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Cristo Rey Catholic Church

Cristo Rey Catholic Church has served the East Austin Community since 1950.  Nearly 3,500 people attend the church’s nine Sunday services.  Father Jayme Mathias was named pastor of the Cristo Rey community on April 6, 2009.
 
Having previously served as the President of San Juan Diego Catholic High School, “The School That Works!”, Father Jayme has a great love for education and is presently initiating a number of educational programs at the church. On September 1, the parish opened “Sí Se Puede,” a learning center for pre-school children (ages 2-4) and their mothers. Through a partnership with the Austin Independent School District and Austin Community College, the mothers learn English, life skills and parenting skills. Across the hall, their children learn social and developmental skills and prepare to enter kindergarten at or above grade level. Another program, the “Salesian Oratory of St. John Bosco,” began on September 8 and provides after-school tutoring and activities for children (from kindergarten through 5th grade) on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
 
Father Jayme recently created the position of “Director of Faith & Education” at Cristo Rey.  Sister María Rodríguez, a Salesian Sister, serves in this position and oversees the Salesian Oratory as well as a new “Liturgy of the Word for Children.” A native of the Dominican Republic and a long-time educator, Sister María serves as the parish’s liaison to the AISD’s Faith & Education Collaboration. She also writes a weekly column on education for the parish’s newspaper (of which 5,000 copies are weekly distributed).
 
An early participant in the Faith & Education Collaboration, Father Jayme shares, “The collaboration of our faith communities and our neighborhood schools is exciting! Working together as churches and educators, we are finding new and more effective ways to motivate students and to help their parents understand the key role that they play in their children’s education.”