About Our Lady of the Sierra · Camp Sacramento, California
Our Lady of the Sierra is a seasonal Catholic mission chapel nestled in Camp Sacramento, a small mountain community near Echo Summit on Highway 50 in El Dorado County, California. It is a mission of St. Theresa Parish in South Lake Tahoe within the Diocese of Sacramento, and unlike most Catholic churches it is open only in the summer, with Sunday Mass celebrated from July through Labor Day for the cabin owners and campers who visit the Sierra high country. The simple, elegant chapel was hand-built by volunteers in 1935 and dedicated by Bishop Robert J. Armstrong under the title of Our Lady of the Sierra, and it has hosted an unbroken succession of summer Masses ever since — making it one of the most distinctive and storied missions in the Sacramento Diocese.
- Established
- 1935
- Patron
- The Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title Our Lady of the Sierra
- Rector
- Rev. Mauricio Hurtado (administrator of St. Theresa Parish, South Lake Tahoe, which shepherds the mission)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Sacramento (Catholic Extension Society–supported home mission)
Why belong here
Our Lady of the Sierra exists so that Catholic families vacationing or keeping cabins in the Sierra Nevada between Echo Summit and Echo Lakes can worship together during the brief mountain summer. From July through Labor Day, the same hand-built 1935 chapel hosts a single 10:00 a.m. Sunday Mass — a continuation of nearly ninety consecutive summers of Catholic worship in Camp Sacramento — and welcomes cabin owners from the Echo Lakes area, many of them from the San Francisco Bay Area, into a close-knit seasonal community. It is a mission cared for by St. Theresa Parish in South Lake Tahoe, so visiting worshippers are linked into a broader diocesan family under Bishop Myron Cotta of Sacramento, and the chapel's long volunteer history means parishioners can take real ownership in keeping this Depression-era landmark alive.
Mass times at Our Lady of the Sierra
Weekly Mass schedule
History of Our Lady of the Sierra Chapel
Our Lady of the Sierra has an unbroken ninety-year summer Mass tradition that begins in the 1930s, when Catholic families from Sacramento-area parishes — especially St. Francis Parish — began vacationing at Camp Sacramento near Echo Summit on Highway 50. Father Bernardine Laumeister, OFM, an assistant at St. Francis, arranged for the Franciscans to celebrate Sunday Mass in the camp dining hall, and the idea of a permanent chapel quickly took shape. Father Bernardine and master carpenter Maurice Bambery secured a U.S. Forest Service lease on a parcel across the road from the camp, architect Harry Devine drew the plans, and in May 1935 excavation began. By mid-June 1935 a volunteer crew had built the chapel, and the first Mass was celebrated on June 23, 1935. Bishop Robert J. Armstrong formally dedicated it on August 4, 1935 under the title Our Lady of the Sierra. The chapel has hosted summer Masses every year since, with the Franciscan friars serving until St. Theresa Parish in South Lake Tahoe took over in 1951. The Salvatorian Fathers from St. Pius X Seminary in Galt then cared for it for decades, and today it remains a mission of St. Theresa Parish in the Diocese of Sacramento.
- 1935: Chapel built by volunteers in three months; first Mass June 23; dedicated August 4 by Bishop Robert J. Armstrong.
- 1938: First weekend laymen's retreat in the Diocese of Sacramento held here.
- 1951: St. Theresa Parish, South Lake Tahoe, established and assumed pastoral care of the camp.
- 1959–1961: Father Henry Frasinetti remodeled the sanctuary.
- Mid-1990s: Monsignor Murrough Wallace renovated the sanctuary; present altar came from the old St. Theresa Church.
Clergy & Pastoral Care
Because Our Lady of the Sierra is a mission (not a parish), it does not have its own resident pastor. Pastoral care is provided by St. Theresa Parish in South Lake Tahoe, and the summer Mass is currently celebrated by Rev. Mauricio Hurtado, administrator of St. Theresa, together with Monsignor Murrough Wallace, pastor emeritus. The clergy of the Diocese of Sacramento who have served this chapel over the decades include Franciscans from St. Francis Parish, the founding pastor of St. Theresa (Father Patrick Lyons), Salvatorians from St. Pius X Seminary in Galt, and diocesan priests assigned to the South Lake Tahoe parish.
