Welcome to Mission San Buenaventura!...open 361 days of the year!

At the Mission, we often sing the hymn "In This Place" composed by Trevor Thompson that reminds us of the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ among us. One verse goes like this:

We are gathered at table as one in the Lord.
We are gathered as people who are living the Word.
Our hearts and our spirits are nurtured by grace.
It is Jesus who fills us. He is here in this place.

You are cordially invited to join us for our liturgies. We celebrate Mass daily at 7:30 AM (8:15 AM on Tuesday during the school year). We have six Masses every weekend. Since the Lord's Day begins at sunset, we celebrate the Saturday Vigil at 5:30pm in English and 7:30pm in Spanish in the Old Mission Church. We celebrate three Sunday Masses in English at 7:30am, 9am and 12:15pm. We have a hugely attended Mass in Spanish at 10:30am in O'Brien Hall, the three story building behind the Mission church.

Join us, won't you?

Click here to take a tour of the Mission with Fr. Tom and Joe Estevez as seen on "All Things Catholic" NETNY.TV Brooklyn, New York Television

To help sustain the legacy of our historic Mission: please remember Mission San Buenaventura in your Will or Trust planning.

"Siempre Adelante: United in the love of God as a Mission Family."  Shalom, Fr. Tom Elewaut, Pastor.

Long time parishioner Pat McLean will be honored for her 35-years of service to Family To Family which Leanne McSorley and Pat McLean and Msgr. Patrick O'Brien established at the Mission in 1983 with other parishioners. Today Family To Family serves five meals weekly supported by faith communities and other organizations throughout the greater Ventura area. 

This must attend event is scheduled for Friday, October 27, 2017 at the Poinsettia Pavilion. Seating is limited, secure your tickets online. Reserve your seat at www.vcfamilytofamily.org (click DONATE button, choose debit card or PayPal, specify # of event tickets and entrée choices: tri-tip or chicken or portobello mushroom in the notes section along with contact information) or make a check payable to Family to Family and mail payment and entrée choices to Jan Schmutte, Treasurer P.O. Box 5804, Ventura, CA 93005.

If you are unable to attend but would like to Family To Family please visit our website to donate at www.vcfamilytofamily.org

Family to Family is a unique collaboration of many churches, temples, clubs and friends all coming together to serve the neediest of Ventura. Family to Family is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing meals to those in need since 1983. We serve up to a thousand hot, nutritious meals every week.

Family to Family is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization.

Holy Days of Obligation are equivalent to Sunday and the Sunday Vigil Mass: Catholics are obliged to join the community of the faithful in offerifng praise and thanskgiving to our good God unless for dire reason like illness or ill health that porhibits travel outside the home.

Understandably, many people have busy lives and more so for parents raising young children while those who are retired may not want to venture out in the evening. We are discerning the appropriateness of our Mass schedule for holy days to support the various life commitments of our parishioners. Beginning with November 1, All Saints Day the Mission parish will experiment with a change of Mass times to 7:30 AM, 12:00 Noon, 6:00 PM and 7:30 PM (Spanish) to hopefully provide better opportunities for all to attend Mass at the Mission or at another local parish.

The Code of Canon Law provides the following general norms of the universal Latin/Roman Church: Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church. Also to be observed are the day of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension and the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Holy Mary Mother of God and her Immaculate Conception and Assumption, Saint Joseph, the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul, and finally, All Saints. (Canon 1246)

However, the conference of bishops can abolish certain holy days of obligation or transfer them to a Sunday with prior approval of the Apostolic See. Depending on one's nation one could have more or fewer than the ten listed in the Code. For example, the United States adds her patron (The Immaculate Conception), as does Ireland (St. Patrick), Canada (St. Joseph) and many other countries, while dropping several from the list.

In 1991 the members of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States of American made the following general decree concerning holy days of obligation for Latin/Roman rite Catholics: In addition to Sunday, the days to be observed as holy days of obligation are as follows:

The solemnity of the Ascension replaces the 7th Sunday of Easter (Western USA)
August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary*
November 1, the solemnity of All Saints*
December 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
December 25, the solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ

*Whenever August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption, or November 1, the solemnity of All Saints, falls on a Saturday or on a Monday, the precept to attend Mass is abrogated.