About St. Augustine Monastery · San Diego, California
St. Augustine Monastery, located at 3266 Nutmeg Street in San Diego's North Park neighborhood, is the home of the Province of St. Augustine in California, a regional branch of the worldwide Order of St. Augustine (O.S.A.). The monastery chapel serves as the spiritual heart of the Augustinian friars' community life, with daily Mass open to the public and a surrounding community that includes active ministry at nearby St. Augustine High School, St. Patrick Parish, university and hospital chaplaincies, and the sponsored Casa Hogar La Gloria orphanage in Tijuana. Most of the province's roughly 35 friars — priests and brothers from nine countries — live on site, making the monastery a living center of communal prayer and Augustinian hospitality in San Diego.
- Established
- 1920s (Augustinian arrival in San Diego); Province of St. Augustine in California established 1969
- Patron
- St. Augustine of Hippo
- Rector
- Very Rev. Kevin C. Mullins, OSA (Prior Provincial / provincial leader of the Province of St. Augustine in California, based at the monastery)
- Diocese
- Diocese of San Diego
Why belong here
The monastery chapel is open to the public for daily Mass and is a rare chance to pray with an international Catholic religious community. Visitors join Augustinian friars from nine countries in their communal prayer life, can attend the annual Solemnity of St. Augustine celebration in late August, and are welcomed into a parish neighborhood (North Park) that the friars have served for nearly a century through St. Augustine High School, St. Patrick Parish, university and hospital chaplaincies, and the Tijuana orphanage Casa Hogar La Gloria.
Mass times at St. Augustine Monastery
Weekly Mass schedule
About St. Augustine Monastery
St. Augustine Monastery is the provincial house of the Province of St. Augustine in California, the western regional branch of the Order of St. Augustine (O.S.A.). Located on Nutmeg Street in San Diego's North Park neighborhood, the monastery houses most of the province's approximately 35 friars — priests and brothers from nine countries — and contains a chapel where daily Mass is offered to the public. As the spiritual and administrative center of the province, the monastery is the hub from which the Augustinians serve their surrounding apostolates.
- 3266 Nutmeg Street, San Diego, CA 92104-5199
- Provincial house of the Province of St. Augustine in California
- Order of St. Augustine (O.S.A.) — worldwide mendicant order founded 1244
- Chapel open daily for public Mass
History of the Augustinians in San Diego
Augustinian friars from the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova arrived in California during the 1920s and established a presence in San Diego before the local diocese was even created in 1936. In 1922 they founded St. Augustine High School, and for nearly as long they have also pastored neighboring St. Patrick Parish. The Province of St. Augustine in California was formally established in 1969 as its own canonical province, with the Nutmeg Street monastery serving as its headquarters.
- 1920s: Augustinian arrival in California
- 1922: St. Augustine High School founded
- 1936: Diocese of San Diego established (Augustinians already on the ground)
- 1969: Province of St. Augustine in California established
Daily Mass & Chapel Life
The monastery chapel is the prayerful heart of the community, with daily Mass offered Monday through Friday at 6:30 a.m., Saturday at 8:00 a.m., and Sunday at 8:30 a.m. The friars gather for communal prayer rooted in the Rule of St. Augustine, and the chapel also hosts special liturgies such as the annual Solemnity of St. Augustine evening prayer and the Thursday St. Monica Prayer Group Mass during the school year.
- Mon–Fri: 6:30 a.m. Mass
- Saturday: 8:00 a.m. Mass
- Sunday: 8:30 a.m. Mass
- Annual Solemnity of St. Augustine — evening prayer service, late August
The Augustinian Community & Leadership
The province is led by Very Rev. Kevin C. Mullins, OSA, Prior Provincial, and Fr. Gary Sanders, OSA, who previously served as provincial. The community is intentionally intergenerational, with the leadership describing the membership as shaped like an hourglass: a smaller group of middle-aged friars sandwiched between roughly equal numbers of elder friars and younger priests, brothers, and seminarians. This shapes a daily life of mutual formation and brotherhood rooted in the Rule of St. Augustine.
- Very Rev. Kevin C. Mullins, OSA — Prior Provincial
- Fr. Gary Sanders, OSA — Provincial
- Fr. Tom Whelan, OSA — Vocation Director
- Fr. Mark Menegatti, OSA — Associate Vocation Director
Ministries & Apostolates
From the monastery the friars run an unusually diverse portfolio of ministries across the San Diego region and into Mexico. Their work spans secondary education, parish ministry, university and hospital chaplaincy, and sponsorship of a Tijuana orphanage, all tied together by the St. Augustine Foundation's charitable grants.
- St. Augustine High School, North Park (founded 1922, all-boys Catholic secondary school)
- St. Patrick Parish, North Park (pastored by the friars)
- John Paul the Great Catholic University chaplaincy
- Hospital chaplaincy at Kaiser Permanente Zion and Alvarado Hospital
- Casa Hogar La Gloria orphanage, Tijuana (sponsored since 1975)
- St. Augustine Foundation (~$1 million disbursed annually)
Vocations & Formation
The monastery regularly hosts vocation discernment weekends, organized by the younger friars in formation. The 2019 spring retreat, for example, was led by Brothers Mauricio Morales, Arturo Renteria, Adnan Ghani, and pre-novice Ramon Riesgo, with Associate Vocation Director Fr. Mark Menegatti coming down from Los Angeles to support. Retreatants tour the province's local ministries — including St. Augustine High School and St. Patrick Parish — to learn about Augustinian life and apostolates.
- Spring and fall vocation discernment retreats held at the monastery
- Talks by Fr. Gary Sanders, OSA and Fr. Harry Neely, OSA on religious life
- Tours of St. Augustine High School and St. Patrick Parish
- Contact: [email protected]
Patronal Feast & Special Liturgies
Because the province itself bears the name of St. Augustine, the Solemnity of St. Augustine in late August is the community's most important liturgical celebration of the year. The provincial celebration includes a special evening prayer service in the monastery chapel, led by the Prior Provincial, honoring living and deceased members who have given years of service to the province, followed by a community dinner. Sister parishes and ministries — including St. Patrick Parish and St. Augustine High School — host parallel celebrations the same week.
- Solemnity of St. Augustine — August 28
- Feast of St. Monica — celebrated alongside the August solemnity
- Evening prayer service in the monastery chapel
- Community dinner on the Vasey Patio of St. Augustine High School
Visiting & Contact
The monastery welcomes visitors for daily Mass and is the best point of contact for anyone interested in Augustinian life in California. The provincial offices are located nearby at 3180 University Avenue, Suite 255, San Diego, CA 92104.
- Monastery: 3266 Nutmeg Street, San Diego, CA 92104-5199 — Tel. 619-282-2028
- Provincial office: 3180 University Avenue, Suite 255, San Diego, CA 92104 — Tel. 619-235-0247
- Email: [email protected] / [email protected]
- Web: californiaaugustinians.org