St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church — Attraction in Austin

I've always been religious and brought up Catholic but we all know how easy it is to get caught up in our own lives and make excuses about attending church regularly, along with the apprehension finding a new church if you've recently relocated to an area.

My hesitation about attending services at St Catherine's immediately disappeared after my first service. I felt welcomed by fellow churchgoers as well as clergy and I really enjoy the small intimate feeling of the church.

I've attending mass at rural Texas counties in small wood churches with creaky floors as well as congregations so huge it's almost like attending mass at the Vatican but I always felt a disconnect, like I was a visitor.

What I love about St. Catherine's is its intimate feel. As though you really feel the presence of the Holy Spirit and one of the main reasons is the clergy especially my favorite; Father Pat.

Attending and listening to one of his services seems as though he's truly our Shepard and we're his flock and his devotion is to love and guide us especially during these turbulent times.

I know you might be saying to yourself how the Church is hypocritical etc., because of all the controversies but remember the Church is human and humans aren't infallible. When you localize the church you attend, with all its struggles, along with all the beautiful message Christ wants to share with you, it's easy to fall back in love with going to mass and being a sort of born again Catholic.

I know it's opened my eyes and made me have hope for the future. If you've been baptized Catholic the glory of Christ is forever a part of you. Give St. Catherine's a chance and I can guarantee you'll be filled with the Holy Spirit once again like I...

I'm an ex-Catholic man (don't ask), but I regularly go to the attached chapel, adjacent to and connected to the main church, to do some praying and connect with my relatives who have passed away. My Mother's memorial Mass a couple years ago was also at a St. Catherine of Siena Church, but out of state, so the local Austin one has a sentimental connection for me. I really like that the chapel is almost always unlocked, so I can go in and pray before working out at Gold's Gym around the corner on William Cannon. It's a beautiful place, and I have a semblance of peace after spending ten minutes or so to pray and meditate in one of the quiet pews. I'm really grateful that, although they've barricaded the main church behind a new glass wall/partition, they've still left the intimate chapel accessible. It means a lot to me, my...

If I could give this zero stars I would. I’m so sadden by my experience here. I was trying to get my marriage recognized in the Church but the woman I spoke to (Sue, the business admin) was unprofessional, rude, and so judgmental. I don’t go to Church right now and when I told her this she proceeded to ask me in a nasty tone “then why do you want to get married in the Church?” I was taken aback as I would think the Church would want to leave a door open for anyone to come back to the institution. She also went on to assume I wasn’t a practicing Catholic, which was so upsetting. I emailed Father Pat to let him know of my experience and of course, no response. They certainly don’t embody God’s love. I don’t recommend this Church. Protect your heart and find...