The chapel was one of a group of Renaissance-style buildings built in the 1920s.[/caption]
Name of Church Holy Rosary
Address One St. Vincent Dr., San Rafael CA 94913
Website Holy Rosary Chapel – Catholic Charities San Francisco
Mass times Sundays, 9:45 am and 12:15 pm. (Latin Tridentine, sung High Mass). Father Andrew Ginter celebrates the first Mass; he was ordained in 2016 and serves as chaplain of Marin Catholic High School. Father William Young celebrates the Latin Mass; he is a retired priest and a Thomist, orthodox, and reverent and is an excellent preacher.
Music The Most Holy Rosary Schola and Mixed Choir is a volunteer ensemble dedicated to singing Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony for the Latin Mass. Every Mass the Holy Rosary Men’s Schola and a mixed choir sing a full Gregorian Mass with Gregorian chant propers, ordinaries, and polyphonic motets.
Fellow parishioners Marin Catholic High School Students and locals attend the 9:45 am Mass; the 12:15 pm draws those who like the Latin Mass.
Parking There is parking alongside and in front of the church.
Cry room no
Additional observations Holy Rosary is located north of San Francisco, up the 101 freeway. It is a parish mission of St. Isabella Church, San Rafael. Holy Rosary chapel is on the grounds of the St. Vincent’s School for Boys, which was founded by the Sisters of Charity in 1855. St. Vincent’s was a home for orphaned, neglected, and abused boys and operated under the auspices of Joseph Alemany, the first Archbishop of San Francisco. The chapel was one of a group of Renaissance-style buildings built in the 1920s by the director of St. Vincent’s, Father Francis McElroy. Today, St. Vincent’s is managed by Catholic Charities CYO. The chapel — or church, because it is the size of a regular parish church — is beautiful inside and out. Special elements include 15 magnificent stained glass windows which feature Bible stories that appeal to the young (as it was built in the days when St. Vincent’s was an orphanage). The colors are bright and vibrant; make a point to go when the sun is shining brightly. There are many statues, including St. Isabel, Mary and Joseph, St. Therese of the Little Flower, and Jesus welcoming a little child. The altar and sanctuary are marble; the concrete ceiling appears to be made of wood and matches the floor below. The chapel is modeled after a Tuscany seminary and has an Italian feel. Take a walk on the grounds afterward. They are green and lush; horses (and occasionally cows) graze in pastures. Visit the old orphanage buildings, built in the 20s, and see the courtyards and ball fields. In decades past, the priests and nuns of St. Vincent’s set many orphaned boys on the path to become virtuous, productive citizens.
Kind of reminds me of the front of It’s a Small World ride at Disneyland. It would be neat if every fifteen minutes the clock would ring and a parade of saints would march in and out of the bell tower. A Catholic imagineer should be able to make something like that for a church.
I think kids would want to go to Mass if it were more like Disneyland. Church maybe could take some lessons from success.
Disney rakes in billions of dollars because it provides a highly enjoyable experience for families that they are willing to pay a lot of money for and travel huge distances to attend.
The Church pays out billions of dollars in damages/settlements because its priests diddled (and worse) little boys. The Church is losing people under age 40, most of whom have said they want nothing to do with the Church nor Mass every Sunday, not even when the parish church is only a mile away from home.
Quite a contrast.
Here’s a test:
Tell your kids that we’re going to church. See how they react.
Then tell your kids that we’re going to Disney World. See how they react.
Here’s a test:
Tell your kids that you’re having vegetables and a nutritious meal for dinner. See how they react.
Then tell your kids that you’re having nothing but ice cream and cookies. See how they react.