Parish Identity, History & Campus

Why We Are Here

The Christian community of St. Cyril of Alexandra stands within the Catholic Tradition, and is therefore entrusted to treasure and proclaim the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those with whom we come in contact. We dedicate ourselves to God's grace at work in our midst creating the liturgical and social environment within which the message of the Gospel can become the experience of true freedom in Jesus Christ. Our mission is to release into society lives within which the truth, affirmed in doctrine, has become a living testimony that will excite and confound the world until it comes to its senses. -Fr. Mario J. Arroyo, Pastor

History of the Parish

Any story of a church, such as St. Cyril, lies embedded in the story of the people who form the living foundation stones of that community. It is their story, and it continues to live through the spirit of those founding people. The story begins in June 1963, when Bishop W. J. Nold defined a very large area in west Houston as St. Cyril of Alexandria parish. With its new pastor, Fr. E.T. Quinters, a Catholic community of 300 families was born and their story began. This "country" group celebrated and worshiped together at a small chapel called St. Raphael's; it was to be their church until a new church building could be constructed at Westheimer and Rogerdale. Dirt roads, temporary buildings, and Vatican II all formed the character of the people of St. Cyril's in this mission-like period. Difficulties, frustration, joys and hopes brought these people together in faith and worship. The bond was a pioneer spirit that prevailed.

The first building, which housed the sanctuary, classrooms and meeting rooms, was dedicated in 1967. The story of the people expanded as everyone learned to deal with the teachings of Vatican II and to sense and accept their responsibilities for the church. Fr. Bill Steele came to St. Cyril's as pastor in 1975. Soon the parish had its first assistant pastor and two deacons. The community had over 1,200 families, 35 standing committees, and numerous smaller subcommittees, each answering the call to be one Body in their own way. All these stories were centered in the love of God. They became a part of a larger faith community through programs to aid the hungry, a covenant with our sister parish (St. Joseph's) and Westheimer Ministries and countless other programs of sharing and caring throughout Houston. The community's ecumenical spirit was born at this time.

A new sanctuary was finished in 1981 and dedicated by Bishop John Morkovsky on January 18, 1981. The entire parish was extremely proud of this new facility, where over 900 faithful could worship at the same time at each of six different Sunday liturgies. Msgr. Ed Randall became the third pastor at St. Cyril's in 1982. But with all this newness in the sanctuary, the story remains centered on the people as we continued to grow in number to over 9,221 people with 3,359 families. The story is told daily with over 117 ministerial activities that encompass a major portion of the parish family. At this point in the history of the parish, there were more Eucharistic ministers and adults working in education than the total number of original parishioners!

As any story grows longer, it continues to change and become more complex. Characters move in and out of the narrative, and new situations begin to change the direction of the plot. However, usually the focus remains on the same basic things. Thus it has been at St. Cyril’s. Msgr. Randall continued as pastor of St. Cyril’s until the summer of 1998, when Bishop Joseph Fiorenza transferred him to St. Michael’s parish and sent us Fr. Mario Arroyo as our fourth pastor. Fr. Mario quickly began to make his mark on the life of the parish and its ministry. We grew from seven to eight masses per weekend, adding another mass in Spanish to our schedule. The courtyard enclosed by the parish buildings and the fences that connect them was landscaped and a variety of statues were added. The part of the property between the church and Westheimer also received a “face lift”, with landscaping and a new marquee-style sign (pictured on the homepage of this website) identifying the church and allowing us to place messages for the public to view as a form of outreach. We expanded our music ministry to encompass five separate choirs in a variety of styles. Ministry to teens was begun using the Life Teen program and has prospered. In our sanctuary, we now have a large baptismal font (See Photo Gallery, picture labelled Baptismal Font), which has been used during the Easter Vigil for baptizing adults by immersion, and at which we celebrate all our parish baptisms. Our crucifix is modeled on the crozier of Pope John Paul II and has become the focus of the sanctuary. The older baptismal font, located near the Rogerdale entrance to the church, was replaced by a hospitality desk, where people get information about the many parish programs. In addition, we now use two multimedia screens during our Sunday worship. 

As of July 1, 2024, Fr. Christopher Shackelford is the pastor of St. Cyril of Alexandria. He is returning after being away for about 22 years! We have two deacons and a hardworking staff who support our pastor in serving the community of Houston in the Westchase area. As always, the focus is on our ever-changing and ever-growing community. In the of the Spring 2005 we numbered 13,246 people in 4,760 families. At the start of 2025, St. Cyril numbers 16,065 people in 5,730 families. St. Cyril of Alexandria continues to be one of the largest and most diverse parishes in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston!

