City issues citation to church over loud bells

SAN ANTONIO (KSAT) – A San Antonio church is now on probation for playing its bells too loud.

It’s the latest chapter in a battle involving the church, neighbors and city leaders.

The Infant Jesus of Prague Church has been deemed a habitual noise violator by the city and a municipal court judge.

“It was very loud at one time,” one neighbor said. “It was constant like … all week long.”

Neighbors said the church off West Woodlawn plays the sounds of church bells too loudly.

Those complaints got the attention of the city’s development services department in April 2023.

“My stomach hurts. It makes me angry that I have to live here,” Patricia Verduzco, who lives nearby, said back in 2023. “This is my sanctuary, and it’s just unacceptable. I really wish something would be done.”

At that time, the city said the church was abiding by city code.

But over the last six to eight months, development services said the church has violated the noise ordinance at least four times.

“All he had to do was really turn down the speakers and he could still play them,” Michael Shannon, director of development services, said.” It’s allowed if he keeps them under the noise threshold, the noise limit, but he chose not to.”

When fines did not get the church to comply, the city took the priest, John Gabriel, to municipal court.

Shannon said the judge put the church on probation.

“What that means is if we do find him in violation of the noise ordinance in the next year, we have a year timeline, we’ll confiscate that equipment,” Shannon said.

KSAT went to the church and spoke to Gabriel briefly.

He said the decision “wasn’t right” but declined to comment further and didn’t want to go on camera.

It is a change from what he said to KSAT crews last year.

“Don’t like the noise? Buy us out. Otherwise, shut the hell up,” he said in 2023.

Gabriel’s message from the onset was that as a church he was granted the ability to do what he pleased and how he pleased.

“As I told him directly, we completely disagree,” Shannon said. “Just being a church doesn’t give you free rein to do whatever you want and violate city codes.”