Happy New Year from all of us at Old Mission Santa Ines! We pray that 2025 brings everyone many graces, good health and good cheer. 

2025 comes with exciting events and challenges. Following studies, testing, inspections, consultations, revisions and finally approvals, our Bishop, engineers, and contractors have given us their plan for the interior retrofit of our Church. The Church is in good condition. Old Mission Sta Ines is a spiritual, cultural, and historic treasure. We want to keep the Mission safe for the next 200 years. Given the possibility of future earthquakes, i.e. "The Big One", we need to install additional steel reinforcing bars and beams. This will take place inside the Church attic. We hoped to start last year. However, our engineers, technicians, and contractors have had to perform many studies and tests on our historic buildings. The complex interior work will take approx. six months. We now have a start date.

Beginning with the 8am Mass on January 13, we will be celebrating Sunday and weekday Masses in the Big Hall. The Church will close for safety reasons-until the interior work is complete.

Before hand, we thank you for your patience. We ask you to pray for a safe and successful retrofit. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. Again, may the Lord grant you a blessed and happy New Year.

Advent means the coming of Jesus. Christmas is the celebration recalling Jesus' arrival in Bethlehem & anticipating Jesus' arrival in glory in the future.

Today, we celebrate the Epiphany, which means the manifestation of Jesus as light and Savior. He is the light and savior not just for a poor Jewish couple, Mary and Joseph, or for some poor shepherds, but for the whole world.

The wise men from the east follow the heavenly light, and with the help of the Holy Scripture, they too recognize Jesus as King and Lord. Wise people, oriented toward loftier values, with the Word to help them, will still recognize Jesus as Light and Lord.

Like the wise men, may we give Jesus our time, our treasures and talents so that His love and light shine through us in 2025.        

Fr. Mike Ronayne