new church may be built on the growing east side of el paso

With the number of Catholic residents in El Paso increasing, particularly on an east side fueled by new home construction and the expansion of nearby Fort Bliss, plans are in the talking stage for the building of a new church.

In a video released by the Catholic Diocese of El Paso, Bishop Mark Seitz said diocese officials have “for a long time witnessed the incredible growth” of east El Paso.

A new church designed to accommodate that growth, Seitaz added, would most likely go up east of the Joe Battle Boulevard and the Texas Loop 375, around 15 miles to the east of downtown El Paso.

Neither an exact site for the new church, nor a construction timetable has yet been announced.

If the diocese proceeds with the project, it will be the first new Catholic church built in metropolitan El Paso in more than two decades.

Covering some 27,000 square miles, the Diocese of El Paso currently has 55 churches over a span of ten counties.
According to Diocese figures, there are currently just under around 450,000 Catholics in El Paso.

By Garry Boulard