St. Patrick’s Mexico Misson was started after John Brost made a t rip to the area just south of Mercedes, Texas in 2001. He had a desire to lead a team from St. Patricks’s to build houses for the homeless in the Mexico colonias of El Hardin, Nebraska & Canales.

The first trip from St. Patrick’s came in November 2002, with 14 missionaries going from St. Patrick’s and Sacred Heart. During the trip, two, 12’ x 16’ hours were built. The house is built on a concrete slab that is poured by the new homeowners prior to our arrival. Together, we construct the house with 2’ x 4’ boards for walls, two windows, and two doors made out of the 4’ x 8’ exterior siding panels. The roof is made using very thin galvanized metal nailed to the roof trusses built by the team. The home isn’t very fancy by USA standards, but to the new owners it is the best!

From this first trip, we continued to go one time each year until the number of missionaries grew to 17-25 per trip. In 2006, we started having two trips per year. We were going in March and November with anywhere from as few as five to as many as 28 missionaries.

We have had a priest with us on all but one trip and have always had Mass every day we were there. Mass is either in the church in Mexico where we are building, or if a church is not available, we have Mass on the worksite.

Currently, we are going in February and November each year. Before COVID, we had made 33 trips – from November 2002 to February 2020, with 28 missionaries assisting. With such a large group, it was decided to limit the number going to the first 21 people who responded to John.

Our buildings have also grown from the original 12’ x 16’ house to the current 12’ x 24’ house. They still have two doors and two windows. Each mission trip team will build a different number of houses depending on how many missionaries are on the trip. If you are thinking about going just remember that NO construction skills are required. An open mind and a good heart are the key qualifications!

We leave on a Saturday and return the following Saturday. Dates are set each year for February and November. These are published in the pastorate bulletin and will be posted on the pastorate website and social media. This year’s November trip is scheduled from the 8th to 15th. For more information, please contact John Brost at jbroast60@gmail.com or call him at 765-366-5329.

We hope that you will join us for this self-giving and life-changing mission experience!