Name of Church Santa Sophia Church
Address 9800 San Juan Street, Spring Valley, CA 91977
Phone number (619) 463-6629
Website www.santasophia.org
Mass times Saturday vigil, 4:30 p.m. Sundays, 8 a.m., 11 a.m. Monday – Friday, 8 a.m.
Confessions Mondays and Fridays, 7 – 7:45 a.m., Wednesdays with adoration 5 – 6 p.m. and by appointment.
Names of priests Fr. Corey Tufford, pastor. Father is a pious young priest, ordained in 2016, and a first-time pastor having come to Santa Sophia in 2022. He grew up in a non-practicing Catholic household, had a conversion experience, and attended Franciscan University of Steubenville.
Special groups/activities Homeschool Ministry, Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Legion of Mary, Walking with Purpose women’s bible study, Women’s Guild, Bereavement Support Group, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Filipino-American Society, Senior’s Club, Latino Society, summer camps.
Music Choirs, Kids’ Chorale, musicians, cantors. Visit their YouTube page to hear the choirs sing: https://www.youtube.com/@santasophia/videos.
School Yes, pre-K-8th grade.
Parking Ample parking around the church.
Additional observations Santa Sophia is a parish of the Diocese of San Diego. It notable design features include a large crucifix over the altar and its barrel rood and large bell tower. It was established in 1956; its church was built in 1958 (and refurbished in the late 90s to early 2000).
Looks like they have money. Lots of it.
The more active a parish is, the more money it will have. Nothing wrong with that.
I think it has more to do with the zip code in this instance.
Oh yes. Love Santa Sophia. I grew up in the parish and my wife and I were married at Santa Sophia back in the early 1970’s. When the church was built in the late 50’s folks in Casa de Oro referred to it as a blimp hanger because of its unique high rounded roof. At one time, the crucifix was one of the tallest in the country. There were two dynamic priests in the parish in the 70’s along with a wonderful deacon: Monsignor Thomas Prendergast (RIP), Father Louis Copestake (RIP) and Deacon DeMoor(RIP). In the late seventies, the Chaldean Rite was celebrated on Sunday evenings to serve the growing Chaldean immigrant community fleeing oppression and conflict in the Middle East. What a wonderful experience it was to hear the Holy Mass celebrated in Aramaic – the language of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. May God continue to bless Santa Sophia Church.
Beautiful! A Latin (Roman rite) church named after Holy Wisdom, our Lord Himself. Like the Hagia Sophia (“Holy Wisdom”) in Constantinople, one of the most moving and beautiful churches in the world (before the Muslims took it and turned it into a mosque). The original Hagia Sophia was built under the direction of Emperor Saint Justinian, whose hymn to Holy Wisdom, our Lord Jesus Christ, remains part of Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Divine Liturgies to this day:
Only Begotten Son and Immortal Word of God,
Who for our salvation didst will to be incarnate of the holy Theotokos and ever virgin Mary,
Who without change didst become man and wast crucified, O Christ our God,
Trampling down death by death, Who art one of the Holy Trinity,
Glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit, save us.
Actually, it’s known as the Ayasofya Camii now.
If you want to refer to it by its Turkish name, you’re correct. And, of course, the Muslims renamed Constantinople (previously Byzantium) to Istanbul. I think it’s appropriate for Christians to use its ancient, traditional (Greek) Christian name, since it was a center of Christian worship for nearly a thousand years until the Muslims took it 570 years ago.
And, the conversion of the peoples from modern day Ukraine, Russia and other places in Eastern Europe goes back to visitors who attended Divine Liturgy at the Hagia Sophia. Grand Prince Vladimir/Volodymyr of Kyiv (AD 958-1015) sent his emissaries to tour the world in search of the True Faith. Upon their return they reported to him as follows:
Then we went to Greece [Constantinople], and the Greeks (including the Emperor himself) led us to the edifices where they worship their God, and we knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth. For on earth there is no such splendour or such beauty, and we are at a loss how to describe it. We only know that God dwells there among men, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations. For we cannot forget that beauty.
The Primary Chronicle – St. Nestor the Chronicler (AD 1056-1114) – Monastery of the Caves in Kyiv
“We only know that God dwells there among men, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations. For we cannot forget that beauty.” Much food for thought, Deacon Anderson. I take it these ceremonies were Greek Orthodox services? Spirituality and beauty go together, as do their opposites.
They were definitely Greek Christian Divine Liturgies. I’d have to research the history, since it was before the Great Schism. As Pope Saint John Paul has encouraged us, we should focus on the first thousand years when we were all together. (That doesn’t mean, of course, that there weren’t lots of sibling squabbles during that time.)
It is probably named after St.. Sophia, an early Christian Martyr.
You can check out their Santa Sophia parish website for the answer. It’s at
https://www.santasophia.org/what-does-santa-sophia-mean
It appears the church is named after our Lord.
And, that’s no disrespect to the great Saint Sophia of Milan (or of Rome). According to one source, the Holy Martyrs Saint Sophia and her daughters Faith, Hope and Love were born in Italy. Their mother was a pious Christian widow who named her daughters for the three Christian virtues. Faith was twelve, Hope was ten, and Love was nine. Saint Sophia raised them in the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. Saint Sophia and her daughters did not hide their faith in Christ, but openly confessed it before everyone.
You are correct. Thank you for the correction.
Is it then an error in the headline?
Santa means holy. Not saint.
So it should not be abbreviated with the St.
Thanks for catching this error. Headline and text corrected.
Thank you for all the information and links, Deacon Anderson. It all makes a whole lot of sense since the Virgin Mary is called the Seat of Wisdom in her litanies. Interesting info about St. Sophia and her daughters too.
Beautiful church outside and inside with the tabernacle in the center. Great choir of all ages at different times.