About Immaculate Conception · Downieville, California
Immaculate Conception Parish is a small Roman Catholic parish in the historic Gold Rush town of Downieville, the county seat of Sierra County, California. Founded in 1853 in the immediate aftermath of an 1852 fire that destroyed most of the mining camp, it is one of the oldest parishes in the Mother Lode and belongs to the Diocese of Sacramento, where it sits in the Mother Lode Deanery. The present wood-frame church was built in 1858 by Father Charles Delahunty after the original structure burned on New Year's Day of that year, and it still serves the residents of Downieville as a city landmark. Today the parish is administered from St. Canice Parish in nearby Nevada City, with Sunday Mass celebrated at 11:30 a.m. and the historic mission of St. Thomas in Sierra City served seasonally.
- Established
- 1853
- Patron
- Immaculate Conception (the Blessed Virgin Mary, conceived without sin)
- Rector
- Rev. Alex A. Estrella (Parochial Administrator, resident at St. Canice Parish, Nevada City)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento (Mother Lode Deanery)
Why belong here
Immaculate Conception is one of the most historically rooted Catholic parishes in the northern Mother Lode, tracing its life back to the very first Catholic church built in Downieville in 1853 and worshipping today in the 1858 church that replaced it. It is a small, intergenerational community — predominantly Anglo and senior, warmly welcoming to visitors — that gathers each Sunday at 11:30 a.m., shares coffee and cookies after Mass, and supports an all-volunteer choir with piano and guitar accompaniment. The parish also runs an active altar society and is one of the host sites for the Western Sierra Food Bank, a lifeline for low-income households in the surrounding mountains.
Mass times at Immaculate Conception
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Prior to Sunday Mass
- By appointment (call the parish office)
About Immaculate Conception Parish
Immaculate Conception is the Catholic parish of Downieville, the small Sierra County seat tucked into the canyon where the North Yuba and Downie rivers meet. Listed by the Diocese of Sacramento as established in 1853 and placed in the Mother Lode Deanery, the parish belongs to one of the oldest continuous Catholic presences in the northern Mother Lode. Its active church is a City of Downieville landmark and the spiritual home of a small, predominantly Anglo and senior community that welcomes visitors, summer residents and travelers passing through the Tahoe National Forest.
History of the Parish
Catholic services first reached the Downieville mining camp in the summer of 1852 when Father Aiker traveled up the North Yuba. Within a year Father Shanahan of Nevada City organized a committee and built the town's first Catholic church in 1853. After that structure burned in the catastrophic New Year's Day 1858 fire, Father Charles Delahunty had a new church erected higher up the hill and dedicated it as 'The Immaculate Conception' — the building that still stands. Through the late 19th and early 20th centuries the parish served a vast missionary territory, with priests ranging on horseback across Sierra County as far as La Porte, Howland Flat, Gibsonville and Johnsville. Monsignor John McGarry (1916–1926) was the last pastor to make those rounds on horseback.
- 1852 — Father Aiker holds the first recorded Catholic services in the North Yuba mining camps.
- 1853 — Father Shanahan organizes the first Catholic church in Downieville.
- 1855 — Father Thomas Dalton assumes responsibility for the region; travels by horseback to Sierra City, Forest City, Alleghany and Goodyears Bar.
- 1856 — Father Dalton purchases a former Baptist church for $2,300 and dedicates it as 'The Assumption.'
- 1856 — Father Charles Delahunty becomes pastor.
- Jan. 1, 1858 — Fire destroys the church; Delahunty builds the present church up the hill and names it 'The Immaculate Conception.'
- 1861 — Delahunty is transferred to Virginia City.
- 1865 — Father Charles Lynch, age 23, arrives and becomes a favorite of the miners.
- 1916–1926 — Msgr. John McGarry serves as the last horseback circuit-riding pastor.
- Today — Parish administered from St. Canice, Nevada City, with Rev. Alex A. Estrella as pastor.
The Church Building
The present church is a small, traditional wood-frame Gold Rush-era structure perched on a hillside on Sunnyside Drive in downtown Downieville. With seating for about 50, the building offers excellent acoustics for the spoken liturgy and the parish's volunteer choir. Inside, the sanctuary retains a traditional white wood altar with gold trim. The church is recognized as a City of Downieville landmark.
- Style: 1858 Gold Rush-era wood-frame parish church.
- Interior: traditional white wood altar with gold trim; intimate scale (~50 seats).
- Designation: City of Downieville landmark.
St. Thomas Mission — Sierra City
St. Thomas is the seasonal mission church of Immaculate Conception, located in Sierra City in the same county. Like the mother parish, St. Thomas traces its roots to the early 1850s, when Father Dalton first rode up from Nevada City to minister to the miners. Today Mass is celebrated at the mission every third Sunday at noon during the summer months (June, July and August), continuing a sacramental presence that has spanned more than 170 years.
- Status: Mission of Immaculate Conception Parish, Downieville
- Location: Sierra City, CA 96125
- Mass: every third Sunday at noon (June, July, August)
Parish Ministries & Community Life
Although small, Immaculate Conception maintains a number of active ministries that keep the parish and the wider mountain community connected. The altar society tends to the church, the all-volunteer choir (with piano and guitar) provides music each Sunday, and the parish hosts the Western Sierra Food Bank — one of the most important hunger-relief networks in western Sierra County. After Sunday Mass parishioners and visitors gather for coffee and cookies in the back room, a warm tradition that has long been a hallmark of the community.
