About St. Therese Chapel · Coral Bay, Saint John Island
St. Therese Chapel is the planned second Catholic church on the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a mission chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church (OLMC) in Cruz Bay that is being built to serve the Coral Bay community on the island's eastern end. Since April 2014, OLMC clergy have celebrated Mass for Coral Bay Catholics in temporary venues — first at John's Folly Learning Institute, then under a tent on the purchased parcel after Hurricane Irma. Construction of the permanent chapel, which is intended to seat 150 people and anchor a wider Catholic Charities and community complex, broke ground in October 2023.
- Established
- 2014
- Patron
- St. Thérèse of Lisieux (St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face)
- Rector
- Rev. Fr. Anthony Abraham
- Diocese
- Diocese of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands
Why belong here
St. Therese Chapel exists because Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church answered a simple need: Catholics on the eastern end of St. John deserve a permanent church close to home. The community began with weekly Mass at John's Folly Learning Institute in 2014, survived Hurricane Irma together under a tent on the future site, and is now building a chapel and community complex that will seat 150, host Catholic Charities' outreach, and serve Coral Bay residents and the many tourists and second-home owners who return year after year. Joining in its construction and worship is a way to belong to a parish that is literally being built — physically and spiritually — by the people who pray there.
Mass times at St. Therese Chapel
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturdays at 5:00 p.m. (at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Cruz Bay); also after Masses or by appointment
Our Story — From John's Folly to a Permanent Chapel
The Coral Bay mission of Our Lady of Mount Carmel began in April 2014, when the parish rented John's Folly Learning Institute and began celebrating Sunday Mass for the eastern-end community. The parish framed the effort as 'new evangelism,' reaching Catholics who lived in Coral Bay as well as the many tourists and second-home owners who returned year after year. Hurricane Irma destroyed the rented venue in 2017, and in February 2018 OLMC purchased 2.83 acres in the heart of Coral Bay with the vision of building St. Therese Chapel and an adjoining multi-purpose hall for all of St. John.
- April 2014 — first Sunday Mass celebrated at John's Folly Learning Institute
- September 2017 — Hurricane Irma destroys the John's Folly venue
- February 2018 — 2.83 acres on Kingshill Road purchased
- Roughly 2020–2023 — Sunday and Tuesday Mass celebrated under a tent on the future chapel site
- Late 2022 — Major CZM Permit and zoning fix approved by the V.I. Legislature and Governor Bryan
- October 1, 2023 — groundbreaking ceremony led by Governor Albert Bryan Jr. and Bishop Jerome Feudjio
The Chapel Complex — What's Being Built
The full Coral Bay project is a four-to-five-year buildout being implemented in phases, with St. Therese Chapel constructed first. The chapel is intended to seat 150 people and to appeal both to the Coral Bay community and to visitors to the island. The wider complex will include a community center, a nuns' residence, and a base of operations for Catholic Charities of the Virgin Islands, which will provide meal services and transitional housing for displaced people.
- St. Therese Chapel — seats 150; first structure to be built
- Community Center — for town meetings, before- and after-school children's programming, exercise classes, and parish banquets
- Catholic Charities Center — full commercial kitchen serving meals daily; reception area, bathrooms, and a transitional-housing unit accessible to the disabled
- Second-story transitional housing — eight bedrooms configurable for families
- Nuns' residence — two-bedroom home with loft, designed for two to three nuns year-round
- Site infrastructure — parking for 46 cars, cistern, accessory road, wastewater treatment plant, utilities
- Design goals — highly storm-resistant, low-maintenance, net-neutral energy
Clergy, Staff & Building Committee
St. Therese Chapel is served by the clergy and staff of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church. The project itself is led by Deacon Michael Jackson Sr., who has acted as project manager through the land purchase, zoning fight, permitting, and groundbreaking.
- Rev. Fr. Anthony Abraham — Pastor, Our Lady of Mount Carmel (also Vicar for Clergy for the diocese)
- Deacon Michael Jackson Sr. — Project Manager for the St. Therese Chapel complex
- Simonia Dagou — Administrative Assistant, OLMC
- Digna Doway — Building Committee Member
- Gregory Edward — Building Committee Member
- Deborah Maximin — OLMC Youth Group Coordinator
- Lisa Etre — Newsletter contact ([email protected])
- Brenda Rector Wallace — Newsletter team
- Julie Vazquez — Newsletter Graphic Design
Building Campaign — How to Help
Our Lady of Mount Carmel is actively raising funds to complete St. Therese Chapel. The published budget line items on the parish website cover land, sitework, foundation and slab, design fees, the building shell (roof, windows, contractor's overhead, cabinetry, mechanical/electrical/plumbing), and the interior. Donations are tax-deductible and can be made by check, PayPal, or online.
- Land — $250,000
- Sitework, Foundation & Slab — $244,210
- Design Fees — $175,125
- Building Construction Cost — $340,903
- Contractor's Overhead — $212,895
- Windows — $207,868
- Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing Systems — $208,375
- Roof — $376,034
- Cabinetry / Interior line — $325,766
- Make checks payable to 'Our Lady of Mt Carmel Catholic Church' with memo 'St. Therese Building Campaign' or 'Coral Bay Chapel'
- Mail to: P.O. Box 241, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands 00831-0241
- PayPal: Our Lady of Mount Carmel ([email protected])
Coral Bay Community & Catholic Charities
Beyond Sunday worship, the chapel complex is designed to meet a real lack of public facilities on the eastern end of St. John. OLMC has been active in providing services for the homeless and the needy on the island, and the new Catholic Charities center will formalize that work with daily meals, transitional housing, and family-shelter space.
- Meal services through a full commercial kitchen
- Transitional housing for individuals and families
- Community center available for town meetings, before- and after-school children's programs, exercise classes, and parish banquets
- Outreach to homeless and needy on St. John (ongoing through OLMC)
Patron — St. Thérèse of Lisieux, 'The Little Flower'
The chapel is named in honor of St. Thérèse of Lisieux (1873–1897), the French Carmelite nun whose 'little way' of spiritual childhood made her one of only four female Doctors of the Church. Her feast day is October 1, and she is patron of the missions, of France, of florists, of pilots, and of those suffering from tuberculosis. Her autobiography, Story of a Soul, has shaped Catholic spirituality for more than a century.
- Born January 2, 1873 in Alençon, France
- Entered the Carmel of Lisieux at 15 by special permission of Pope Leo XIII
- Died of tuberculosis September 30, 1897, at age 24
- Canonized 1925 by Pope Pius XI; declared Doctor of the Church in 1997 by Pope St. John Paul II
- Feast day: October 1
- Patron of the missions, of France, florists, pilots, and those suffering from tuberculosis
Visit & Contact
St. Therese Chapel is being built at Parcel 6R-2C Estate Carolina, on Kingshill Road in Coral Bay, just past Love City Market on the eastern end of St. John. In the meantime, Mass is celebrated at the site under a tent on Sundays at 12:30 p.m. and Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. Parishioners and visitors can reach the project through Our Lady of Mount Carmel's rectory.
- Address: Parcel 6R-2C Estate Carolina, Kingshill Road, Coral Bay, St. John, USVI 00830
- Phone (OLMC Rectory): 340-776-6339
- Fax: 340-693-7685
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://olmcvi.org/st-therese/
- Parent parish: Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, Cruz Bay
- Diocese: Diocese of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands (Bishop Jerome Feudjio)
- Facebook: OurLadyofMountCarmelstjohn