About Herlong Station · Herlong, California
Herlong Station is a Catholic mission chapel located on the historic Sierra Army Depot site in the small unincorporated community of Herlong, Lassen County, California. It is classified by the Diocese of Sacramento as a 'station' — a worship site served from a larger parish rather than a self-standing parish — and is administered as a mission of Sacred Heart Parish in nearby Susanville. The current pastor is Rev. Arnold P. Parungao. Weekend Mass is celebrated on Saturday evening, with an additional Mass offered on Holy Days, providing Catholic worship to the small population of Herlong and the surrounding Honey Lake area.
- Rector
- Rev. Arnold P. Parungao
- Diocese
- Diocese of Sacramento
Why belong here
Herlong Station brings the sacraments and the Sunday Eucharist to one of the most rural pockets of the Diocese of Sacramento — a community where Catholic life would otherwise mean a long drive over the mountains to Susanville or Reno. Weekend Mass on Saturday evening and Holy Day Masses are celebrated in English at the Sierra Army Depot Chapel at 74 C Street, and the station is cared for by the priests and faithful of Sacred Heart Parish, Susanville. For Catholic military families, depot employees, retirees, and residents of Herlong and the surrounding Honey Lake country, it is a small but steady spiritual home and a link to the wider sacramental life of the Diocese of Sacramento.
Mass times at Herlong Station
Weekly Mass schedule
Overview
Herlong Station is the Catholic chapel serving the community of Herlong, California, in Lassen County. Classified by the Diocese of Sacramento as a 'station' rather than a full parish, it is administered by the pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Susanville. The chapel is located at 74 C Street on the Sierra Army Depot site, and offers Saturday Vigil Mass and Holy Day Mass for Catholics living and working on the depot and in the surrounding Honey Lake area.
History of the Sierra Army Depot and Herlong Chapel
The chapel at Herlong Station traces its origins to World War II. The U.S. Army acquired the Sierra Army Depot site in early 1942, and the construction firm of Bressi-Brevanda and Teichert erected ammunition storage igloos, magazines, administration buildings, and an entire support town — Herlong — to house depot personnel. A church (Building 1010) was built between 1942 and 1944 alongside six wooden barracks, a theater, bowling alley, two community centers, a general store, and other town amenities. Of the 1,192 buildings now on the installation, more than a thousand were constructed during the war years, and the chapel has continued in Catholic use into the present day.
- Sierra Army Depot acquired: early 1942
- Town of Herlong built: 1942–1944
- Depot size: 36,322 acres adjacent to Honey Lake
- Original chapel: Building 1010, a wartime wood-frame church
- Mother parish: Sacred Heart Parish, Susanville (established 1912)
Clergy
Herlong Station is served by the pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Susanville. The current pastor is Rev. Arnold P. Parungao, who also serves on the diocesan Presbyteral Council and College of Consultors for the Diocese of Sacramento. Parishioners can reach the station through the Sacred Heart Parish office at 530-257-3230.
- Pastor: Rev. Arnold P. Parungao
- Office phone: 530-257-3230
- Parochial oversight: Sacred Heart Parish, Susanville
Mass and Worship Schedule
The Diocese of Sacramento lists a regular weekend Mass and Holy Day Mass schedule for Herlong Station. As a small mission chapel, it does not publish daily Mass times; for weekday Mass, Reconciliation, Adoration, and other devotions, parishioners are directed to Sacred Heart Parish in Susanville, where Masses are offered in English and Spanish, with daily morning Adoration and First Friday Adoration.
- Saturday Vigil Mass: 4:00 PM (English)
- Holy Day Mass: 11:30 AM
- Weekday Mass, Adoration, and Reconciliation: see Sacred Heart Parish, Susanville
Sacred Heart Parish — the Mother Parish
Herlong Station is administered as a mission of Sacred Heart Parish in Susanville, the historic Catholic parish for Lassen County. Established in 1912, Sacred Heart Parish operates from 120 North Union Street, Susanville (mailing address P.O. Box 430, Susanville, CA 96130), with additional worship space at Msgr. Moran Hall (140 N. Weatherlow Street). The parish runs a religious education program and supports several mission sites, including Herlong Station, the Lassen County correctional centers, and other outlying communities of the Ridge Deanery.
- Established: 1912
- Location: 120 North Union Street, Susanville, CA 96130
- Phone: 530-257-3230
- Herlong Station mission: Sierra Army Depot Chapel, 74 C Street
Diocese and Deanery
Herlong Station belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, which was established on May 28, 1886 and covers 42,597 square miles across 20 California counties with a Catholic population of more than one million. The station falls within the Lassen County cluster of the Ridge Deanery, currently led by Rev. Matt Blank as Dean. Other parishes in the same deanery include Sacred Heart (Alturas), Our Lady of the Snows (Lake Almanor), Holy Family (Portola), St. John (Quincy), and Sacred Heart (Susanville), along with chaplaincies at the Lassen County correctional facilities. The diocesan bishop is Most Reverend Jaime Soto, D.D., M.S.W., ninth Bishop of Sacramento.
- Diocese: Sacramento (established 1886)
- Deanery: Ridge (Lassen County cluster)
- Dean: Rev. Matt Blank
- Diocesan Bishop: Most Reverend Jaime Soto