- Altar Society
- All-volunteer parish choir (piano and guitar)
- Western Sierra Food Bank — distribution hosted at the parish
- Annual summer 'Godsend' raffle fundraiser
- Hospitality / coffee and cookies after Mass
Outreach: Western Sierra Food Bank
Since 1988 the Western Sierra Food Bank has distributed 350–400 food baskets annually throughout western Sierra County. The parish hosts the Downieville distribution site at the church on Sunnyside Drive and is one of the Food Bank's partner organizations alongside the Downieville Lions Club, the Downie Chapter of E. Clampus Vitus and the Downieville Assembly of God Church. The Food Bank serves families at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and on daily request, and the cost per basket has risen from $50 to $120 over the past five years — making donations especially important.
- Founded: 1988
- Hosted at: Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Sunnyside Drive, Downieville
- Baskets distributed annually: 350–400
- Contact: Bette Jo & Frank Lang 530-277-8954; Paul Douville 530-289-1018
- Distributions: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and daily on request
Clergy & Staff
Immaculate Conception is administered from St. Canice Parish in Nevada City, with clergy traveling to Downieville for Sunday Mass and to St. Thomas Mission in Sierra City in the summer.
- Pastor: Rev. Alex A. Estrella
- Parochial Vicar: Rev. Jossy G. Vattothu CMI
Visit & Contact
The parish is located on Sunnyside Drive in downtown Downieville, with several parking spaces by the church and additional parking at the nearby school (a short walk up the hill). The parish office is reached at (530) 289-3102. Downieville has roughly 300 residents and the town has no restaurants or grocery stores — visitors are encouraged to bring food and to plan their Sunday around the 11:30 a.m. Mass followed by coffee and cookies with parishioners.
- Address: 110 Sunnyside Drive, Downieville, CA 95936 (Mailing: P.O. Box 302)
- Phone: (530) 289-3102
- Website: https://www.scd.org/parish/immaculate-conception-parish-downieville
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento (Mother Lode Deanery)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Shanahan1853 (spring)
Built the first Catholic church in Downieville after arriving from Nevada City; recalled to San Francisco later that year.
- Father Peter DeyaertDec. 1853 – spring 1855
Succeeded Shanahan at Nevada City; made regular visits to Downieville.
- Father Thomas Dalton1855 – 1856
Traveled by horseback through the mining camps of northern Sierra County; in 1856 purchased a former Baptist church for $2,300 and dedicated it as 'The Assumption'.
- Father Charles Delahuntywinter 1856 – fall 1861
First resident pastor; rebuilt the present church after the Jan. 1, 1858 fire and rededicated it as 'The Immaculate Conception.' Transferred to Virginia City.
- Father MorrisMay 1862 – 1865
Returned to Ireland; recruited Father Lynch.
- Father Charles Lynch1865 – Jan. 1877 (with breaks)
Came to Downieville at age 23; great favorite of the miners. Served with Father William Maloney in late 1869, then Father O'Donnell in 1870, before returning and remaining until 1877.
- Father G. MeilerJan. 1877 – Aug. 1877
- Father SheridanSept. 1877 – Jan. 1878
- Father P. KirleyAug. 1877 – Nov. 1882
- Father M. J. DillonNov. 1882 – May 1884
- Father J. J. ClaireMay 1884 – July 1893
- Father Patrick O'KaneJan. 1894 – Oct. 1897
- Father James DermodyOct. 1897 – Sept. 1903
- Father Patrick O'ReillyOct. 1907 – Dec. 1911
- Father James O'FlanaganJan. 1911 – Dec. 1915
- Father (later Msgr.) John McGarryJan. 1916 – Mar. 1926
The last priest to visit the outlying missions of northern, southern and western Sierra County on horseback — remembered for the striking figure he made, always well groomed on his horse.
- Father D. J. O'DonovanMar. 1926 – July 1930
- Father Patrick O'ReillyJuly 1930 – Oct. 1940
- Fathers Edward L. Williams and James EnrightOct. 1940 – April 1942
Served jointly.
- Father Virgil GabrielliMay 1942 – Aug. 1955
- Father Daniel McCarthyAug. 1955 – April 1957
- Father Daniel MinogueApril 1957 – Sept. 196?
- Father John Maloneyserved circa 1968
Pastor at the time of Msgr. McGarry's 1968 diamond jubilee, took the old monsignor and a reporter to the sites of the once-booming mining towns.
- Father Sylvester Kwiatkowskiserved circa 2012
Pastor listed in 2012 directory; resided at St. Patrick Church in Grass Valley; an escapee from Communist Eastern Europe.
- Rev. Julito Orpillaserved circa 2012
Parochial vicar from St. Canice, Nevada City, alternating with the pastor.
- Rev. Alex A. Estrellacurrent (2025-26 directory)
Listed by the Diocese of Sacramento as Pastor; serves also as Parochial Administrator of nearby St. Canice, Nevada City.
- Rev. Jossy G. Vattothu CMIcurrent (2025-26 directory)
Parochial Vicar, a member of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI).