Update on St. Barbara Monastery, Santa Paula, CA
As reported earlier, the nuns of Saint Barbara Monastery here were evacuated, along with their neighbors, after an explosive brush fire broke out late Monday, December 4, 2017. As widely reported in the media, fires continue to spread and threaten the entire Los Angeles region.
“I learned from Mother Victoria that the monastery buildings still stand, but are not out of danger,” reported His Eminence, Archbishop Benjamin of San Francisco and the West on Thursday morning, December 7. “The hillside behind the monastery burned and the monastery lavender field charred. So, the fire has come very close.”
Mother Victoria and the sisters have not been able to return to the monastery.
“We are all grateful to the firefighters for their efforts to put down this very dangerous fire at the risk of their own lives,” Archbishop Benjamin added. “Saint Barbara Monastery is the fourth monastery of our diocese to have escaped the threat of fire in recent years. It would seem fire is to become a regular feature of our lives in California as the climate changes. We ask the clergy and faithful to continue praying for the nuns.”
Additional updates will be posted as they are received.