Name of Church St. Mark’s University Parish

Address 6550 Picasso Road, Isla Vista, CA 93117

Phone number (805) 968-1078

Website www.saint-marks.net 

Mass times Saturday vigil, 5 p.m.  Sundays, 10 a.m., noon (Spanish), 7 p.m. (UCSB Student Mass)  Monday-Friday, 5:15 p.m. with Vespers at 5:45 p.m. 

Confessions  Wednesdays, 4-5 p.m.; Sundays, 5:45 – 6:30 p.m. (during Lent) and by appointment and during adoration.

Names of priests Fr. John Love. Deacon Chris Sandner serves as RCIA director and counsels students.  Father has been pastor of St. Mark’s since 2009, is a faithful priest and is effective in working with the students.  Meet Fr. Love and learn about the parish here: https://vimeo.com/30409871.  He is also a wing chaplain in the Air National Guard, and has served as a chaplain for the Order of Malta.

Special groups/activities Adoration in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel (Wednesdays, 4-5 p.m. and First Fridays, 6-7 p.m.), pro-life activities (such as attending local Walks for Life), hospital ministry, annual houseless & community dinner for the homeless, small faith communities.

Music English and Spanish choirs on Sundays.

School No, but a variety of religious education classes for those who wish to learn the Faith.

Fellow parishioners About 800 UC Santa Barbara students visit St. Mark’s each year, about 300 of whom are active parishioners.  The Isla Vista neighborhood in which it is located is made up of young people attending the college; many of the neighboring houses are fraternities and sororities.  There are a handful of retirees, families and Latinos who attend the parish, and attendance is open to all, student or not.

Parking There is parking behind the church and adjoining Newman Center and street parking.

Additional observations  St. Mark’s was founded in 1965 to serve the growing UC Santa Barbara campus.  It is at a 1.5-acre site a few blocks from the campus.  Much of its history it was served by the Paulist Fathers, but has been served by archdiocesan priests since 2006.

Assisting St. Mark’s are four FOCUS missionaries, young people who specialize in leading Bible studies and having one-on-one talks with students.  Ten UC Santa Barbara students have joined the FOCUS ministry since it arrived at the campus six years ago. 

The original building from the 60s was a boxy, office building-style structure that did not look like a church, a capital campaign and renovation is currently underway to transform it into a more traditional California mission style church that will attract students.  Learn about the church building’s history and capital campaign below.