About Immaculate Heart Monastery of the Poor Clares · Los Altos Hills, California
The Immaculate Heart Monastery of the Poor Clares (formally the Poor Clare Colettines of the Immaculate Heart of Mary) is a cloistered, contemplative Catholic women's monastery in Los Altos Hills, California, in the Diocese of San Jose. The Sisters live a strict papal-enclosure life of prayer, silence, and penance following the Rule written by St. Clare of Assisi more than 800 years ago. The community's central work is the daily celebration of Mass, the seven-times-daily chanting of the Divine Office, and perpetual intercessory prayer for the whole people of God. Their monastery chapel is open to the public each day for the 7:00 a.m. Mass and for private prayer between 6:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
- Established
- 1950
- Patron
- The Immaculate Heart of Mary
- Diocese
- Diocese of San Jose in California
Why belong here
The Immaculate Heart Monastery is not a parish in the usual sense — it is a cloistered, contemplative women's monastery — but anyone in Los Altos Hills is warmly invited to pray with the Poor Clares. The chapel is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. for private prayer, and Holy Mass is offered every morning at 7:00 a.m. and is open to the faithful. Visitors may also write prayer requests to be remembered in the Sisters' perpetual intercession, browse the courtyard gift shop, or simply pause on the hilltop where the monastery bells mark the hours of the Divine Office. The annual Novena to St. Clare (August 2–10) draws neighbors and pilgrims each year for evenings of adoration, a preached reflection, the novena prayers, and Benediction.
Mass times at Immaculate Heart Monastery of the Poor Clares
Weekly Mass schedule
Adoration times
- Daily silent adoration after the 7:00 AM Mass (morning)
- Annually during the Novena to St. Clare (August 2–10): Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament 7:00–7:30 PM, followed by a preached reflection, the novena prayers, and Benediction (7:30–8:00 PM)
Welcome from the Poor Clare Colettines
The Sisters' welcome page greets visitors with an invitation to learn about their life, to pray with and for them, and to visit the monastery chapel if they are in the Los Altos Hills area. They explicitly note that the chapel is open to the faithful every day for Holy Mass at 7:00 a.m. and for personal prayer between 6:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. The community describes itself as 'a Catholic religious order of women who have vowed a lifestyle based on the Rule written by Saint Clare more than 800 years ago,' living 'an enclosed life of prayer and penance, in solitude and silence, occupied with God alone, urged on by love for the whole people of God.'
- Daily Mass open to the public: 7:00 AM
- Chapel open for personal prayer: 6:30 AM – 5:30 PM
- Life rooted in the Rule of St. Clare of Assisi (13th century)
- Cloistered papal-enclosure life of prayer and penance
Our Monastery
The 'Our Monastery' section grounds the community in its Los Altos Hills hilltop and introduces the founding story. The Sisters explain the meaning of 'cloistered' (from the Latin claustrum, 'enclosure') and recount how four foundresses arrived in 1950, how the Gibson Estate was gradually transformed into a monastery, and how, fifty years later, structural decay forced a complete rebuild — which they came to see as a new beginning rather than an end. A short section also mentions the gift shop located across the courtyard from the chapel, where visitors may browse devotional items and submit prayer requests.
- Hilltop monastery in Los Altos Hills, Northern California
- Four foundresses arrived February 14, 1950
- Within four years: permanent chapel, choir, refectory, and dormitory built
- Site rebuilt ~50 years after founding (early 2000s)
- Courtyard gift shop across from the chapel
- Prayer-request box for visitors
Founding the Immaculate Heart Monastery
The dedicated founding page tells the origin story in detail. Mother Agnes's promise — 'If you find us a monastery, we will dedicate it to the Immaculate Heart of Mary' — frames the community's identity. The first Holy Mass was offered on February 16, 1950, by two Jesuit priests in the ballroom basement of the Gibson Estate. Mother Veronica, one of the foundresses, dreamed of a true monastery built around a cloister courtyard; the community gradually realized that dream. One of the practical challenges of the early years was sharing the Gibson residence with Mr. and Mrs. Gibson themselves until their own new home was ready. The Sisters overcame these obstacles in the spirit of 'the adventure of Franciscan living.'
- Four Poor Clare Colettine nuns arrived February 14, 1950 (St. Valentine's Day)
- Mother Agnes's promise to dedicate the monastery to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
- First Mass: February 16, 1950, by two Jesuit priests in the ballroom basement
- Mother Veronica, foundress, dreamed of a true cloister-courtyard monastery
- St. Vincent de Paul Society helped outfit the monastery
- City Council initially forbade ringing of the bells
Rebuilding the Monastery
After about fifty years, time had taken its toll on the monastery — 'every possible band-aid had already been applied.' Their patient contractor concluded the buildings would need to be rebuilt. The Sisters recall this not as the end of their history but as 'a new beginning: a door opening onto God's unfolding plan.' Mother Colette has said she remembers watching the 1920s building being demolished and feeling that 'our history was collapsing, too. But no, it was simply being transformed!' The rebuilt monastery continues the same contemplative life in updated structures.
