A Mountain Parish for Year-Round Residents and Visitors
St. Theresa Catholic Church sits at 1041 Lyons Avenue in South Lake Tahoe, a few blocks from the lake and named after its founding pastor. The parish belongs to the Diocese of Sacramento and serves roughly 1,100 registered families who live, work, and play at elevation in the Sierra Nevada, alongside the steady stream of vacationers who find the church on summer and winter weekends. What sets the parish apart is the way it weaves two languages into one Catholic community: weekend Mass is offered in English and Spanish, faith formation is bilingual, and a quinceañera is treated with the same care as a First Communion. Outreach through the Bread & Broth hot meal program and a Back Door Pantry reaches well beyond the registered parish.
Mass, Adoration, and Confession on the Week's Rhythm
The week at St. Theresa is built around the Eucharist. Daily Mass is celebrated Monday through Friday at 12:00 p.m. in the church. Each weekday is bracketed by a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration from 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and again from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., so that working parishioners and visitors can stop in before or after the noon Mass. The Saturday Vigil Mass is offered at 5:30 p.m., and Sunday brings two English Masses at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. followed by a 7:00 p.m. Mass in Spanish.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is heard on Saturdays from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the church, during the weekday Holy Hours, or by appointment through the parish office at (530) 544-3533. Masses are livestreamed, and a video archive of previous livestreams is available through the parish Facebook page.
A Bilingual Community: English and Spanish Side by Side
The parish traces its present character to a wave of Hispanic and Filipino workers who moved into the Lake Tahoe region decades ago and helped fill the pews of St. Theresa. Today, Sunday Mass in Spanish at 7:00 p.m. is a regular part of parish life, and the parish describes its Spanish ministry as bilingual in English and Spanish for sacramental preparation, bulletins, and the quinceañera rite. One of the most popular annual gatherings is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in December.
The quinceañera ministry follows the rite described by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. A young woman must have received the Sacraments of Christian Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and First Communion), participate in Sunday Mass, and reserve the church at least six months in advance. The quinceañera and her court attend three spiritual preparation meetings with the priest, with a rehearsal and the availability of the Sacrament of Confession before the celebration. A quinceañera booklet, available from the parish office, guides families through the readings and the flow of the rite.
Sacraments from Baptism to Anointing of the Sick
St. Theresa celebrates all seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. Baptisms are scheduled several times a year with required baptismal classes for parents; guidelines and a 2026 class schedule are available in printable form. First Communion is prepared through the parish Faith Formation program and includes a mandatory retreat and rehearsal at Grace Hall before the celebration, with a published dress code that calls for white, modest attire and a church-provided candle. Confirmation preparation follows a two-year program, with a published schedule and registration form.
Weddings are guided by the Diocese of Sacramento. Couples bring recent copies of Baptismal, First Communion, and Confirmation certificates, complete three-part marriage preparation that includes an online course, a Prepare-Enrich premarital inventory, and a Natural Family Planning introductory session, gather witness testimony, obtain a California marriage license, and submit the full packet at least three months before the wedding so it can be sent to the diocesan Chancery for approval. Reconciliation is available as described above, the Anointing of the Sick is offered to any parishioner facing serious illness or surgery by calling the parish office, and Holy Orders is presented as a vocation page.
Funerals are coordinated through the parish office and follow Catholic practice. The parish supplies a long list of approved Old Testament, New Testament, and Gospel readings along with responsorial psalms, and a downloadable funeral information form is posted online.
From a Snowbound Town to 1,100 Families
Fewer than twenty Catholic families lived in South Lake Tahoe in 1951 when the Diocese of Sacramento created a new parish and named Father Patrick Joseph Lyons as its founding pastor. Father Lyons, an Irish priest ordained at All Hallows College in Dublin, received permission from the U.S. Forest Service to build a small church on Forest Service land where the present church now stands. The first Sunday Masses were celebrated at the American Legion Hall until a permanent church was built in 1953, with an outside seating area to accommodate the summer crowds. Lyons Avenue is named for the young pastor, who died of leukemia on February 29, 1956, at the age of thirty-eight, and was buried in the Priests' Section of Saint Mary Cemetery in Sacramento.
Under the second pastor, Father John Grace, the parish grew with the town. Construction of St. Theresa Catholic School began in the spring of 1960 and opened that September. The Immaculate Heart sisters staffed the school until its unexpected closure in 1969. When Msgr. Murrough Wallace arrived as pastor in 1993, parishioners pushed to reopen the school, which welcomed kindergarten through eighth grade in 1994. Little Flower pre-school followed in 2003. Both schools ultimately closed in 2014.
