About Santa Ysabel Indian Mission · Santa Ysabel, California
Santa Ysabel Indian Mission, also known as St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, is a historic Roman Catholic parish in the mountain community of Santa Ysabel, California, about 60 miles east of San Diego. Originally founded in 1818 as an 'asistencia' (sub-mission) to Mission San Diego de Alcalá, it is one of the oldest continuously used Catholic sites in the region and still serves Native American and other parishioners in the backcountry. Today the parish belongs to the Diocese of San Diego and operates from 23013 Highway 79, also extending Sunday Mass ministry to St. Francis of Assisi Chapel in nearby Warner Springs.
- Established
- 1818
- Patron
- Saint Elizabeth (Isabel), Queen of Portugal (mission's original patroness); the present 1924 church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist
- Rector
- Fr. Roldan M. Nunez
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego
Why belong here
Santa Ysabel Indian Mission is one of the oldest continually used Catholic sites in California — a living link to the 1818 asistencia founded for the Luiseño and Kumeyaay peoples — and it still keeps that mission spirit alive through small, faithful liturgies. Parishioners gather for a Saturday Vigil Mass, Sunday Mass with the Rosary, and a second Sunday Mass at the St. Francis of Assisi Chapel in Warner Springs, while the parish is led by a dedicated pastor (Fr. Roldan M. Nunez) and Deacon Fred Thornton. It's an intimate backcountry community where, as the parish puts it, the patroness Santa Ysabel invites everyone to 'open our parish to all seeking peace' and to live a 'lifestyle rooted in love and justice.'
Mass times at Santa Ysabel Indian Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 2:30 PM
Welcome to Santa Ysabel Indian Mission
Santa Ysabel Indian Mission, also called St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, is a small but living parish in the San Diego backcountry, located on Highway 79 in the mountain community of Santa Ysabel. The parish greets visitors from its front-page message: 'For Questions, please call the Parish Office at 760-419-5381 M-Th 8:15-1:45.' Its mission for 2026 is rooted in the parish patroness, Santa Ysabel (St. Elizabeth of Portugal), and a call to be a 'Holy Year of Communion' — welcoming the stranger, acting with compassion, and walking with obedience.
- Pastor: Fr. Roldan M. Nunez
- Deacon: Deacon Fred Thornton
- Office Manager: Silva French
- Office hours: Monday–Thursday, 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM (call for appointment)
St. Francis of Assisi Chapel, Warner Springs
The parish also ministers to St. Francis of Assisi Chapel at the corner of Highway 79 and Stage Road in Warner Springs, CA 92086. Sunday Mass is celebrated there weekly, with the Rosary at 12:00 PM and Mass at 12:30 PM. The chapel is named after St. Francis of Assisi (1181–1226), who rebuilt physical churches and built up the spiritual Church through his humility, purity, and true joy.
- Location: Hwy 79 & Stage Rd., Warner Springs, CA 92086
- Sunday Rosary: 12:00 PM
- Sunday Mass: 12:30 PM
- Inquiries: through the Santa Ysabel parish office during hours of operation
Our History (1818 to Today)
The mission was founded on September 20, 1818, at Cañada de Santa Ysabel as an asistencia (sub-mission) of Mission San Diego de Alcalá, to serve roughly 250 Luiseño and Kumeyaay neophytes. After secularization in the 1830s the chapel fell into ruin; the 1844 Rancho Santa Ysabel land grant pushed the Indians aside, and the Asistencia was little more than a roofless ruin by 1850. Eventually three acres were returned to the Diocese of San Diego. In 1903 Father Joseph Exalaphat LaPointe, a French Canadian missionary, came to work with the Indians; with their help he laid the cornerstone of the present-day church on September 14, 1924. Father LaPointe served until his death in 1932 and, at the Indians' request, was buried alongside the church he had built.
