About St. Vivian Mission · Independence, California
St. Vivian Mission is a small Roman Catholic mission church at 331 N. Edwards Street in Independence, California, the county seat of Inyo County. It is a mission chapel of Santa Rosa Catholic Church in Lone Pine, within the Diocese of Fresno's High Desert Vicariate, and serves the scattered Catholic community of the northern Owens Valley. Mass is celebrated on Sunday mornings at 8:00 a.m., with the Sacrament of Reconciliation heard before Mass, under the pastoral care of Rev. Douglas Walker.
- Patron
- St. Vivian (Vivian of Saintes, France)
- Rector
- Rev. Douglas Walker
- Diocese
- Diocese of Fresno
Why belong here
St. Vivian Mission is the Catholic worship home for Independence and the surrounding northern Owens Valley — a remote and strikingly beautiful stretch of the Eastern Sierra between the Sierra Nevada and the Inyo/White Mountains. As a mission of Santa Rosa in Lone Pine, it offers a small, tight-knit faith community under the steady care of a diocesan priest, with weekly Sunday Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation before Mass. For Catholics living in or traveling through Independence, it provides a convenient place to fulfill the Sunday obligation without the long drive to Lone Pine, and its historic mid-century building — with a parish hall famously constructed from a Manzanar WWII-era barrack — connects the local Catholic community to a much deeper regional story.
Mass times at St. Vivian Mission
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Before Sunday Mass
About St. Vivian Mission
St. Vivian Mission is a small Roman Catholic mission church in Independence, California, the county seat of Inyo County. It is a mission chapel of Santa Rosa Catholic Church in Lone Pine, within the Diocese of Fresno's High Desert Vicariate. The mission serves the scattered Catholic community of the northern Owens Valley and is supported by the same pastor and parish office as Santa Rosa in Lone Pine. Sunday Mass is celebrated at 8:00 AM, with the Sacrament of Reconciliation offered before Mass.
- Sunday Mass at 8:00 AM
- Confession before Mass
- Pastoral care by the Santa Rosa, Lone Pine pastor
- Diocese of Fresno
History
Catholic life in the Owens Valley began with the 1919 founding of Santa Rosa Church in Lone Pine by Father John J. Crowley, C.S.C., 'The Desert Padre.' From that parish, mission Masses were extended to outlying communities including Independence. The present church in Independence dates to the early-to-mid 1960s, and its associated Zegwaard Hall is a relocated Manzanar War Relocation Center barrack, giving the site a remarkable double historical significance: wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans, and the Catholic community's postwar presence in Independence.
- Catholic presence in the Owens Valley begins with Father Crowley in 1919 at Santa Rosa, Lone Pine
- St. Vivian serves as a mission of Santa Rosa, Lone Pine
- Mid-century modern church building from the early-to-mid 1960s
- Zegwaard Hall is a repurposed Manzanar WWII internment camp barrack
Zegwaard Hall — A Manzanar Barrack Reborn
The parish hall on the St. Vivian grounds, known as Zegwaard Hall, is one of the most unusual historic structures in Inyo County. It is a building that originally stood at the Manzanar War Relocation Center, where more than 10,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II. After Manzanar was dismantled in 1945, the federal government sold off hundreds of its barracks to anyone willing to move them. One of those barracks ended up on the St. Vivian grounds and was adapted to serve as the parish hall. Photographer Andrew Freeman documented this adaptive reuse in his series '(Manzanar) Architecture Double,' held in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) collections — a project that traces the surviving Manzanar buildings absorbed into the modern Owens Valley landscape.
- Original use: barracks at the Manzanar War Relocation Center (1942–1945)
- Relocated to Independence and repurposed as the parish hall
- Documented in Andrew Freeman's '(Manzanar) Architecture Double' (LACMA, 2005 / 2019)
- Listed in LACMA collections under title: '#1.12.03 – Zegwaard Hall, Saint Vivian Catholic Church, Independence, California'
Pastor & Pastoral Succession
Because St. Vivian is a mission of Santa Rosa, Lone Pine, it is served by the priests assigned to that parent parish. The pastoral line of succession for the cluster begins with Father John J. Crowley, C.S.C. (1919–1940), continues with Msgr. Fred Crowley (from 1945), and is presently led by Rev. Douglas Walker, who was presiding pastor at Santa Rosa's centennial on August 23, 2019.
- Rev. John J. Crowley, C.S.C. — 1919 to 1940 (founding pastor; 'The Desert Padre')
- Rev. Msgr. Fred Crowley — from 1945
- Rev. Douglas Walker — pastor as of 2019 (centennial)
Mass & Sacrament Schedule
St. Vivian offers Sunday Mass in English at 8:00 AM. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is heard before Mass. As a small mission chapel, it does not have daily Mass or a parish office on-site; weekday Masses, confessions outside the listed times, and other sacraments are typically scheduled through Santa Rosa Church in Lone Pine.
- Sunday Mass: 8:00 AM (English)
- Confession: before Mass
- For other sacraments, contact Santa Rosa, Lone Pine at (760) 876-4350
Santa Rosa Parish Cluster (Owens Valley / Death Valley)
St. Vivian is one of several mission churches and stations served from Santa Rosa Catholic Church in Lone Pine. The cluster covers a vast area of the Eastern Sierra, the Owens Valley, and the Mojave/Death Valley region. Santa Rosa itself, founded in 1919, celebrated its centennial on August 23, 2019, with Bishop Joseph Brennan as main celebrant and Bishop Emeritus Armando Ochoa presiding.
- St. Vivian — Independence
- St. Thérèse — Tecopa
- St. John the Baptist — Shoshone
- Stations in Death Valley, Furnace Creek, and Olancha
Visiting Independence & the Owens Valley
Independence is a small town on U.S. Route 395 in the Owens Valley, between Lone Pine (south) and Bishop (north). The region is known for its dramatic scenery between the Sierra Nevada and the Inyo/White Mountains, its proximity to Death Valley National Park, and historic sites including the Manzanar National Historic Site (the WWII-era Japanese American internment camp that shares a direct architectural link with St. Vivian through Zegwaard Hall). The Eastern California Museum, the historic Inyo County Courthouse, and the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery are nearby.
- U.S. Route 395 corridor in the Owens Valley
- Near Manzanar National Historic Site
- Near Mt. Whitney and Death Valley
- Eastern California Museum within walking distance
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. John J. Crowley, C.S.C.1919–1940
Founding pastor of Santa Rosa, Lone Pine; Holy Cross College graduate, known as 'The Desert Padre.' He extended Catholic mission work throughout the Owens Valley, including Independence; first (and perhaps only) priest to celebrate Mass on the summit of Mt. Whitney; killed in an automobile accident on Highway 14 in 1940.
- Rev. Msgr. Fred Crowleyfrom 1945
Listed among the priests serving Santa Rosa, Lone Pine (and its mission stations including Independence) after Father John J. Crowley's death.
- Rev. Douglas Walkeras of 2019
Pastor of Santa Rosa Catholic Church, Lone Pine, with pastoral care of its mission churches — St. Vivian (Independence), St. Thérèse (Tecopa), St. John the Baptist (Shoshone) — and outlying Death Valley / Furnace Creek / Olancha stations. Was presiding pastor at Santa Rosa's centennial on Aug. 23, 2019.