We, the Catholic Community of St. Francis de Paula, as a group of caring, compassionate disciples, are called to holiness. Baptized in water and the Spirit, we gather around Christ in the Eucharist. Nourished by the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, we go forth to do corporal and spiritual works of mercy to fulfill His command, "Love one another as I have loved you." Continually formed in Word and Sacrament, we commit ourselves to the New Evangelization.

St. Francis De Paula Catholic Church is one of the oldest in south Texas. San Diego had been settled in the 1840s, but it was only after the population began to increase that Father Claude Jaillet, the founding pastor commissioned by Bishop Claude Marie Dubuis the Catholic the bishop of Galveston, Texas,   built the first chapel in 1867.  Both Bishop Dubuis and Fr. Jaillet were from France.  Galveston was the center of the Catholic Church for the entire state of Texas.  Bishop Dubuis, with profound missionary zeal, recruited the first clergy for Texas from France.   Father Jaillet first landed in New York City and proceeded to Galveston in 1866. He was appointed to serve the community of San Diego. Only able to speak French, the priest rode into his new home on a borrowed horse and saddle.  Father Jaillet raised $700 to build the first church in 1867. He spent so much time on horseback, as a missionary in the San Diego area,  that he became known as the “saddlebag priest of the Nueces."   
 
In 1884 Jaillet was transferred to help develop the Catholic Church in  Corpus Christi.  Father Pierre Bard, (also from France) was sent to San Diego to serve the growing parish and the surrounding missions. Father Bard gathered funds and built the present day church in 1908 which was dedicated in 1909.  The magnificent interior, which is being restored under the direction of the current pastor, is a reminder of the Hispanic roots of South Texas. St. Francis de Paula is the center of life in San Diego and is the drawing point in times of joy and sorrow.