By the late 1990s, the old church could no longer hold the parish. In April 2000, Bishop William Weigand dedicated the present church building, which was completed without debt thanks to a successful capital campaign and years of careful saving. A year later, the parish marked its fiftieth anniversary. Today, with 1,100 registered families, the parish continues to invest in its facilities through the ongoing Building Our Future campaign, which seeks at least $150,000 in gifts and pledges for grounds renewal and parish life.
Bread and Broth, and the Back Door Pantry
Outreach is a defining feature of St. Theresa. The parish hosts Bread and Broth, a charitable, all-volunteer, non-profit organization whose mission is to ease hunger in the Lake Tahoe South Shore community. Bread and Broth serves a hot dinner on Mondays from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the parish, with an online presence and Facebook page for supporters and volunteers. The Back Door Pantry, located at the side entrance of Grace Hall, distributes groceries on Fridays from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The parish also runs a Respect Life ministry that offers practical help to any woman facing a crisis pregnancy. Hospitality and Helping Hands round out the social side of parish life, with the Hospitality Committee organizing events, community meals, and ministry involvement in the spirit of building what the parish calls a true parish family. A Bereavement Committee supports families through loss.
Five Choirs and a Music Ministry
Music is treated as a ministry of its own at St. Theresa. The Music Ministry leads the parish in worship and praise at the different liturgies, with a goal of inspiring fuller participation in the celebration of the Word and the Most Holy Eucharist. New members are encouraged to join any of the choirs, and reading music is not required.
The Saturday Vigil 5:30 p.m. Mass features the Folk Choir, led by Karin Holmes. On Sunday, a Traditional Choir leads the music at the late morning Mass and a Contemporary Choir sings at the noon Mass, both under Music Director Maureen Moe Leonard. The 7:00 p.m. Spanish Mass is served by the Spanish Choir under Georgillis Ortega. A Children's Choir sings monthly at the Sunday late-morning Mass and at special liturgies. The choirs keep their own Facebook page where schedules and announcements are posted.
Faith Formation, RCIA, and Taizé Prayer
The parish Faith Formation program offers religious education for school-age children and is overseen by Director of Religious Education Danette Winslow. Catechists and staff work to pass on Catholic teaching, encourage fuller participation in the liturgy, and build households of faith. Sacramental preparation for First Communion, Reconciliation, and Confirmation is coordinated through this office.
Adults exploring the Catholic faith walk the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults together. The RCIA process is designed for unbaptized adults, Christians from other denominations who wish to enter full communion, and baptized Catholics who have not yet received Eucharist or Confirmation. Inquirers meet the pastor or Danette Winslow to begin.
During Advent and Lent, the parish offers a Taizé prayer service modeled on the ecumenical community in Taizé, France. The meditative, candle-lit service pairs simple chants with extended silence, prayer, intercessions, and readings. No practice is necessary, and the parish notes that it is a time to rest in God.
Devotions to Our Lady of Perpetual Help are observed on Wednesdays after the noon Mass, with the Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet, and novena prayers. The Novena to St. Theresa is prayed in the days around her feast. The parish also subscribes to Formed.org, an online library of Catholic video series, movies, eBooks, and audio programs, which any parishioner can register for using the parish code QKK7X3.
Knights of Columbus, Little Way Fellowship, and the Wider Parish
The Knights of Columbus council at St. Theresa gathers Catholic men for fellowship, charity, and parish service. Members cook for special occasions, support parish activities when asked, and host pancake breakfasts on the first Sunday of each month. They describe themselves as men of faith and action following the precepts of Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism.
Young adults meet through the Little Way Fellowship, which keeps an active presence on Instagram. The parish also runs a Pastoral Council and a Finance Council to guide parish life. Father Joseph Sebastian, CMI, a member of the CMI (Carmelites of Mary Immaculate) religious order, serves as Parochial Administrator and is the principal contact for parish life, with Moe Leonard leading music, Karin Holmes coordinating the Folk Choir, Georgillis Ortega leading the Spanish Choir, Danette Winslow directing religious education, and Joanie San Agustin handling the parish's technology and bulletins.
Annual gatherings include the Father Grace Memorial Golf Tournament, which honors the second pastor's love of the game and benefits the youth of the parish, and the diocesan Annual Catholic Appeal, in which St. Theresa participates under the parish designation Saint Theresa Parish, South Lake Tahoe, 385. Pilgrimages, such as a Holy Land and Jordan journey, are organized in partnership with neighboring parishes and Deacon Dan Haverty of Holy Trinity in El Dorado Hills.