Mass to Honor Island Chapel’s Centennial

It will be the largest attendance at Mass in the history of this island 25 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara.

Those invited, 142 in all, will arrive by small plane and boat. Archbishop Roger M. Mahony will fly here in his helicopter to officiate.

The Mass on Friday will mark the 100th anniversary of the dedication of tiny La Capilla de la Santa Cruz--the Chapel of the Holy Cross.

Most on hand will be outside the chapel, which only seats 24.

Constructed with bricks fired from island clay, the chapel’s celestial vaulted sky-blue ceiling--with more than 800 little gold stars--its stained-glass windows, marble altar, three benches and a dozen chairs were fashioned by Italian artisans brought from Europe by Justinian Caire.

Caire, a native of France and a San Francisco hardware merchant, became owner of nine-tenths of the island in 1880. He grazed thousands of sheep and cattle on island hills and valleys, planted grapes and established a winery that became famous throughout California.

Mexican vaqueros worked the livestock, Italian immigrants constructed ranch and winery buildings, planted, cared for and harvested grapes, and Caire brought wine makers from France. Because the employees were Catholic, Caire had La Capilla de la Santa Cruz erected in 1891.

Mass was said in the chapel only on those rare occasions when a priest ventured to the island. In many years, Mass was said only on May 3, the feast of the Holy Cross, the island’s namesake day.

The island, 22 miles long and 2 to 6 miles wide, is three times bigger than Manhattan, larger than the District of Columbia and the largest of Southern California’s eight Channel Islands. It was named Santa Cruz (Spanish for holy cross) in 1769 when visited by an expedition led by Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola (who also gave Los Angeles its name).

While visiting the island, a priest from Portola’s ship lost his walking staff, which was topped by an iron cross. The next day, an Indian found the staff and returned it to the priest. From that incident arose the name.

Descendants of Justinian Caire sold their part of the island to Los Angeles businessman Edwin Stanton in 1937. His son, Carey, a pathologist, retired in 1957 to devote his full time to running the ranch. Carey Stanton, an Anglican, made sure a priest came to the island at least once a year on May 3 to say Mass.

Carey Stanton sold his part of the island in 1958 to the Nature Conservancy to ensure that it will remain in its natural state. When he died in 1987, he left his estate to the Santa Cruz Island Foundation.

Through the years earthquakes weakened the chapel. Plaster crumbled and fell. Several gold stars fell to the floor from the celestial ceiling and the roof leaked. About $100,000 has been spent restoring the chapel in the last year.

The foundation has published a series of books about Santa Cruz or the Channel Islands. The fifth in the series, “The Chapel of the Holy Cross 1891-1991,” (written by foundation President Marla Daily), will be presented to each guest at this year’s Mass. The guests will be associates of the late ranch owner.

The chapel on this seldom-visited island, with a population of fewer than two dozen, is surely one of the least-used churches in America.

After the Mass, the chapel most likely will not be reopened until this time next year.