Welcome to The New Messenger, your weekly archdiocesan newsletter featuring messages from Archbishop Gustavo, news briefs, event previews, and updated information. The Archdiocese of San Antonio's weekly newsletter is published every Friday morning. | | The Holy See | Pope Leo XIV | | Andrea Bocelli says Pope Leo XIV is a beacon to guide us in these complex times | | |
Following the inauguration of the Laudato Si’ ecological village, Italian singer Andrea Bocelli highlighted “the honor of singing before the Holy Father” and said he felt at that moment “the power of divine providence and a renewed serenity in celebrating the universal Church” under the guidance of its “new and steadfast pastor,” Leo XIV.
Borgo Laudato Si’ is an environmental project located in Castel Gandolfo and inspired by Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical “On Care for Our Common Home.”
| | Message from Archbishop Gustavo
García-Siller, MSpS | |
| |  | Each year, the Red Mass gathers lawyers and public servants around the altar of the Lord, to seek wisdom and strength at the beginning of the judicial year. It is not only a civic custom, but a sacred moment when the human pursuit of justice encounters the divine mercy that gives it meaning. The virtue of justice purifies legal reason and elevates it beyond procedure toward compassion and reconciliation. Justice that is only technical can become cold and detached; but justice grounded in love becomes a reflection of God’s own heart — a justice that both restores and heals. The traditional teaching of the Church does not replace positive law, but rather grounds it. It calls for fidelity to law interpreted in light of its purpose and moral coherence, not its circumvention. In our time, the task is immense. Politics and law, rightly understood, are disciplines of Christian love, concrete signs of God’s concern for the human family. To legislate, to apply the law, and to judge in this spirit, is to resist the reduction of persons to statistics, algorithms, votes or resolutions, to affirm instead the sacred dignity of each human being. Natural law — the law written not by human hands but in the heart — remains the compass by which every just system must find its bearings.
| | Around the Archdiocese of San Antonio | | The San Antonio Missions are still open during the federal government shutdown | | Visitors still have access to the centuries-old churches on the grounds of Missions Concepción, Espada, San José, and San Juan. The churches are operated by the archdiocese and all continue to hold Masses. The missions, all located near the San Antonio River from downtown and through the South Side, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and attract more than one million visitors each year. The San Antonio Missions can be visited daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | |
Join Archbishop Gustavo this Sunday for a Mass for Life
Sunday, October 26, 8 a.m. at San Fernando Cathedral
| | Join us for the first archdiocesan Mass for Life this Sunday at San Fernando Cathedral (directions). Archbishop Gustavo will celebrate a Spanish Mass, gathering the faithful to pray for the protection of all life and especially for mothers and their unborn children. As we celebrate Respect Life Month, let us proclaim with confidence that “Life is our sign of hope.” Invite family and friends to unite with the archdiocese in this important celebration of prayer and witness. | |
Mental Health Retreat: To Hope Is to Connect
Saturday, November 15, 10:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. at Church of the Holy Spirit
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“Let us open doors, connect worlds, and there will be hope.” — Pope Leo XIV
Hope grows where we make space for one another. This free retreat offers a welcoming place to find peace, share stories, and connect through prayer and learning. Featuring keynote speaker Deacon Ed Shoener and breakout sessions led by local Catholic professionals in mental health care and ministry, and a closing Saturday Vigil Mass.
| | Catholic Television of San Antonio | | The St. Mary’s University School of Law and the Catholic Lawyers’ Guild of San Antonio welcomed members of the legal community to the 73rd annual Red Mass on October 17 at San Fernando Cathedral. The processional featured representatives from legal organizations. People of all faiths were invited to attend. The Mass was livestreamed by Catholic Television San Antonio. | | Photo: Veronica Markland, Today's Catholic Newspaper | | Día de Los Muertos is a religious tradition that honors the dead, where family, friends, and important figures of the community are remembered, and their lives celebrated through altar displays with traditional religious icons and symbols. El Camino de San Antonio is showcasing ofrendas from the Missions of San Antonio parish communities — Mission Concepción, Mission San José, Mission San Juan, and Mission San Francisco de la Espada — at the Padre Margil Pilgrimage Center at 263 Felisa Street every Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through November 14. | |
Today's Catholic Newspaper
| | GOOD NEWS! For just $20, subscribers receive 21 issues of Today's Catholic Newspaper delivered straight to their mailbox. | |
2025 Catholic Directory
Five Dollar Fall Sale
Limited Quantity
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Five Dollar Fall Directory Sale $5 each!
The directory includes information and Mass schedules for parishes in the archdiocese; updated clergy assignments and a listing of religious orders and organizations; sections dedicated to archdiocesan, educational and health services; and information about archdiocesan priests, deacons, brothers, women religious.
Limited quantity available. To purchase, contact Mandy Franco at (210) 734-1610 or email mandy.franco@archsa.org. Purchase online: https://archsa.regfox.com/directory.
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Treasures of the Archdiocese of San Antonio: A Commemorative Book
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When you buy the commemorative book Treasures of the Archdiocesan of San Antonio you will also receive the Today's Catholic 150th anniversary magazine as an added bonus.
Don't let this opportunity slip away. Purchase your book now and take home or pass along a piece of history!
- Published by Editions du Signe | ISBN: 978-2-7468-4515-2
- 9.65” x 11.81”
- Soft cover – glossy paper – 440 pages
- Full color throughout
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Seeking to live in sacramental communion with one another, the Archdiocese of San Antonio exists to make disciples and missionaries of Jesus Christ to prepare for the promise of Eternal Life.
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