Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish
Guadalupe Church prior to consecration, 1927 (Courtesy of Mary Robles)
Our Lady of Guadalupe church is located at 227 North Nopal Street in Santa Barbara, along the Milpas corridor on the city’s east side. It is currently a thriving Roman Catholic parish with deep roots in the neighborhood’s Hispanic community. Its beginnings can be traced to 1913, when Father Octavius Villa proposed a Mission Center to serve the growing Hispanic population. Many of these people were from Mexico, fleeing the disruption of the Mexican Revolution. With its substantial concentration of Hispanic and mixed-race families and individuals, even more migrants were drawn to the area. Donations came from community members, including Don Orestes Orena; a lot was acquired at the intersection of Montecito and Nopal streets, offering about ¼ block for development. Additional lots were soon acquired and a plan for a school and chapel was developed. This initial complex, completed by 1920, was known as the Guadalupe Mission and between 1920 and 1927, a school was also operated. The Guadalupe Mission complex formed a cultural center for the community, with other important hubs, such as the East Side Social Center (founded in the 1920s on North Quarantina Street), nearby.
The church-building project was further advanced between 1925 and 1928, when the church was erected at the corner of Nopal and Jennings streets and formally consecrated. The new church incorporated some of the remains from Our Lady of Sorrows church, which had been destroyed in the 1925 earthquake. Although most of the OLS remains were used to reconstruct that church at its current site at the corner of Sola and Anacapa streets, other materials were incorporated into Our Lady of Guadalupe church. In 1928, Our Lady of Guadalupe church opened its doors to parishioners. Its first pastor was Father Oyarzo, a Jesuit. Soon, the new church became a mainstay of the local community, an anchor for social services and education, including another parish school. It is also beloved by Santa Barbarans, regardless of faith or ethnicity, for its annual Fiesta food market, with its homemade Mexican treats and lively games and entertainment.