About St. Thomas More · Chaparral, New Mexico
St. Thomas More Catholic Church (Parroquia Santo Tomás Moro) is a bilingual English-Spanish parish serving the small border community of Chaparral in southern New Mexico, about 25 miles southeast of Las Cruces near the Texas state line. The parish is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces and is currently administered by Fr. José Rodolfo Diaz Yela, OAR, a priest of the Order of Augustinian Recollects, with Consuelo Rentería serving as Office Administrator. From its church at 568 E Lisa Dr., the parish celebrates Mass seven days a week and live-streams services on its Facebook page, and it has long been a hub of food-distribution ministry for one of the poorest parts of Doña Ana County.
- Patron
- St. Thomas More (Sir Thomas More, English lawyer, Lord Chancellor, scholar and martyr)
- Rector
- Fr. José Rodolfo Diaz Yela, OAR (Parish Administrator)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces (Mesilla Valley Vicariate)
Why belong here
St. Thomas More is the Catholic heart of Chaparral — a bilingual parish where Mass is offered in Spanish most days of the week and in English on Sunday morning, and where livestreamed Masses on Facebook mean shut-ins and working families can still pray with their community. The parish is also known in the area for its long-running food-distribution ministry out of its parking lot, making it a natural fit for families who want a church that both worships together and serves the wider community in one of the poorest corners of southern New Mexico.
Mass times at St. Thomas More
Weekly Mass schedule
Parish Identity and Diocese
St. Thomas More Catholic Church ("Parroquia Santo Tomás Moro") is a Roman Catholic parish of the Diocese of Las Cruces, listed in the Mesilla Valley Vicariate alongside neighboring parishes such as St. Anthony (Anthony), Immaculate Conception (Berino), San Luis Rey (Chamberino), and San Martín de Porres (Sunland Park). It is the only Catholic parish physically located in Chaparral, a small border community in southern New Mexico that straddles Doña Ana and Otero counties near the Texas state line. The Diocese of Las Cruces itself was created in 1982 from territory previously administered from El Paso, and has been led since July 2019 by Bishop Peter Baldacchino, its third bishop.
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces
- Vicariate: Mesilla Valley Vicariate
- Sister parishes nearby: St. Anthony (Anthony), Immaculate Conception (Berino), San Luis Rey (Chamberino), San Martín de Porres (Sunland Park)
- Diocesan bishop: Most Rev. Peter Baldacchino (since 2019)
Clergy and Staff
Pastoral leadership at St. Thomas More is provided by Fr. José Rodolfo Diaz Yela, OAR — a member of the Order of Augustinian Recollects (the Augustinian Recollects, OAR), the branch of the Augustinian family that has run parishes and schools in the Americas since 1604. He is listed in diocesan and aggregator directories as the Parish Administrator. Office administration and parish-records work is handled by Consuelo Rentería, the parish Office Administrator.
- Parish Administrator: Fr. José Rodolfo Diaz Yela, OAR (Order of Augustinian Recollects)
- Office Administrator: Consuelo Rentería
- Religious order providing pastoral care: Order of Augustinian Recollects (O.A.R.)
- Deanery/Mission: Augustinian Recollect pastoral presence in the Diocese of Las Cruces
Sacraments at St. Thomas More
As a Catholic parish of the Diocese of Las Cruces, St. Thomas More celebrates the seven sacraments either at the parish church (Eucharist, Baptism, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick) or by referral through the diocese (Confirmation, typically coordinated with the bishop's office). Because the parish does not currently publish downloadable sacrament-preparation packets, parents of children for baptism, engaged couples, and those seeking RCIA are encouraged to contact the parish office directly.
- Baptism (infant and school-age) — contact parish office
- First Eucharist and First Reconciliation — typically via parish religious-education program
- Confirmation — coordinated with the Diocese of Las Cruces
- Marriage — at least six months' notice to the parish, with preparation
- Anointing of the Sick — request through the parish office
- Funeral rites / Catholic burial — coordinated with the parish office
Parish Ministries and Outreach
St. Thomas More is best known in the wider Chaparral community less for its internal programs than for its long-running food-distribution ministry. For at least twelve to fifteen years (as of late 2024), religious sisters have distributed food from the St. Thomas More parking lot — effectively making the parish the longest-standing anti-hunger site in a community that local reporting identifies as one of the most food-insecure in Doña Ana and Otero counties. The current food-pantry ministry on parish grounds operates once a month, with a food truck arriving the first Tuesday of each month at 11:00 AM and families typically lining up early to receive groceries.
- Monthly Food Pantry: 1st Tuesday of each month, 11:00 AM — food truck arrives at the church parking lot (people arrive early to get in line)
- Mobile food distribution ministry: sisters ran regular food giveaways from the parish parking lot for roughly 12–15 years before a stand-alone pantry was begun nearby in 2024
- Facebook livestream ministry: recorded and live Masses reach homebound and working parishioners
- Sunday Mass hospitality: greeting, music, and liturgical ministries at the three Sunday Masses
The Chaparral Community and the Parish's Social Context
Chaparral is a small unincorporated border community that straddles the Doña Ana County / Otero County line, a short distance from the Texas–Mexico border. Local reporting identifies it as one of the poorest areas of southern New Mexico, with food-insecurity rates that advocates say run higher than countywide figures. A new stand-alone food pantry, broken ground for in October 2024 and operated by Casa de Peregrinos in partnership with Roadrunner Food Bank of New Mexico, is meant to relieve pressure on the parish-based distribution — but St. Thomas More's monthly food truck remains a fixture of parish life.
- Location: Doña Ana / Otero county line, southern New Mexico, near the Texas state line
- Median-need area: among the highest food-insecurity zones in the Diocese of Las Cruces
- Stand-alone community food pantry planned at 190 County Line Drive near the Betty McKnight Community Center (groundbreaking October 2024)
- Spanish-speaking majority community: bilingual worship is the daily norm
Visiting St. Thomas More for the First Time
If you are planning to visit, the most useful things to know are simple: there is a daily Spanish Mass Tuesday through Friday at 8:30 AM; on Saturday evening at 6:00 PM; and three Sunday Masses at 8:00 AM (Spanish), 10:00 AM and noon (Spanish). If you cannot be there in person, the parish livestreams every Mass on its Facebook page. The church is at 568 E Lisa Drive, and the parking lot doubles as the staging area for the monthly food pantry on the first Tuesday of each month at 11:00 AM, so arriving a few minutes early is wise on that day.
- Daily Mass Tuesday–Friday, 8:30 AM (Spanish)
- Saturday vigil, 6:00 PM (Spanish)
- Sunday: 8:00 AM (Spanish), 10:00 AM, 12:00 PM (Spanish)
- Can't attend? Watch the livestream on facebook.com/parroquia.santotomasmoro.50
- First Tuesday of the month: food truck in the parking lot at 11:00 AM — arrive early