Welcome!
Welcome to St Catherine of Siena Parish! If you are looking for a church to enliven and deepen your faith, be part of a friendly, easy-going community, or would like to get involved in one of our ministries or begin a new one, I believe you may well have found the parish for which you’ve been looking!
Introduce yourself to me in the narthex before or after Mass – I’m always the first to arrive and the last to leave. I have a very good memory for faces, and in time, I will even remember your name! To get to know your fellow parishioners, come to our Saturday evening refreshments immediately after the Mass or Sunday breakfast after the 8.30 Mass. This is usually held on the weekend of the first Sunday of the month during the school year. Notification of any and all activities is in the parish bulletin which you’ll find here online. This allows us to keep our tradition of keeping Mass completely announcement-free.
As part of our charitable outreach, we donate 10% of our annual income to charities nominated by the parishioners during Lent each year. We have a food drive for a local shelter every month, and as you get to know us, you’ll discover all the other ways we are church, live our faith and serve our neighbors.
Father Niall
Weekly Message from Father Niall
Dear Friends,
This weekend, August 17-18, we extend a very special welcome to Sister Carol Mayes, OP; she will be giving the Annual Archdiocesan Mission Appeal at all our weekend Masses. I think many of you know Sr. Carol; she has worked in many capacities here in the archdiocese, especially at St. Cecelia’s Parish.
Following is a note from the Dominican Sisters to the parish:
“The Dominican Sisters of Houston are most grateful for the opportunity to speak to your parishioners about our mission school, San Vicente de Paul Bethania, located in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Guatemala City.
I thought I would provide you with a little background on our mission school just for your information. The sisters have sponsored San Vicente de Paul since 1984, and our Sister Miriam Oliveros, OP is head of school. The neighborhood in which our school is located is plagued with drugs and violence, but against tremendous odds, our students continue to succeed. The school serves about 540 children from prekindergarten three through the sixth grade. Sr. Miriam and her teachers stress to both families and students the importance of an education to end living in poverty. The school supports families with counseling, food, clothing, and medical and financial help and gives breakfast to every child who needs one.
The school's success is measurable with over 98% of our students graduating and attending high school to learn a skill or certification such as teaching. The graduation rate for students attending public schools in the same area of Guatemala City is sadly 30%. No family can pay the actual cost of educating their children at San Vicente, but they pay what they can. The Dominican Sisters of Houston raise the funds necessary to run the school through mission appeals, grants, and individual donations.
Thank you again for hosting the sisters to share the story of San Vicente with your parishioners.
Laura Henderson, Advancement Director,
Dominican Sisters of Houston”
Your support of their mission school in Guatemala City is most appreciated!
God Bless,
Fr. Niall
About St. Catherine Catholic Church
Our History
On May 14, 1975, Bishop John Morkovsky issued a formal Declaration establishing the parish of St. Catherine of Siena to help provide for the corporal and spiritual welfare of the growing west Houston community with Fr. Cliff Natho being assigned as the founding pastor.
Until the completion of construction (3 years later), Sunday Masses were celebrated in neighboring churches and schools, including Congregation Beth Am Synagogue, Spring Oaks Junior High, and Fairhaven United Methodist Church.
The initial construction was completed in 1978, and included the community center (which doubled as the sanctuary), the offices and classrooms. The present sanctuary was completed in 1993 and stands as a living testament to the generous spirit of the people who gather to worship God under the patronage of St. Catherine of Siena. At the 25th anniversary celebration in 2000, our beautiful prayer plaza garden was dedicated by Auxiliary Bishop Curtis J. Guillory.
Born small and committed to growth in the Holy Spirit, the parish family of St. Catherine of Siena continues to blossom in what was once a distant Spring Branch prairie but is now part of Houston’s ever-expanding metropolis. From the beginning, this community has fostered a loving, welcoming family spirit. And as with most families, the sharing of food occupies a very important place in all our gatherings; so don’t be startled if someone offers you a cup of coffee and a doughnut. It’s just who we are.
Our Patron
St Catherine of Siena (1347 – 1380)
Born in 1347, St. Catherine of Siena was the twenty-third child born to Jacopo and Lapa Benincasa. Recognized as a lovely and highly intelligent youth, she was filled with a joyous spirit from an early age.
However, no one expected this lovely young girl to become one of the great mystical doctors of the Church. Yet, it was early in life that she demonstrated an uncommon desire to surrender herself completely to Christ. It is due to this desire and her willingness to live it completely that she is remembered and celebrated today. At the age of eighteen, she entered the Dominican Third Order and spent three years in seclusion and prayer. A group of followers gathered around her—men and women (lay and religious) – and an active public apostolate grew out of her contemplative life.
But it was during the Great Schism (beginning in 1378) which split the allegiance of Christendom between first two, then three popes that Catherine became most notable. She spent the last two years of her life in Rome, in prayer and pleading on behalf of the unity of the Church and arguing for the legitimacy of Urban VI. In 1380, she died at the age of 33. She was canonized in 1461.
Along with Theresa of Avila, St. Catherine was named a doctor of the church in 1970 by Paul VI. Her most famous work, The Dialogue, contains an ecstatic vision of a conversation between a soul (who rises to heaven) and God. This mystical work is often called her spiritual testament.
She is the patron of Italy and Europe.