Our Lady of Sorrows Church ( es, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores) is a

Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

within the City of

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...

in the United States that was built in 1929. The Church was listed as a designated landmark of the City of Santa Barbara on May 17, 2016.

History

Our Lady of Sorrows Church traces its origins to 1782 as the original chapel serving the

Presidio of Santa Barbara A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cen ...

, which was constructed to protect the colonial establishment of the Spanish Empire within California. Built to serve the Spanish military, the church was founded by Father Junípero Serra, O.F.M., who celebrated Santa Barbara's first Mass at the original site of the Presidio Chapel and had initially supplied all of the furnishings, altar pieces, and a library. On July 29, 1855, the first church building was consecrated. Initially located at northeast corner of State Street and Figueroa Street, the church was primarily constructed by the students of the nearby seminary college known as the Apostolic College of Our Lady of Sorrows. However, the building was destroyed by fire in August 1865. A new southward facing replacement for the church was completed in May 1867 at the same intersection as its predecessor. During 1904, two new bell towers were added to house the three bells, weighing; , , and , which were blessed on July 17 that year. By 1908, the church administration was passed to the Jesuit Fathers of the California Province of the Society of Jesus. On the morning of June 29, 1925, the 6.8

Richter magnitude scale The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...

Santa Barbara earthquake destroyed much of the church, including; the facade, an entire side, and one of the bell towers. The remaining bell tower was heavily damaged. A new site was selected at the present day location on the southwestern corner of East Sola Street and Anacapa Street, across from

Alameda Park Alameda Park located in Santa Barbara, California, in the U.S., adjoining Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens, is the location for many citywide celebrations, including Summer Solstice. It is also one of the city's oldest parks. Occupying two ...

. On June 30, 2014, a Mass was held that passed the administration of the church over to the

Archdiocese of Los Angeles The Archdiocese of Los Angeles ( la, Archidiœcesis Angelorum in California, es, Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church (Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particularly ...

Gallery

Image:USA-Santa Barbara-Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church-4.jpg, Southern

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

of the church Image:USA-Santa Barbara-Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church-2.jpg, Tower Image:USA-Santa Barbara-Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church-5.jpg, Southern side elevation Image:USA-Santa Barbara-Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church-3.jpg, Oblique view of the southern side elevation Image:SantaBarbaraCA OurLadyOfSorrowsChurchPlaque 20170912.jpg, Plaque of the cornerstone

References

External links

* Our Lady of Sorrows Church
Archdiocese of Los Angeles Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Santa Barbara, California Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles Roman Catholic churches in California Churches in Santa Barbara County, California Buildings and structures in Santa Barbara, California Roman Catholic churches completed in 1929 Tourist attractions in Santa Barbara, California 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States