About St. Catherine of Siena · Monte Rio, California
St. Catherine of Siena is a small Catholic mission church in the unincorporated community of Monte Rio, in Sonoma County's lower Russian River area. It serves as a mission of St. Elizabeth Parish in Guerneville, within the Diocese of Santa Rosa, and is best known for its Saturday evening Mass and its deep roots in the local Bohemian Club and Russian River community. The parish's identity is tied to the neighboring Bohemian Grove summer encampment — its very founding legend involves a club guest walking the railroad tracks (today's Highway 116) to attend Mass — and to a long tradition of local charity work, including support of the Community Food Bank based at St. Hubert's Hall in Guerneville and the work of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
- Established
- circa 1910s
- Patron
- St. Catherine of Siena
- Diocese
- Diocese of Santa Rosa
Why belong here
St. Catherine of Siena offers a small, intimate Catholic presence in the lower Russian River, with a single weekly Saturday evening Mass that is convenient for working families and weekend visitors to the Sonoma coast. It is a mission in the truest sense — a close-knit faith family that channels its energy outward, supporting the Russian River Community Food Bank at St. Hubert's Hall, River to Coast Children's Services, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and the wider charitable works of the Diocese of Santa Rosa. For Catholics and visitors in Monte Rio, Rio Nido, Duncans Mills and the surrounding river towns, it is both a convenient local Mass and a long-standing piece of the community's religious and cultural heritage.
Mass times at St. Catherine of Siena
Weekly Mass schedule
History & the Bohemian Club Legend
The mission's origin story is part of Monte Rio's larger social history with the Bohemian Club's summer encampment at nearby Bohemian Grove. As told by Dan Demers in 'The Church the Bohemians Built,' around 1910 a prominent Bohemian Club guest was discovered missing at Sunday breakfast and eventually found walking back up the railroad tracks (today's Highway 116 / River Road) very late that morning. His one-line answer — 'I had to go to Mass' — captured both the inconvenience and the devotion of Catholics in the lower Russian River, where the nearest Catholic church at the time was in Guerneville. That experience is part of the local tradition behind the eventual establishment of the St. Catherine of Siena mission at Monte Rio.
- Origin anecdote set 'around 1910' as recounted in 'The Church the Bohemians Built' by Dan Demers
- Nearest Catholic church at the time was in Guerneville
- The walking route is the same as today's Highway 116 / River Road
Mission Status & Diocese
St. Catherine of Siena is formally a mission of St. Elizabeth Parish in Guerneville, within the Diocese of Santa Rosa. As a mission, it does not have its own resident pastor; clergy from St. Elizabeth serve the Monte Rio community, and sacramental life, finances and pastoral care are coordinated through the parent parish. The Diocese of Santa Rosa, in turn, covers a vast northern California territory that stretches from Petaluma all the way to the Oregon border.
- Mission of St. Elizabeth Parish, Guerneville
- Diocese of Santa Rosa (the 'srdiocese.org' parishfinder lists the mission as a dependent mission)
- Pastoral responsibility historically exercised through St. Elizabeth, Guerneville (e.g., Rev. Luis Penaloza appointed pastor there in 2012)
Mass & Worship Schedule
The mission's regular weekly liturgy is a single Saturday evening Mass at 4:00 PM, convenient both for local residents of the lower Russian River and for weekend visitors to the Sonoma coast and Russian River area. Because schedules at small mission churches can change — especially seasonally or when supply priests are needed — the parish asks visitors to confirm current times by calling the parish office or checking the St. Elizabeth website.
- Saturday 4:00 PM (English) — primary weekly Mass
- Parish phone for schedule confirmation: (707) 869-2107
- Website: stelizabeth.churchtrac.com
Parish Outreach & Charitable Works
Although small, the mission punches above its weight in charitable giving. Parishioner collections and volunteer time support a cluster of local and regional ministries. Two of the most visible local partners are the Russian River Community Food Bank — which itself operates out of St. Hubert's Hall in Guerneville and distributes food twice a month to residents of Monte Rio, Duncans Mills, Forestville, Camp Meeker, Guerneville and Rio Nido — and River to Coast Children's Services. Contributions are also shared through the Diocese of Santa Rosa and Catholic Charities for diocesan projects, and parishioners take part in the local and regional work of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
- Russian River Community Food Bank (St. Hubert's Hall, 16290 Fifth Street, Guerneville) — food distributed twice monthly
- River to Coast Children's Services
- Diocese of Santa Rosa diocesan projects
- Catholic Charities
- Society of St. Vincent de Paul — Sonoma County District Council
Community Context: Monte Rio & the Lower Russian River
Monte Rio is a small unincorporated community on the lower Russian River in western Sonoma County, situated along Highway 116 between Guerneville and the coast. The river towns — Monte Rio, Rio Nido, Guerneville, Duncans Mills, Forestville, Camp Meeker — share a common cultural and natural landscape, and a common Catholic life centered historically on St. Elizabeth Parish in Guerneville and its dependent missions, of which St. Catherine of Siena is one. Visitors to the area often encounter the mission while exploring the Russian River, the Sonoma coast, or the historic Bohemian Grove retreat.
- Unincorporated community of Monte Rio, Sonoma County, California
- Located along Highway 116 / River Road between Guerneville and the coast
- Part of a network of river communities served by St. Elizabeth Parish, Guerneville
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Luis Penaloza2012–
Listed by the Diocese of Santa Rosa in March 2012 as the newly appointed pastor of St. Elizabeth Parish, Guerneville, which has pastoral responsibility for the mission of St. Catherine of Siena, Monte Rio.