About St. Timothy · San Antonio, Texas
St. Timothy Catholic Church is a bilingual Catholic parish located at 1515 Saltillo Street on San Antonio's historic West Side, in the heart of the city's largest Mexican American barrio. Established on April 30, 1954, it belongs to the Archdiocese of San Antonio and is notable as the home of the only Tridentine (Traditional Latin) Mass celebrated in the Archdiocese of San Antonio. The parish offers Mass in English, Spanish, and Latin, and runs a food pantry along with various parish ministries serving its surrounding community.
- Established
- 1954
- Patron
- St. Timothy
- Rector
- Rev. Juan Carlos Morales Tejada
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of San Antonio (Metropolitan Archdiocese)
Why belong here
St. Timothy is a worshiping West Side parish where Mass is offered in English, Spanish, and Latin, making it one of the few places in San Antonio where the Traditional Latin (Tridentine) Mass is celebrated every week as part of the regular parish schedule. The community runs a food pantry, hosts monthly potluck gatherings after the Tridentine Mass, supports a seminarian (Joseph Gibson) discerning with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, and gathers for processions such as the Eucharistic procession on the Feast of Christ the King. It is a small, family-friendly parish with a strong bilingual identity and a deep connection to the Mexican American Catholic heritage of San Antonio's West Side.
Mass times at St. Timothy
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- 1st Friday of the month: 6:00 PM – 6:30 PM
- 1st Saturday of the month: 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
- Saturdays: 4:30 PM – 5:00 PM
- Sundays: 11:45 AM – 12:15 PM
- Or by appointment
Adoration times
- Thursday: 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM
About St. Timothy Catholic Church
St. Timothy Catholic Church is a bilingual Catholic parish serving San Antonio's West Side from its home at 1515 Saltillo Street in the 78207 ZIP code. Founded in 1954, it is a worshiping community rooted in the Mexican American Catholic heritage of the barrio and today is widely known across the archdiocese as the home of the only regularly scheduled Tridentine Mass in the Archdiocese of San Antonio. The parish offers Mass in English, Spanish, and Latin, regular confession times, Thursday Eucharastic adoration, and a food pantry, alongside a community life that includes monthly potlucks and neighborhood processions.
History & West Side Roots
St. Timothy was established on April 30, 1954, during a wave of parish foundations on San Antonio's West Side that responded to the rapid growth of the city's Mexican American and Mexican immigrant population. Its history is intertwined with that of the barrio itself: clergy and lay faithful from the parish have contributed to scholarship and activism documenting and shaping West Side Catholic life. The parish's archival and oral history is part of the broader San Antonio and Texas Católico project at St. Mary's University's Center for Catholic Studies, and parishioners have been active in parish-based community organizing through COPS (Communities Organized for Public Service).
- Founded April 30, 1954 (per GCatholic)
- Documented through St. Mary's University's 'San Antonio and Texas Católico' Westside Parish Project
- Long-standing tradition of parish activism through COPS
Clergy & Staff
St. Timothy is currently served by Fr. Juan Carlos Morales Tejada as Pastor/Administrator. A native of El Salvador ordained in 2016, Fr. Juan Carlos came to St. Timothy on July 1, 2018, after his first assignment as Associate Pastor at San Fernando Cathedral, and was incardinated into the Archdiocese of San Antonio on February 27, 2023. The parish has been served over the years by priests including Fr. Jaime Diaz and Fr. Michael DeGerolami, and by deacons such as Antonio Caballero, a retired Army Staff Sergeant and Korean War veteran who gave 25 years of diaconal service to the parish. The parish is also helping to support seminarian Joseph Gibson, a pre-seminary candidate with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.
- Rev. Juan Carlos Morales Tejada — Pastor/Administrator (2018–present)
- Rev. Michael DeGerolami — former pastor
- Rev. Jaime Diaz — former pastor
- Deacon Antonio Caballero — 25 years of service at St. Timothy
- Joseph Gibson — pre-seminarian (ICKSP), supported by the parish
The Tridentine Mass at St. Timothy
St. Timothy is the home of the Archdiocese of San Antonio's only regularly scheduled Tridentine Mass. Celebrated in Latin, the Mass uses the form that was used throughout the Church worldwide before the liturgical changes of Vatican II took effect in 1969. The parish notes differences from the Ordinary Form — the priest faces the crucifix rather than the people, the Mass is quieter with most responses made by altar servers, and Holy Communion is received differently. The Tridentine Mass community meets once a month after Mass for a potluck lunch and welcomes visitors, families with small children, and anyone curious about the Traditional Latin Mass.
- Sunday Tridentine Mass at 12:30 PM
- 1st Friday Latin Mass at 7:00 PM
- 1st Saturday Latin Mass at 12:10 PM
- Monthly potluck after Mass — visitors welcome
- Children welcome; seating area behind the tabernacle available for parents with small children
Parish Ministries & Outreach
The parish supports a number of ministries and outreach efforts rooted in West Side Catholic tradition. Its food pantry and volunteer opportunities are a regular point of contact with the surrounding neighborhood, and the parish community supports seminarian Joseph Gibson's formation with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest through prayer and fundraising. Parishioners have historically been active in COPS (Communities Organized for Public Service) and in liturgical ministries such as lector, extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, and altar service.
- Food pantry / community outreach
- Seminarian support — Joseph Gibson (ICKSP)
- Parish activism through COPS
- Liturgical ministries (lector, EMHC, altar servers)
- Monthly potluck and parish fellowship
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Jaime Diaz
Listed as parish contact in the National Catholic Community Foundation directory of ministries
- Rev. Michael DeGerolami
Former pastor; later contributed to St. Mary's University's San Antonio and Texas Católico Westside Parish Project on 'Clergy and the Westside'
- Rev. Juan Carlos Morales Tejada2018–present
Born in San Jose Villanueva, El Salvador (1985); ordained June 18, 2016; first assignment as Associate Pastor at San Fernando Cathedral; became Pastor/Administrator of St. Timothy on July 1, 2018; incardinated to the Archdiocese of San Antonio on February 27, 2023