- Major reconstruction ~50 years after the 1950 founding
- Demolished and rebuilt on the same hilltop site
- Original cloister character preserved
- Community reframed demolition as spiritual transformation
Daily Life of a Poor Clare
The Sisters' own 'Daily Life' page explains that the life of a Poor Clare revolves around the liturgy. Holy Mass is the focal point of each day, and the Divine Office calls her back to choir seven times daily — shortly after midnight, then six more times through the day. After the early-morning Mass the community returns to the chapel for silent adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. Prayer is interspersed with periods of manual work — tending the monastery, the cloister gardens, and the Sisters' needs — and the community observes the traditional Lenten fast. They also share an hour of recreation each day, a time to talk, laugh, and enjoy one another's company while doing light handwork.
- Divine Office chanted in choir seven times daily
- Holy Mass at the heart of each day
- Silent adoration after morning Mass
- Manual work between prayer hours
- Lenten fast observed
- One hour of community recreation daily
Vocations — Is He Calling Me?
The Poor Clares' vocations page speaks directly to single Catholic women discerning a contemplative calling: 'If you are pondering the question, is God calling me to give myself to Him? Do not be afraid.' It frames every vocation as a free gift of God's love and a special call that 'cannot be explained, only accepted.' Applicants between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five may be received to enter the postulancy, the first stage of discernment and formation. The full formation program typically lasts up to nine years: aspirancy, postulancy (one year), novitiate (two years), temporary vows (three years), and then solemn profession. The Institute on Religious Life lists this community as having about 20 members in the Mary Immaculate Federation of Poor Clare Colettines.
- Accepts applicants ages 18–35
- Four stages of formation: postulancy, novitiate, temporary vows, solemn vows
- Total formation period: up to nine years
- Member of the Mary Immaculate Federation (Poor Clare Colettines)
- Approximately 20 Sisters in the community
- Vocation inquiries via the monastery's contact information
Public Worship & Chapel Life
The monastery chapel is the principal point of contact between the cloistered community and the wider Church. Holy Mass is offered every morning at 7:00 a.m. and is open to the faithful. The chapel is then available for personal prayer from 6:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Visitors are also welcomed to write prayer requests that the Sisters will carry in their intercessions. The annual Novena to St. Clare (August 2–10) is a major public devotion: each evening begins at 7:00 p.m. with half an hour of adoration, followed by a preached reflection, the novena prayers, and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
- Daily 7:00 AM Mass open to the public
- Chapel open for prayer: 6:30 AM – 5:30 PM
- Annual Novena to St. Clare, August 2–10, 7:00 PM
- Adoration + preached reflection + novena + Benediction during the novena
- Prayer-request box for personal intentions
Gift Shop & Support of the Community
Across the courtyard from the chapel, the monastery operates a small gift shop filled with rosaries, crafts, devotional and inspirational cards, books about the saints and religious life, and original artwork made by the Sisters. Purchases help support the community, which — in keeping with the Franciscan tradition of joyful poverty — lives entirely on alms. Visitors are also encouraged to write out prayer requests at the shop, which the Sisters will bring into their perpetual intercession.
- Rosaries, devotional cards, religious crafts
- Books about the saints and religious life
- Original drawings and crafts by the Sisters
- Proceeds support the cloistered community
- Community lives on alms in the Franciscan tradition
Visiting the Monastery
The monastery is located at 28210 Natoma Road in Los Altos Hills, California, within the Diocese of San Jose. Visitors are welcome to attend the daily 7:00 a.m. Mass, to spend time in personal prayer in the chapel between 6:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., and to make use of the gift shop. The telephone number for inquiries is 650-948-2947. Visitors and pilgrims are especially drawn to the monastery each August for the Novena to St. Clare.
- Address: 28210 Natoma Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022
- Phone: 650-948-2947
- Diocese of San Jose in California
- Open chapel year-round for prayer
Contact
The monastery's published contact information is straightforward and centered on the cloister gate. Mail, phone calls, and visits all reach the Sisters at the same Los Altos Hills address. The vocation contact named on the Institute on Religious Life directory is Mother Marie Colette, P.C.C.
- Address: 28210 Natoma Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022
- Phone: 650-948-2947
- Website: www.poorclareslosaltos.org
- Vocation contact: Mother Marie Colette, P.C.C.
- Diocese of San Jose in California