- Rev. Mauricio Hurtado — current administrator of St. Theresa Parish, principal celebrant
- Monsignor Murrough Wallace — pastor emeritus of St. Theresa, celebrates on rotation
- Phone for sacramental and pastoral needs: (530) 544-3533 (St. Theresa Parish office)
The Building: Architecture & Treasures
The chapel was designed by Sacramento architect Harry Devine in 1935 and hand-built on U.S. Forest Service land by contractor Maurice Bambery and a volunteer crew. It seats about 150 people and has been described by the Diocese of Sacramento as 'simple but adequate.' Generous gifts from campers gave the chapel many of its most cherished features, and these handmade details — woodcarvings, stained glass, a locomotive bell — are what make it feel so personal. The most recent sanctuary remodel, in the mid-1990s, was led by Monsignor Murrough Wallace and incorporated an altar that had originally belonged to the old St. Theresa Church in South Lake Tahoe.
- Architect: Harry Devine (1935)
- Builder/contractor: Maurice Bambery, with volunteers Dave Cippa and John Steinman
- Pipe organ — gift of William Boderfelt
- Stained glass window behind the altar — gift of Maurice Bambery
- Locomotive bell over the entrance — installed by Carl Nissel
- Stations of the Cross — carved from local trees by one of the campers
- Present altar — formerly a side altar in the old St. Theresa Church, South Lake Tahoe
The People: Cabin Owners & Volunteers
The congregation at Our Lady of the Sierra is overwhelmingly made up of summer-cabin owners from the Echo Lakes and Echo Summit area, the majority of whom travel up from the San Francisco Bay Area for the mountain season. The chapel itself is a volunteer labor of love: its ongoing stewardship, snow-load watch, and seasonal opening are coordinated by cabin owners, with current leads Alan and Sylvia Hugo (Echo Summit cabin, Palm Springs–based) succeeding the late Bob Benefield. The diocese has noted that a younger generation of Sacramento-area Catholics is now also getting involved, ensuring the chapel's future.
- Congregation is drawn mainly from Echo Lakes / Echo Summit cabin owners
- Most parishioners commute seasonally from the San Francisco Bay Area
- Chapel maintenance coordinated by volunteer cabin owners (currently Alan and Sylvia Hugo, formerly Bob Benefield)
How to Find Us
Our Lady of the Sierra sits across the road from Camp Sacramento on U.S. Highway 50 near Echo Summit, in El Dorado County. It is officially a mission of St. Theresa Parish in South Lake Tahoe, and all phone, mailing, and pastoral contact is handled through the parish office there. The mailing address is often given as Lot 43, Sayles Canyon Tract, Camp Sacramento, CA 96150, with the physical location also described as 18880 US Highway 50, Twin Bridges / Echo Lake.
- Liturgical site: Camp Sacramento, El Dorado County, on U.S. Forest Service land near Echo Summit on Highway 50
- Mailing address (via St. Theresa Parish): 1041 Lyons Ave., South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
- Phone: (530) 544-3533
- Diocesan website: http://www.scd.org/parish/our-lady-sierras-mission-twin-bridges
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Bernardine Laumeister, OFM1930s–1951
Franciscan from St. Francis Parish, Sacramento; arranged the original summer Masses in the camp dining hall and spearheaded the building of the chapel.
- Father Samuel Goggins, OFM1935–1951 (summers)
Franciscan friar who celebrated summer Masses.
- Father Gregory Wooler, OFM1935–1951 (summers)
Franciscan friar; summer celebrant.
- Father Gilbert Zlatar, OFM1935–1951 (summers)
Franciscan friar; summer celebrant.
- Father Michael Egan, OFM1940s (summers)
Franciscan friar who helped run the first diocesan laymen's retreats.
- Father Luke Powleson, OFM1940s (summers)
Franciscan friar; summer celebrant.
- Father Patrick Lyons1951–late 1950s
Founding pastor of St. Theresa Parish (Al Tahoe); took over Camp Sacramento Mass, with the collection supporting the new parish.
- Father John Grace, SDSmid–late 1950s onward (summers)
Salvatorian from St. Pius X Seminary, Galt; later pastor emeritus of St. Theresa.
- Father Cletus LaMere, SDS1950s
Salvatorian who helped introduce Frs. McEvoy and Grace to St. Theresa and the chapel.
- Father Victor (Vic) McEvoy, SDSlate 1950s–1983
Salvatorian celebrant; his last Mass at the camp was Labor Day weekend 1983.
- Father Henry Frasinetti1959–1961+
Assigned by Bishop McGucken to St. Theresa; supervised the 1961 sanctuary remodel.
- Monsignor Murrough Wallacemid-1990s
Led the mid-1990s sanctuary renovation; still celebrates the 10 a.m. Mass on rotation.
- Rev. Mauricio Hurtadopresent (as of the 2016 diocesan history)
Administrator of St. Theresa Parish, South Lake Tahoe; principal current celebrant at the camp.