The challenge ahead is to foster our individuality in our Catholic Christian journey, build communities, support each other in spiritual and material need, and come together more strongly in common worship and liturgical celebration. We are working to spread His Word with our words, actions, prayers, and joy as we show our love for Jesus Christ.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Patron Saint

The patron saint of St. Cyril of Alexandria parish lived from 376 to 441 A.D. in the city of Alexandria in Egypt. He became the patriarch of that city in the year 412. He was declared a doctor of the church in the year 1882 by Pope Leo XIII. St. Cyril is best known for his eloquent defense of the title, "Theotokos" (God-Bearer) for the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Council of Ephesus, held in the Basilica of St. Mary, formally defined that "Theotokos" was an appropriate title for Mary. In the year 1964, Mr. Gregory Walsh, then a member of the parish, was commissioned by Fr. E.T. Quinters to do a painting of St. Cyril. The painting (See photo in gallery called St. Cyril) captures our patron saint in one of his more representative actions. It depicts him expounding reasons why the title, "Theotokos" is a theologically sound one for the Virgin. In the words of the artist: "He is depicted acting impulsively, for that was his nature. The light of the Holy Spirit descends upon him, and illuminates the Basilica. The patriarch of Alexandria has swirled around and dramatically points heavenward as he implores the assembled bishops to accept the dogma. His notes fall to the floor, and his Gospel Codex perches perilously close to the edge of the altar." The patron and intercessor of St. Cyril of Alexandria parish gives to the people of this community a rich heritage and a model of vigorous faith. His great devotion to the Eucharist and to Mary, Mother of God, is an inspiration to the parish named after him. The painting hangs in the Narthex of the church, just outside the Sacristy.

Statuary

Theotokos

Rose Van Vrankan, a Houston artist, was commissioned by the parish to create the bronze Theotokos sculpture that stands in the Theotokos Garden area located outside the large window on the West Side of the Narthex. Rose Van Vrankan has many sculptures and graphics on display throughout the country. The sculpture is called the "Theotokos" in honor of the Marian title defended by St. Cyril of Alexandria at the Council of Ephesus in the year 431 A.D. The sculpture (See photo gallery, picture called "Theotokos") expresses the mystery of the woman chosen to be the "God-Bearer" or, in Greek, "Theotokos". This sculpture and garden are dedicated to the honor of our patron saint, Cyril of Alexandria. Since St. Cyril was so devoted to this title, "Theotokos", nothing could honor him more than a sculpture which expresses this mystery. The decrees of the Council of Ephesus state the following: "For a union of two natures has taken place: hence, we confess one Christ, one Son, one Lord. In accordance with this union without confusion, we profess the holy Virgin to be Mother of God (Theotokos), for God the Word became flesh and was made human and from the moment of conception united to himself the temple he had taken from her."

Holy Family

The Theotokos Garden has been incorporated into the larger landscaping that has been done on our parish courtyard, which centers around the statue of the Holy Family by Timothy Smaltz, a modern Canadian sculptor of Christian images. The entire courtyard has been named the Holy Family Courtyard in honor of the statue (See photo gallery, picture called "Holy Family").

Juan Diego

Another image recently added to the courtyard is the image of Juan Diego, the Mexican peasant to whom Our Lady of Guadalupe revealed herself. This statue shows Juan Diego with the tilman or cloak that he wore when Mary appeared to him. The tilman is depicted with the image of Our Lady on it, and is filled with the roses that Juan Diego was given as proof to the bishop that the apparition was authentic.

Christ The Beggar

The statue of Christ the Beggar which was also created by Timothy Smaltz, was placed outside the doors to the parking lot in 2004. Per the artist’s instructions, the statue is placed on the ground near the main entrance to the church, to more readily resemble an actual person sitting and begging. The statue, in fact, is so realistic that the parish has received calls from people wondering who “the man sitting by the door” is!

The Bells of St. Cyril's

Atop the large bell banner or tower of the church, are five cast bronze bells. The bells were given names when they were blessed on December 28, 1980. They are: William (1,200 lbs., A-Natural), John (84 lbs., C-Sharp), Charles (290 lbs., E-Natural), David (220 lbs., F-Sharp) and Maryanne (154 lbs., A-Natural). The names given to the bells are the names of the five children of the family which donated them to the parish. The bells are used to call the people to worship. They are reminders of God's presence in our community and summon us to prayer. They ring at all Sunday masses, as well as the Angelus each day. The bells (Photo gallery, "Bells") came from the I.T. Verdun Company in Cincinnati, Ohio, and were cast in the Petit-Fritsen Foundry in Aarle-Rixtel, Holland. This is the oldest and largest foundry in the world and has been in operation since 1660. In 2004, after a 10-year period during which the bells did not function due to failure of the electrical system controlling them, repairs and replacements of components were made, and the bells once again summon the parish to worship and announce our presence to the larger Westchase District community.

The Pipe Organ of St. Cyril's

St. Cyril's pipe organ was completely handcrafted by Visser-Rowland Associates of Houston, Texas. These master organ builders have captured a beautiful mixture of old and new in this unique masterpiece created for our church. Thirteen groups of pipes, three manual keyboards and the pedals give our organ a wide range and diversity of musical sounds to add to our liturgies. Our organ was over two years in construction. Raw materials were selected from around the world to achieve the quality and appearance desired for this classic instrument.

The Tabernacle and The Loaves and Fishes Window

The tabernacle is located in the chapel where weekday masses are celebrated, near the Loaves and Fishes stained glass window. This window depicts the story of Jesus feeding the crowds with "five loaves of barley bread and two fish" (John 6:8). The young man is offering the loaves of bread and fishes to Jesus. The small windows in the chapel were designed to match the color of the large window and provide a devotional environment for prayer and meditation. Daily mass and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament are held in this chapel.