Saint Teresa of Avila Church is a

Roman Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Bodega, California Bodega is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma County in the U.S. state of California. The town had a population of 211 as of the 2020 Census. Bodega is located on Bodega Highway, about west of Freestone, ...

. The white, wooden church with a steeple sits on a hilltop overlooking Bodega Highway.

History

The church was built by shipbuilders in 1860 on land donated by

Jasper O’Farrell Jasper O'Farrell (1817–1875) was an Irish-American politician who served as the first surveyor for San Francisco. He designed the "grand promenade" that became today's Market Street. O'Farrell Street in San Francisco is named after him. Early ...

. It was named after St. Teresa of Avila by local

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and Portuguese immigrants. Archbishop Alemany dedicated the church on June 2, 1861. Originally it was part of the

Archdiocese of San Francisco The Archdiocese of San Francisco (Latin: ''Archdiœcesis Sancti Francisci''; Spanish: ''Arquidiócesis de San Francisco'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the Unit ...

. Today the parish belongs to the Diocese of Santa Rosa in California. A

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

, the church is still in use today and is the oldest church in continuous use in

Sonoma County Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...

. In 1872, the original building was expanded by cutting the church in half, pulling the two ends of the small church away from each other, and then building new ceiling, walls, and stained glass windows to close the gap. In 1886, an 850-pound cast iron bell was added to the

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

, but it was removed when it was discovered that it was too heavy for the structure. Also notable, the church interior has no center aisle, but rather two side aisles.

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his Monochrome photography, black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association ...

made the church the subject of a black and white photograph in 1953. The church is located directly next to the Bodega schoolhouse, which was the setting for the schoolhouse scene in

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

's 1963 film, '' The Birds''. The church was also seen in the film and Hitchcock attended services in the church.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Churches in Sonoma County, California California Historical Landmarks Roman Catholic churches in California Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa History of Sonoma County, California Portuguese-American culture in California Spanish-American culture in California