Meet Our Associate Pastor!
Father Cleofas Cruz was born in Fentress, 15 miles southeast of San Marcos, Texas. The son of first-generation immigrants from Mexico, he was raised working in the fields and migrating with his father until age 17 when he began working his way up from delivery to sales to assistant manager of a local furniture store. Later in life, he would transition to Commercial Metals Corporations, where he has been employed for over 25 years.
At age 26, Father Cleofas first experienced a charismatic prayer group that radically changed his life. He became involved in the ministry and in his parish’s Legion of Mary. Eleven years later, in 1991, he was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop John McCarthy of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin. Father Cleofas has served various Spanish-speaking communities throughout Central Texas. For ten years, he also served as a chaplain at the Bastrop federal prison.
As a deacon within the Roman church, Father Cleofas possessed an inclusive love resembling that of Jesus. As a result, he began a ministry that he called Comunidades Mexicanas Católicas (Mexican Catholic Communities), to provide a welcoming space for those who had been denied the sacraments of the Church.
In October 2013, Deacon Cleofas incardinated into the American Catholic Church in the United States. Two years later, on October 23, 2015, he was ordained to the presbyterate by the Most Reverend William A. Johnson, Presiding Archbishop of the American Catholic Church in the U.S.
At age 26, Father Cleofas first experienced a charismatic prayer group that radically changed his life. He became involved in the ministry and in his parish’s Legion of Mary. Eleven years later, in 1991, he was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop John McCarthy of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin. Father Cleofas has served various Spanish-speaking communities throughout Central Texas. For ten years, he also served as a chaplain at the Bastrop federal prison.
As a deacon within the Roman church, Father Cleofas possessed an inclusive love resembling that of Jesus. As a result, he began a ministry that he called Comunidades Mexicanas Católicas (Mexican Catholic Communities), to provide a welcoming space for those who had been denied the sacraments of the Church.
In October 2013, Deacon Cleofas incardinated into the American Catholic Church in the United States. Two years later, on October 23, 2015, he was ordained to the presbyterate by the Most Reverend William A. Johnson, Presiding Archbishop of the American Catholic Church in the U.S.
