About Our Lady of the Snow · Yosemite Valley, California
Our Lady of the Snows is a Roman Catholic mission chapel of the Diocese of Fresno, tucked inside Yosemite National Park at 9006 Cedar Court in Yosemite Valley. It is a mission of Our Lady of the Sierra Parish in Oakhurst, which is staffed by Fr. Victor Hernando; the Yosemite mission itself has no resident priest, and weekend Mass is celebrated by visiting priests who rotate in for a week at a time. Sunday Mass is offered year-round at 10:00 AM, with an additional summer Saturday evening Mass at Lower Pines Campground and ACMNP-led campground worship on summer Sundays. The Catholic congregation shares the historic Yosemite Valley Chapel — the oldest surviving structure in Yosemite Valley — with the nondenominational Yosemite Community Church.
- Established
- 1963
- Patron
- Our Lady of the Snows (the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of the Miracle of the Snow)
- Rector
- Rev. Victor Hernando (parish administrator of Our Lady of Sierra, Oakhurst — the parent parish)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Fresno
Why belong here
Our Lady of the Snows brings the Eucharist to one of the most extraordinary natural settings in the world — the floor of Yosemite Valley — with Sunday Mass offered year-round at 10:00 AM. Because it is a mission of Our Lady of the Sierra Parish in Oakhurst (Diocese of Fresno), it welcomes both valley residents and the millions of park visitors who pass through each year, drawing on rotating priests from across the region. In summer the Catholic presence extends beyond the chapel into the campgrounds through A Christian Ministry in the National Parks (ACMNP), with Mass celebrated at Lower Pines, Wawona, White Wolf, and Tuolumne.
Mass times at Our Lady of the Snow
Weekly Mass schedule
About Our Lady of the Snows
Our Lady of the Snows is a Roman Catholic mission chapel of the Diocese of Fresno, situated inside Yosemite National Park at 9006 Cedar Court in Yosemite Valley. It operates as a mission of Our Lady of the Sierra Parish in Oakhurst and is too small to support a resident priest; weekend Mass is instead celebrated by visiting priests who serve the chapel for a week at a time.
- Type: Mission chapel (Diocese of Fresno)
- Parent parish: Our Lady of the Sierra, Oakhurst (40180 Indian Springs Road)
- Mass offered year-round on Sundays at 10:00 AM
History of the Mission and the Yosemite Valley Chapel
The mission was formally established in 1963, but Catholic worship in the valley has shared the much older Yosemite Valley Chapel since 1879. That building — designed by San Francisco architect Charles Geddes and built under the California State Sunday School Association — has hosted continuous worship for nearly 150 years and is now the oldest structure in Yosemite Valley still in public use.
- 1879 — Yosemite Valley Chapel erected under the Yosemite Union Chapel Association / California State Sunday School Association
- 1879, June 7 — first service held; delegates to the National Sunday School Assembly filled the chapel to overflowing
- 1885 — Sir Arthur Sullivan played at President Grant's memorial service in the chapel
- 1901 — chapel dismantled and moved to its present site on Southside Drive
- 1963 — Mission of Our Lady of the Snows formally established
- 1965 — interior restored; new foundation placed; Historic American Buildings status granted
- 1973 — listed on the National Register of Historic Places (first Yosemite structure so recognized)
- 1997 — flood damage repaired in subsequent restoration
The Yosemite Valley Chapel Building
The small New England-style frame chapel was built at a cost of three to four thousand dollars and originally seated about 250 people in a single 26-by-50-foot room with exposed rafters. It has since been extended into an L-shape and now stands under National Park Service stewardship as a treasured historic landmark.
- Architect: Charles Geddes, San Francisco
- Builder: E. (Samuel) Thomson
- Original bell: gift of H. D. Bacon of Oakland
- First organ: gift of Miss Mary Porter of Philadelphia, in memory of Florence Hutchings
- Status: National Register of Historic Places (1973)
Mass and Worship Schedule
The Catholic mission celebrates Sunday Mass year-round at 10:00 AM in the Yosemite Valley Chapel. A summer Saturday evening Mass is offered at Lower Pines Campground, and ACMNP summer teams lead worship at four park campgrounds on Sunday mornings.
- Sunday 10:00 AM — Yosemite Valley Chapel (year-round)
- Saturday 6:00 PM — Lower Pines Campground (May–September)
- Sunday 9:00 AM — Lower Pines Campground (ACMNP, Memorial Day–Labor Day)
- Sunday 9:00 AM — Wawona Campground (ACMNP, summer)
- Sunday 9:00 AM — White Wolf Campground (ACMNP, summer)
- Sunday 9:00 AM — Tuolumne Campground (ACMNP, summer)
Clergy and Pastoral Care
Because the mission has no resident pastor, weekend Mass is celebrated by visiting priests from across the region who spend a week serving the chapel. The mission's canonical administrator is the pastor of Our Lady of the Sierra Parish in Oakhurst, currently Rev. Victor Hernando, who was assigned to the parish by Bishop Joseph Brennan of the Diocese of Fresno beginning September 1, 2020.
- Rev. Victor Hernando — Pastor/Administrator, Our Lady of the Sierra Parish (parent parish)
- Visiting priests — rotate weekly; serve Sunday Mass and live in the park rectory
A Christian Ministry in the National Parks (ACMNP)
Each summer, from Memorial Day through Labor Day, ACMNP places college and seminary students in Yosemite to lead worship in the campgrounds in cooperation with the National Park Service. These teams celebrate Sunday morning Mass at Lower Pines, Wawona, White Wolf, and Tuolumne campgrounds, extending the Catholic mission's reach to park campers.
- Operates Memorial Day through Labor Day
- Sunday 9 AM worship at four Yosemite campgrounds
- Works in cooperation with the National Park Service; receives no government funding
Sharing the Chapel: Yosemite Community Church
The Yosemite Valley Chapel is shared with the nondenominational Yosemite Community Church, which holds its own Sunday services there year-round (summer: 9:15 AM and 11:00 AM; winter: 9:15 AM only). The Community Church is pastored by Rev. Brent Moore, who also schedules weddings and other group uses of the chapel. The Catholic mission's 10:00 AM Sunday Mass is part of this shared use of one of the most iconic worship spaces in any U.S. national park.
- Rev. Brent Moore — pastor, Yosemite Community Church (nondenominational)
- Community Church summer services: Sundays 9:15 AM and 11:00 AM
- Community Church winter services: Sundays 9:15 AM
- Chapel hosts roughly 80 weddings in a busy year