- 1818 — Father Fernando Martín celebrates the first Mass at a brush enramada on September 20
- 1821 — Chapel, granary, cemetery and several adobe houses completed; ~450 natives living at site
- 1821 — Father Mariano Payeras proposes Santa Ysabel as 'mother' of an inland mission chain
- 1834 — Missions secularized under Mexican rule; Asistencia declines
- 1844 — Rancho Santa Ysabel (17,719 acres) granted despite Indian protests
- 1850s — Site serves as way station on the San Antonio–San Diego mail line
- 1903 — Father Joseph Exalaphat LaPointe arrives to minister to the Indians
- 1924 — Cornerstone of present St. John the Baptist church laid September 14
- 1932 — Father LaPointe dies November 19 and is buried beside the church
- 2018 — Bicentennial of the Asistencia celebrated
- Present — Parish of the Diocese of San Diego, serving Native Americans and others
The Historic Asistencia Site
The original 1818 Asistencia floor tiles laid by the padres and Indians can still be seen beside the present 1924 church. Two antique bells — Nuestra Señora de Loreto (1723, the oldest bell known to exist in Alta California) and San Pedro (1767) — once hung in a timber frame on the Asistencia wall; both were stolen in 1926 and only fragments were later recovered.
- Original 1818 floor tiles still visible on site
- Nuestra Señora de Loreto bell dated 1723 (oldest known in Alta California)
- San Pedro bell dated 1767
- California Historical Landmark No. 369
Our Patroness — Santa Ysabel (St. Elizabeth of Portugal)
The mission takes its name from St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Santa Ysabel / Isabel), the 13th-century queen who 'scorned her bejeweled crown' for a life of humble service, washing the feet of the poor and opening her castle to those in need. Her feast day is July 4. The parish points to her as the model for its 2026 theme, 'Peace be with you all: Towards an unarmed and disarming peace,' echoing Pope Francis's call to disarm our hearts.
- Patroness: St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Santa Ysabel)
- Feast day: July 4
- 2026 parish theme: 'Peace be with you all: Towards an unarmed and disarming peace'
Parish Staff & Clergy
The parish is led by Pastor Fr. Roldan M. Nunez and supported by Deacon Fred Thornton. Silva French serves as Office Manager and is the main point of contact during office hours. Together they oversee both the Santa Ysabel parish and the St. Francis of Assisi Chapel in Warner Springs.
- Pastor: Fr. Roldan M. Nunez — [email protected]
- Deacon: Fred Thornton — [email protected]
- Office Manager: Silva French — [email protected]
Contact & Visit
The parish office welcomes phone calls Monday–Thursday from 8:15 AM to 1:45 PM (messages can be left at other times). The mission address is 23013 Highway CA-79, Santa Ysabel, CA 92070, with a mailing address of P.O. Box 129, Santa Ysabel, CA 92070. Office hours for in-person visits are 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM, Monday–Thursday, by appointment.
- Mission address: 23013 Hwy CA-79, Santa Ysabel, CA 92070
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 129, Santa Ysabel, CA 92070
- Phone: (760) 419-5381
- Email: [email protected]
- Office hours: M–Th 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM (call for appointment)
Native American Ministry & Outreach
The mission was founded in 1818 specifically to serve the Luiseño and Kumeyaay (Ipai / Diegueño) peoples, and the parish continues that ministry today alongside other parishioners in the San Diego backcountry. The Diocese of San Diego's Historic Missions page notes that Santa Ysabel 'is a parish of the Diocese of San Diego that still serves Native Americans and others.' Parish leadership asks the community to 'Welcome the Stranger' and 'Act with Compassion — Pray for a heart that breaks for what breaks God's, especially for the unreached and hurting.'
- Continuing ministry to the Kumeyaay (Ipai / Diegueño) and Luiseño peoples
- Backcountry ministry extending to outstation Mass at Warner Springs
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Fernando Martín1818 (founding)
Franciscan padre who celebrated the inaugural Mass at the Asistencia on September 20, 1818.
- Father Mariano Payeras1821
Comisario Prefecto of the California Missions who visited Santa Ysabel and proposed it as the 'mother' mission of a planned chain of inland missions.
- Father Joseph Exalaphat LaPointe1903–1932
French Canadian missionary who worked with the Indians, laid the cornerstone of the present St. John the Baptist church in 1924, and was buried alongside the building at the Indians' request after his death on November 19, 1932.
- The Verona Fathers (Sons of the Heart)after 1932
Took over religious services at the mission following Father LaPointe's death.
- Fr. Roldan M. Nunezpresent (as of 2026)
Current Pastor of Santa Ysabel Indian Mission – St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.