About St. Vincent de Paul · Roby, Missouri
St. Vincent de Paul Mission Church is a small Catholic mission in the unincorporated community of Roby, Missouri, situated in the rolling Ozark hill country of northwestern Texas County. Founded in 1960 by a handful of Catholic families who initially gathered in homes for Mass celebrated by the pastor of Willow Springs, the mission was given its own dedicated church building (a renovated former Christian church) in 1974, financed jointly by a Catholic Extension Society grant and a diocesan loan under Bishop William Baum. The mission is currently a dependent mission of St. Mark Parish in Houston and is served from there, offering Saturday-evening Mass and Saturday-evening confession in a quiet, rural setting that the diocese describes as 'about 30 to 40 miles from everywhere.'
- Established
- 1960
- Patron
- St. Vincent de Paul
- Rector
- Rev. Rayappa Chinnabathini
- Diocese
- Diocese of Springfield–Cape Girardeau
Why belong here
St. Vincent de Paul is a small, country-mission parish that offers Catholics who live in the rural, sparsely populated stretch of northwestern Texas County — 'about 30 to 40 miles from everywhere,' in the diocese's own description — the chance to worship close to home. Rooted in a 1960 community that started as a dozen or so families gathering for in-home Mass with Father Landewe of Willow Springs, the mission is shepherded today from St. Mark Parish in Houston and offers a Saturday-evening Vigil Mass and a short window of confessions before Mass in an intimate, easily accessible rural setting. It is a good fit for Catholic families in the Roby–Houston–Fort Leonard Wood corridor who want a small, traditional mission community under the pastoral care of a larger parish.
Mass times at St. Vincent de Paul
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 5:30 – 5:45 p.m.
History of St. Vincent de Paul Mission, Roby
St. Vincent de Paul Mission Church was born in 1960 out of the simple stubbornness of about a dozen Catholic families scattered across the rural northwest corner of Texas County. With no resident priest nearby, they invited the pastor of Sacred Heart in Willow Springs, Father Robert Landewe, to drive in and celebrate Mass in their homes. Within the same year, Bishop William Baum of the then-Diocese of Springfield–Cape Girardeau gave permission to buy a former Christian church just outside the village of Roby. Catholic Extension Society funds combined with a low-interest diocesan loan paid for the purchase and the renovation. The renovated church was dedicated in 1974 and entrusted to the care of what is now St. Mark Parish in Houston, where the mission has remained since 1975.
- Founded 1960 as a home-Mass community
- Property purchased: former Christian church, just outside Roby
- Funding: Catholic Extension Society grant + diocesan loan
- Renovated and dedicated in 1974
- Placed under the pastoral care of St. Mark Parish, Houston (1975)
Parish life & the small Catholic community
As a mission of St. Mark Parish, St. Vincent de Paul offers a single weekly Saturday-evening Vigil Mass for the Catholic families who live along the rural Highway 17 / Route 32 corridor between Houston and Fort Leonard Wood. The mission's small size and rural setting mean that sacramental preparation, faith formation, and other parish activities are organized through the larger St. Mark community in Houston, with office hours Tuesdays and Fridays 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Saturday Vigil Mass at 6:00 p.m.
- Confession before Mass (5:30 – 5:45 p.m.)
- All other business handled through St. Mark Parish, Houston
Pastor and pastoral team
St. Vincent de Paul does not have its own resident priest. It is served by the pastor and deacon of the parent parish, St. Mark in Houston. The current pastor is Rev. Rayappa Chinnabathini; the deacon serving the cluster is Deacon Mike Evers.
- Pastor: Rev. Rayappa Chinnabathini (from St. Mark, Houston)
- Deacon: Mike Evers
- Sister mission: St. John the Baptist Mission Church, Licking
Roby and the surrounding Texas County community
Roby is a small unincorporated community whose post office has operated since 1883; the community takes its name from a local storekeeper, Cyrus H. Roby. It sits in the Ozark hills of northwestern Texas County, near the Mark Twain National Forest, and provides a quiet rural setting for the mission's small Catholic community.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Robert Landewe1960 –
Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Willow Springs; celebrated the first in-home Masses for the small group of Catholics in North Texas County that became St. Vincent de Paul Mission.
- Rev. Fr. Paul McLoughlin1975 –
First resident pastor of St. Mark Parish, Houston, after it was elevated from mission to parish status; given care of St. Vincent de Paul Mission Church in Roby.
- Rev. Rayappa Chinnabathinito present
Current pastor of St. Mark Parish, Houston, and of St. Vincent de Paul Mission Church, Roby (and St. John the Baptist Mission Church, Licking); assigned as part of the diocese's pastoral assignments.