About Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos · Salida, California
Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos is a Spanish-language Catholic mission chapel in Salida, California, serving the faithful of the unincorporated Stanislaus County community as a satellite of Holy Family Catholic Church in Modesto. Part of the Diocese of Stockton, the chapel at 4643 Flint Avenue is dedicated to the Marian title of Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos, the small miraculous image of the Immaculate Conception venerated in the Basilica of San Juan de los Lagos in Jalisco, Mexico — the second-most visited pilgrimage shrine in Mexico after Our Lady of Guadalupe. All Masses at the Salida mission are celebrated in Spanish, and the chapel hosts a yearly fiesta in honor of its patroness around the August 15th weekend.
- Established
- 2006-2008
- Patron
- Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos (Nuestra Señora de San Juan de los Lagos)
- Rector
- Rev. Fr. Juan Serna, S.T.L. (Pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church, Modesto — the mission's parent parish)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Stockton
Why belong here
Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos offers Spanish-speaking Catholics in Salida and northern Modesto a dedicated mission chapel where every Mass is celebrated in their language, rooted in the deep Marian devotion to Nuestra Señora de San Juan de los Lagos brought north from Jalisco, Mexico. The chapel is supported by the larger pastoral team of Holy Family Catholic Church in Modesto, giving the small mission access to faith formation, sacramental preparation, and parish community life far beyond what a chapel of its size could offer alone. For families who want a parish home that honors a beloved Mexican Marian tradition and gathers the Spanish-speaking faithful in the Stanislaus County area, this mission chapel is the natural place.
Mass times at Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos
Weekly Mass schedule
Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos — Salida Mission Chapel
Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos is the Salida mission chapel of Holy Family Catholic Church in Modesto, located at 4643 Flint Avenue in unincorporated Salida, Stanislaus County. It is a Spanish-language mission of the Diocese of Stockton, dedicated to the Marian devotion to Nuestra Señora de San Juan de los Lagos. All Masses at the chapel are celebrated in Spanish.
- Type: Mission (satellite chapel)
- Diocese: Stockton
- Parent parish: Holy Family Catholic Church, Modesto
- Languages: Spanish
History of the Salida Chapel
The chapel came into being as part of the 2006 founding of Holy Family Catholic Church. The first pastor, Fr. Ramon Bejarano, acquired the property at 4643 Flint Avenue during his 2006–2008 tenure. Saturday Masses in English and Spanish were already being offered there before Fr. Juan Serna succeeded him in the summer of 2008. In 2009, Fr. Juan oversaw the restoration of the Salida Chapel so that it could be properly 'catholicized' for fuller liturgical use. The chapel has since become the spiritual home for Spanish-speaking Catholics in the Salida community, with the annual Fiesta of Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos held around the August 15th weekend.
- 2006: Holy Family parish founded by Bishop Stephen E. Blaire; Fr. Ramon Bejarano appointed first pastor
- 2006–2008: Saturday Masses (English and Spanish) held at the Salida chapel property acquired by Fr. Bejarano
- Summer 2008: Fr. Juan Serna, S.T.L., assigned as second pastor of Holy Family
- 2009: Salida Chapel restored and 'catholicized' under Fr. Juan's leadership
Patroness and Marian Devotion
The chapel takes its name from Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos, a Marian title associated with a small cane-paste image of the Immaculate Conception venerated in the Cathedral Basilica of San Juan de los Lagos in Jalisco, Mexico. According to the tradition recounted on Holy Family's website, in 1623 a six-year-old girl from a family of traveling trapeze artists fell to her death, but was restored to life when Ana Lucia, an elderly woman who cared for the chapel, placed the old image on the child's chest and asked the gathered faithful to pray to 'Cihualpilli' (Lady). That First Miracle launched a devotion that, over four centuries, has drawn millions of pilgrims — making the basilica the second-most visited Catholic shrine in Mexico after the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The devotion traveled north with Mexican immigrants and remains a powerful expression of faith for the community at this Salida chapel.
- Major shrine: Cathedral Basilica of San Juan de los Lagos, Jalisco, Mexico
- Patroness: Virgen de San Juan de los Lagos / Cihualpilli
- Devotion brought to California by immigrants from Jalisco
Feast Days and the Annual Fiesta
The patroness of the chapel is honored on several traditional feast days — most prominently February 2 (Candelaria/Candlemas), August 15 (the Assumption of Mary), and December 8 (the Immaculate Conception) — with the entire month of May also observed in special devotion. At the Salida mission and its parent parish Holy Family, the principal local celebration is the annual Fiesta of Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos, held around the August 15th weekend and recognized as one of Holy Family's longest-standing parish traditions.
- February 2 — Candelaria / Candlemas
- August 15 — Assumption of Mary (parish fiesta weekend)
- December 8 — Immaculate Conception
- May — month of special Marian devotion
Clergy and Parish Leadership
Because the Salida chapel is a mission of Holy Family Catholic Church in Modesto, pastoral care is provided by the Holy Family clergy team. The current pastor of the parent parish — and therefore the priest responsible for the mission — is Rev. Fr. Juan Serna, S.T.L., who has served since the summer of 2008. Fr. Serna succeeded the founding pastor, Rev. Fr. Ramon Bejarano, who originally acquired the chapel property.
- Rev. Fr. Juan Serna, S.T.L. — Pastor (since summer 2008)
- Rev. Fr. Ramon Bejarano — Founding pastor of Holy Family (January 2006 – August 2008)
Parish Contact and Practical Information
Inquiries, sacramental needs, and registration for the Salida mission are handled through Holy Family Catholic Church in Modesto, the parent parish. The Holy Family parish office can be reached by phone during regular business hours and by email; its main address is 4212 Dale Road, Modesto, CA 95356 (the current worship site, as the parish prepares to build its future home on Tully Road).
- Chapel address: 4643 Flint Avenue, Salida, CA 95368
- Parent parish phone: (209) 545-3553
- Parent parish email: [email protected]
- Parent parish website: holyfamilymodesto.org
Community and Identity
The Salida mission chapel is best understood as the Spanish-language arm of Holy Family Catholic Church, which describes itself as a 'Family of Many Families' built around three core values: Celebrate our Faith, Love our Family, and Serve our Community. For Mexican and Mexican-American Catholics in the Salida area, the chapel is a place where they can celebrate the Eucharist in their own language while keeping alive a Marian devotion that links their faith to the basilica in Jalisco.
- Spanish-language Eucharistic life
- Annual Fiesta tradition rooted in Jalisco
- Outreach of Holy Family Catholic Church, Modesto
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Fr. Ramon BejaranoJanuary 2006 – August 2008
First pastor of Holy Family; key in acquiring the Salida Chapel at 4643 Flint Avenue and establishing Saturday Masses there.
- Rev. Fr. Juan Serna, S.T.L.Summer 2008 – present
Succeeded Fr. Bejarano; led the 2009 restoration of the Salida Chapel and has overseen the parish's growth to roughly 1,400 registered families.