Regina Caeli Parish was formally erected in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston on August 15, 2013. It is the only Archdiocesan parish, in over 40 years, to offer the sacred liturgy and sacraments exclusively according to the Traditional Latin rites. Located in Northwest Houston on a 40 acre tract, Regina Caeli is entrusted as a personal parish to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), an apostolic society instituted by Pope St. John Paul II in 1988 to offer the sacred liturgy in all of its solemnity according to the Latin liturgical books of 1962. Since it is a personal parish, any person who wishes to join may become a member or supporter.  Fr. Van Vliet, FSSP is the founding pastor.

Regina Caeli moved from its temporary quarters to its property on October 29, 2016, when St. Athanasius Chapel Hall was blessed by Cardinal DiNardo. The chapel hall is the first building in a multi-year, master-planned parish complex. The complex will be in the Mission Style and once the main church is built, the chapel hall will be converted to a meeting hall. A fence will enclose the parish buildings. Included in the plans are a chapel dedicated to St. Joseph, to whom we have entrusted the property, and a rectory for our priests. Much of the 40 acres, however, will remain rural for meditative purposes, with outdoor shrines and Stations of the Cross.

We moved into our second building, the Blessed Fr. Solanus Casey Gatehouse, in November 2021. This building consists of a temporary rectory, adminstrative offices and meeting rooms, and allowed the pastor's office in St. Athanasius Chapel Hall to be converted into a much needed classroom. To see photos of our construction projects, please access the Photo Gallery.

OUR PRIESTS

Fr. Charles Van Vliet, FSSP, is the founding pastor of Regina Caeli Parish.  He is of Dutch-Canadian ancestry and worked on helicopters for 11 years as aircraft maintenance engineer in Canada before studying philosophy at Thomas Aquinas College in California. As a youth, he worked with his father, a master carpenter, and became equally adept at carpentry. He began his priestly studies at the International St. Peter Seminary in Wigratzbad, Germany, in 1992 and was ordained to the priesthood in Ottawa, Canada, in 1996.  He served in various FSSP apostolates in Canada and the United States. In 1998, he was assigned to oversee the construction of Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Nebraska.  Construction of Sts. Peter and Paul Chapel was the final phase; it was completed in early 2010 and dedicated on March 3, 2010.

In 2006, Father Van Vliet attended the General Chapter of the Fraternity of St. Peter in Wigratzbad, Germany and was elected to a six year term on the General Council as Third Assistant to the Superior General and General Bursar. He established the Houston apostolate of the Fraternity in August 2011.

Fr. William Rock, FSSP became "Priest in Residence" at Regina Caeli in February 2021 and was assigned to the parish as Parochial Vicar, effective August 1, 2021. He was ordained to the Catholic Priesthood on Oct. 26, 2019, at St. Mary's Church in Providence, Rhode Island by Bishop Athanasius Schneider, ORC, of Kazakhastan. In his childhood, Father felt the call to Priesthood yet began his official discernment during his last year of college at Virginia Tech. After graduating with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, Father spent four years in the US Air Force before entering Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in the Fall of 2011.

As he grew in his faith, a desire arose for a priestly formation and Catholic life as it had been experienced by generations of Catholics before him. By bringing him to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, God fulfilled the desire which He Himself had no doubt planted.
 

Past Assistant Priests at Regina Caeli
 Year 2020 Rev. Michael Malain, FSSP
2018-2019 Rev. John Kodet, FSSP
2016-2018 Rev. Joshua Houck, FSSP