About Dolores Mission · Los Angeles, California
Dolores Mission is a Jesuit Catholic parish in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of East Los Angeles, founded in 1925 to serve the poor, Spanish-speaking immigrant community of 'the Flats.' Run by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) since 1980, it is the birthplace of Homeboy Industries, the world's largest gang-intervention and rehabilitation program, and the parish from which several major nonprofit and advocacy organizations have grown, including Proyecto Pastoral, the Guadalupe Homeless Project, CHIRLA, and the East Los Angeles Housing Coalition. Located at 171 South Gless Street, Dolores Mission continues its mission of accompaniment with a mostly Latino congregation, bilingual liturgies, and a deep commitment to social justice, immigrant rights, and grassroots community organizing.
- Established
- 1925
- Patron
- Nuestra Señora de los Dolores (Our Lady of Sorrows)
- Rector
- Fr. Brendan Busse, S.J.
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Why belong here
Dolores Mission is a parish where faith and action are inseparable. Beyond five Sunday Masses (one in English, four in Spanish) and a daily evening Spanish Mass, parishioners are invited into Christian Base Communities, sacramental preparation, youth ministry, walks for peace, and a wide network of social-justice organizing — including immigrant-rights coalitions and partnerships with LA Voice and the Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic. It is also home to a tuition-friendly Catholic school on campus, the Guadalupe Homeless Project shelters, and the community-building nonprofit Proyecto Pastoral.
Mass times at Dolores Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- By appointment
Parish History
Founded in 1925 as a mission of St. Mary's Parish to serve Spanish-speaking immigrants in the working-class Flats east of downtown LA, Dolores Mission moved to its present Gless Street site in 1945. The Belgian Canonnesses of St. Augustine ran the parish and school for 45 years beginning in 1946, opening the neighborhood's first Catholic school in 1952. The Jesuits took over in 1980, and under their leadership the parish has incubated a remarkable network of grassroots social-justice organizations.
- 1925 — Founded as a mission of St. Mary's Parish
- 1945 — Moves to present site at Gless & Third Streets; named 'Mission of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores'
- 1946 — Canonnesses of St. Augustine (Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary) arrive from Belgium
- 1952 — Auxiliary Bishop Timothy Manning dedicates the new school, the neighborhood's first Catholic school
- 1980 — Jesuits invited by Cardinal Manning to staff the parish
- 1986–1992 — Fr. Greg Boyle serves as pastor and founds what becomes Homeboy Industries
- 1988 — Guadalupe Homeless Project begins
- 2015 — Women's shelter opens through Proyecto Pastoral
Leadership & Staff
Dolores Mission is pastored by Fr. Brendan Busse, S.J., with Fr. Justin Claravall, S.J., as Associate Pastor. A lay staff carries out the parish's religious education, youth ministry, administration, and advancement work.
- Fr. Brendan Busse, S.J. — Pastor (LMU alumnus, entered the Jesuits in 2008)
- Fr. Justin Claravall, S.J. — Associate Pastor
- Annette Castro — Director of Administration & Advancement
- Araceli Bacio — Business Manager
- Rosa Bonilla — Pastoral Assistant
- Verenice Gutierrez — Secretary / Religious Education
- Carolina Vargas — Resource Coordinator
- Joanna Hernandez — Youth Ministry Coordinator
- Daniela Valdez — High School Scholar Coordinator
Christian Base Communities (CEBs)
Base communities are the heart of parish life at Dolores Mission. Each CEB is a small faith group of 8 to 12 members — individuals, families, and people of varied backgrounds — that meets weekly for dialogue, faith-based exercises, and reflection on family and social issues. They serve as the parish's listening ear and voice, feeding input into community organizing and self-evaluation of programs.
Proyecto Pastoral at Dolores Mission
Founded in 1986 by Boyle Heights residents, mostly Dolores Mission parishioners, alongside the Jesuits' California Province, Proyecto Pastoral is the parish's sister 501(c)(3) nonprofit. It runs an array of direct-service programs for children, youth, families, and adults and leads the Promesa Boyle Heights Collaborative for systemic community change.
- IMPACTO (Imaginando Mañana Pico-Aliso Community Team Outreach) — after-school youth program for grades 2–12, with a community garden
- Early Childhood Education Centers — two learning centers with 16 certified teachers serving 100+ children, toddlers through age 5
- Comunidad en Movimiento (Community in Action / CEM) — resident leadership development and civic engagement
- La Guarderia — childcare cooperative
- Guadalupe Homeless Project (see below)
- Promesa Boyle Heights Collaborative — collective-impact partnership of schools, faith groups, and community organizations
Guadalupe Homeless Project
Run under the Proyecto Pastoral umbrella but housed at the parish, the Guadalupe Homeless Project has provided emergency shelter in Boyle Heights since 1988. It operates two shelters offering up to 90 days of room and board — primarily for new immigrant men — and added a women's shelter in 2015 that serves about 60 homeless senior women each year. About 1,250 volunteers assist the project annually, serving meals, running workshops, and staffing a low-cost clothing distribution center.
Immigrant Rights & Social Justice
Dolores Mission is a leading voice for immigrant rights in East Los Angeles. The parish and Proyecto Pastoral are part of the Boyle Heights Immigrant Rights Network, which mobilizes volunteers to verify reports of ICE activity, share real-time information, and help families know their rights. Dolores Mission partners with the Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic at Loyola Law School — founded at the parish in collaboration with Homeboy Industries and LMU Law — which has provided free legal counsel to more than 6,000 people over six years. The parish also works with LA Voice, a multi-faith grassroots network across LA County, and helped pass out 'Know Your Rights' red cards.
- Know Your Rights workshops (in partnership with LA Voice, Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic, and Sen. Maria Elena Durazo)
- Boyle Heights Immigrant Rights Network
- Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic (on-site pro bono counsel)
- LA Voice leadership development
- CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles)
- East Los Angeles Housing Coalition
Homeboy Industries Connection
Homeboy Industries, the world's largest gang-intervention and rehabilitation program, was founded at Dolores Mission by Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J., who served as the parish's pastor from 1986 to 1992. Today Homeboy Industries is an independent nonprofit with its own headquarters (about a six-minute drive from the parish), but the spiritual DNA and many founding volunteers trace back to Dolores Mission. More than 10,000 former gang members from across Los Angeles come through its doors each year.
- Founder Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J., authored the bestselling Tattoos on the Heart about this work
Dolores Mission School
Housed on the parish campus, Dolores Mission School is a Catholic elementary school that prioritizes neighborhood youth and never turns families away due to financial hardship. The three-story school building was dedicated in 1952 by Auxiliary Bishop Timothy Manning as the first Catholic school in the Boyle Heights neighborhood.
- Website: doloresmissionschool.org
- Pastor serves as ex officio member of the school board
Parish Life & Get Involved
Dolores Mission sees itself as a 'place of refuge and protection,' offering sanctuary and shelter for the struggling through worship, formation, and direct service. Opportunities to get involved include joining a Christian Base Community, volunteering with the Guadalupe Homeless Project, supporting the parish school, participating in Christmas Outreach, joining the Women's Auxiliary or Marriage Encounter group, or taking part in walks for peace and neighborhood clean-ups.
- Women's Auxiliary
- Marriage Encounter Group
- Christmas Outreach
- Walks for Peace
- Neighborhood Clean-ups
- Parish Celebrations
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Greg Boyle, S.J.1986–1992
Founder of Homeboy Industries; described in his book Tattoos on the Heart as 'the youngest pastor in the history of the archdiocese'.