic Parish is a small Roman Catholic parish serving the Rockport–Fulton area of the Texas Gulf Coast in the Diocese of Corpus Christi. Founded in 1983 to minister to the Vietnamese Catholic community that resettled on the coast after the fall of Saigon in 1975, it remains the spiritual heart of Aransas County's Vietnamese-American Catholics. The parish is bilingual (Vietnamese and English) and is presently led by Father Tung (TJ) Tran, a U.S. Navy chaplain and former 'boat person' himself. After Hurricane Harvey destroyed the original sanctuary in August 2017, parishioners worshipped for more than eight years in tents, a rented warehouse and a former gymnasium before Bishop Michael Mulvey consecrated a new church on All Saints' Day, November 1, 2025.
- Established
- 1983
- Patron
- St. Peter the Apostle
- Rector
- Rev. Tung T. Tran, CHC, USN (Parochial Administrator)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Corpus Christi
Why belong here
St. Peter is the spiritual home of Aransas County's Vietnamese Catholic community and welcomes anyone who wishes to worship in Vietnamese or English. With Mass offered in both languages, a Saturday Vigil Mass, daily weekday Masses, and a priest who is himself a former refugee and Navy chaplain, the parish offers a rare combination of deep cultural heritage and faithful Catholic life on the Texas coast. Visitors will find a community shaped by resilience — rebuilding after Hurricane Harvey — and a pastor whose vision is for the church to be 'a home for anybody, everybody,' with a new garden park and Stations of the Cross open to all for quiet reflection.
Mass times at St. Peter
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- 30 minutes before Sunday Masses
- 15 minutes before weekday Masses
Parish History — Vietnamese Catholics on the Texas Gulf Coast
St. Peter Parish was established by Bishop René Gracida of the Diocese of Corpus Christi on December 23, 1983 as the 'St. Peter Indochinese Catholic Pastoral Mission,' to serve the Vietnamese Catholics who had begun settling on the Texas Gulf Coast after the fall of Saigon in 1975. Many of the founding families came from coastal Vietnam and had been fishermen there; they found familiar waters around Rockport–Fulton and built a livelihood in the shrimp industry, often pooling family savings to collectively buy boats. In 1984 Bishop Gracida designated St. Peter an independent (quasi-) parish, and the present sanctuary on Farm-to-Market Road 1781 was dedicated in February 1989, when the parish served nearly 500 members. Over the following decades the community's economic base shifted as the Gulf shrimping industry declined: families moved into nail salons, teaching, engineering and small business, and their American-raised children increasingly chose English as their primary language. The parish gradually transitioned toward a bilingual model of worship and faith formation to serve both first-generation immigrants and their descendants.
- Decree of Erection issued by Bishop René Gracida: December 23, 1983
- Designated an independent (quasi-) parish: 1984
- Sanctuary on FM 1781 dedicated: February 1989
- Founded to serve Vietnamese 'boat people' who resettled in the Rockport–Fulton area after 1975
Hurricane Harvey and the Long Road to a New Home
On August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey came ashore at Rockport with winds near 130 mph. St. Peter's sanctuary and rectory were declared a total loss; remarkably, a statue of the Blessed Mother outside the church, the crucifix behind the altar, and statues of the Holy Family tucked in the Cry Room all survived intact. Bishop Michael Mulvey, touring the damage shortly after the storm, called the destruction 'speechless. Absolutely speechless.' For more than eight years the predominantly Vietnamese congregation worshipped as exiles — under tents, in a rented warehouse, and in a former gymnasium — while the Diocese of Corpus Christi worked to find a permanent home. That home finally came in 2025, when the diocese acquired the former Blue Holiness Lutheran Church property at 2922 FM 1781, about a quarter mile down the road from the destroyed sanctuary. The building was transformed into a worship space that incorporates restored stained-glass windows and devotional imagery salvaged after Harvey. Bishop Mulvey consecrated the new St. Peter Church and celebrated the first Mass there on All Saints' Day, November 1, 2025 — a moment the parish and Rockport's 50-year-old Vietnamese Catholic community marked together.
- Hurricane Harvey landfall at Rockport: August 25, 2017
- Original sanctuary and rectory: total loss
- Temporary worship: tents, rented warehouse, former gymnasium (2017–2025)
- New property acquired: 2922 FM 1781 (former Blue Holiness Lutheran Church)
- Consecration and first Mass in new church: November 1, 2025 (All Saints' Day), celebrated by Bishop Michael Mulvey
Mass and Sacramental Schedule
St. Peter Parish offers Mass in both Vietnamese and English, with a Saturday Vigil Mass and two Sunday Masses, plus daily weekday Masses. Confession (the Sacrament of Penance) is offered 30 minutes before each Sunday Mass and 15 minutes before each weekday Mass; Holy Day Masses are celebrated at 8:00 AM and 5:30 PM. Because the parish transitioned into its newly consecrated home on November 1, 2025, parishioners and visitors are encouraged to call the parish office to confirm the current schedule before attending.
- Saturday Vigil: 5:30 PM (Vietnamese)
- Sunday: 10:00 AM (Vietnamese) and 5:30 PM (English)
- Weekdays — Monday and Friday: 8:00 AM; Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 5:30 PM
- Holy Days: 8:00 AM and 5:30 PM
- Confession: 30 minutes before Sunday Masses; 15 minutes before weekday Masses
Parish Ministries and Faith Formation
Under Father Nguyen and continuing under Father Tran, St. Peter has rebuilt a robust set of lay ministries after Hurricane Harvey. These include the parish choir, altar servers, greeters, lectors (Sunday readers), and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. A bilingual religious-education / Sunday school program was started in English for the parish's young people, while preserving Vietnamese-language formation for older members. Father Nguyen's approach — that 'the Church belongs to God and He is God of everyone' — shaped a ministry culture in which every parishioner is encouraged to take part.
- Choir
- Altar servers
- Greeters
- Lectors / readers
- Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion
- Religious education / Sunday school (English and Vietnamese)
Community Life and Outreach
St. Peter is more than a place of worship — it is a cultural anchor for Rockport's Vietnamese-American Catholics. The parish's vision for its newly consecrated home at 2922 FM 1781 extends beyond Sunday services to a peaceful garden park with shaded seating and Stations of the Cross, open to anyone who wishes to come for quiet reflection. Father Tran has also spoken about cooperation with the neighboring Lutheran congregation and other community partners, from disaster relief to common fundraising — 'working for a common cause, a good cause.' For older generations who are not fluent in English, the bilingual parish is a vital space to worship in their heart language; for their children and grandchildren, it is a link to their heritage.
- Garden park and Stations of the Cross planned on parish grounds
- Cooperation with neighboring Lutheran congregation and local partners
- Welcomes both Vietnamese-speaking and English-speaking Catholics
- Rooted in the 50-year-old Vietnamese Catholic community of the Rockport coast
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father John Tran Nguyen, OFMJuly 2016 – c. 2017
Franciscan priest (Order of Friars Minor); came to the United States as a 'boat person' in 1989, settling in California; ordained July 2006; came from a family of 13 with three priests and two religious sisters. Began the parish's bilingual Mass and religious-education program after Harvey, and led the community in temporary worship sites until his departure.
- Rev. Tung (TJ) Tran, CHC, USNcurrent
Former U.S. Navy chaplain who fled Vietnam by boat as a child. Leads the parish in its new consecrated church (November 1, 2025).