Name of Church Chapel at St. Francis (retirement home)

Address 1718 W. 6th Street, Santa Ana CA 92703

Phone number (714) 542-0381

Website www.st-francis-home.org

Mass times Priests from Our Lady of the Pillar Parish, a block away, celebrate Mass on weekdays at 4 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m.  Friends of the home are welcome to attend Mass or pray in the chapel.

Confessions  Go to Our Lady of the Pillar to have your confession heard.

Special groups/activities Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.  There’s also an annual Christmas boutique—it will be held November 10 & 11 in 2012—where you can buy baked goods and religious items to support the home.  In April, they have a Mexican fiesta dinner.  Check the calendar on the website for upcoming events.  The sisters are always in need of support for the home; attend one of their fundraising events or see their wish list on their website.

Fellow parishioners Sixty elderly women live at the home, who are served by 15 nuns.

Parking Park on the street.

Additional observations  St. Francis Home is an assisted-living home in the Diocese of Orange operated by traditional Franciscan Sisters, who wear the full habit.  It’s located a block down from Our Lady of the Pillar Church in a residential area of Santa Ana.  The community is originally from Mexico.  In 1926, fleeing persecution by the Mexican government, the sisters came to the United States.  They opened the retirement community in the 1940s.  Besides the typical exercise classes and arts and crafts of a secular retirement home, residents can attend Mass, do Holy Hours and participate in prayer groups and Bible studies.

The home has a traditional chapel with beautiful artwork.  One of its central images is a statue of the Sacred Heart.  In line with the sisters and the home’s elderly residents, an old school spirituality is practiced.  In addition to the chapel, stroll the grounds and enjoy the many religious images in the garden, such as Our Lady of Lourdes and the Sacred Heart fountain.  Take a tour of the home and its chapel this Sunday, July 15, 2 – 4 p.m.  They’re having an open house and ice cream social with the ladies of the home.