Name of Church St. Dominic

Address 475 East I Street (corner of East 5th and East I), Benicia CA 94510

Phone number (707) 747-7220

Website www.stdominicsbenicia.org

Mass times Saturday vigil, 5:30 p.m.; Sunday 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. (Spanish-English), 5:30 p.m.  First Sunday, 3 p.m. (Vietnamese).  Monday – Friday, 7 a.m., Monday – Saturday, 8:15 a.m. (preceded by prayers from the Dominican community).

Confessions Saturday, 4-5 p.m. or by appointment

Names of priests All Dominican Fathers of the Western Province: Michael Hurley, pastor.  John Marie Bingham, parochial vicar.  LaSalle Hallissey, parochial vicar.  Victor Cavalli, in residence.

School Yes, pre-K through 8th grade.

Special activities/parish groups Rosary before the weekday Mass and after the 7:30 a.m. Sunday Mass; 24-hour adoration in adoration chapel; Grief Support Group; Legion of Mary; Life Abortion Alternative Ministries; Singles Ministry; Lazarus Ministry; St. Vincent de Paul Society; Knights of Columbus.

Music Lots of singing and music at the parish.  They have something for everyone, depending on your taste.  If you like more traditional music, attend the 9 a.m. and listen to the choir.  The 7:30 a.m. has piano and flute, and the 11 a.m. organ.  The 12:30 p.m. has a Spanish choir and the 5:30 p.m. is the youth Mass, so you’ll hear guitar and drums.

Parking No problem.  The church has two lots on I and J streets, plus there is street parking.

Acoustics Good, backed up by a good sound system.

Cry room Yes, in the rear of the church.

Parish bulletin View on the parish website.

Additional observations  While the Western Province Dominicans are a mixed bag when it comes to orthodoxy, St. Dominic’s is a beautiful old church near the northern end of San Francisco Bay. It was established by the Dominican Fathers in 1854; the current church was built in 1890.  It was once the site where Dominicans in the novitiate studied for the priesthood, but the novitiate was re-located to St. Albert’s Priory in Oakland, where it remains today.  You’ll enjoy a traditional interior; one of the striking features of this church’s interior is the row of white column along either side.  It’s currently undergoing a restoration.  Work is being performed on the front façade so you’ll see scaffolding in front through the end of this year (no work being done during Masses on weekends, though).