Beloved SLO County chapel closes to concerts, weddings after nearly 50 years. This is why

A historic San Luis Obispo County chapel is now closed to concerts, community celebrations and religious ceremonies such as weddings, baptisms and funeral masses, according to the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey.

For 47 years, Old Santa Rosa Chapel in Cambria has been used as a 85-seat event venue.

Ticket sales and event fees have helped support the upkeep and maintenance of the circa-1870 building and adjoining cemetery, directed by the Old Santa Rosa Chapel and Cemetery Committee.

Although chapel operations originally fell under the Diocese of Fresno, control shifted in 1967 to a re-established Monterey diocese.

The Diocese of Monterey agreed at that point to let locals continue managing Old Santa Rosa Chapel and Cemetery.

Now, however, the diocese is reclaiming responsibility for the property at 2353 Main St.

“Previous pastors went with the agreement,” diocese spokesman David Ford said Tuesday via phone. “It makes no sense. Once the bishop became aware of it, he realized it’s not consistent with how we manage our cemeteries, our theology. … We want to be consistent with our pastoral practices. “

SLO County chapel has rich history

Known for its beauty, ambiance and acoustics, Old Santa Rosa Chapel was among the first churches built in San Luis Obispo County.

The New England-style church structure, which cost $100 to build in 1870, served as Cambria’s only Catholic church for more than nine decades.

According to local legend, Hollywood stars Gary Cooper, Bing Crosby and Marian Davies attended services at the chapel overlooking Cambria’s historic East Village in the 1930s.

Davies, longtime mistress of media magnate William Randolph Hearst, provided a heating system for the chapel in 1928, according to a 1997 Cambria Historical Society report.

Following the completion of the nearby Santa Rosa Catholic Church in 1963, the diocese shuttered the chapel and the property fell into disrepair over the next decade.

At one point, vagrants reportedly cut a hole in the sacristry and used it as an outhouse.

Although a few community members suggested burning the chapel down to get rid of it, others fought to save the structure.

Committee formed to maintain Cambria church

The Old Santa Rosa Chapel and Cemetery Committee formed in the mid-1970s at the urging of Clementine Newman.

Under Newman’s leadership, the committee undertook an extensive seven-year restoration of the facilities, enlisting California Conservation Corps crews to help dig out the property and restoring statuary and other artifacts that had been removed from the chapel by the diocese.

Committee member Dawn Dunlap negotiated a land donation that doubled the size of the Catholic burial grounds.

Other significant committee members through the years have included Lorraine Gomes; Louis and Gloria Fiscalini; Lila, Margaret and Steve Soto and Mary and Carl Negranti.

In the years since it was formed, the committee’s primary financial source for the maintenance, upkeep and security for the chapel and cemetery came from revenue from ticket charges and consulting and management fees.

Those funds have been supplemented by grants, offsite fundraisers such as polenta dinners and individual donations. One person donated $50,000 to remove four aging layers of roofing and replace them with a custom replica.

Under the direction of Dunlap, who led the committee for 36 years, the chapel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

She also helped negotiate a land donation that doubled the size of the Catholic burial grounds.

The first wedding was held there in 1984, according to the Cambria Historical Society report, and a mobile home for a resident caretaker was added to the property in 1988.

The committee became a nonprofit entity in 2001.

The Very Reverend Miguel Grajeda assumed leadership of the Santa Rosa Parish in Cambria after the sudden death in 2022 of the Reverend Mark Stetz, who adored the chapel so much he used his personal funds to pay for repairs.

According to his wishes, Stetz was buried in the chapel’s hillside cemetery.

Ford acknowledged the efforts of the volunteers who have lovingly tended the chapel, gardens and cemetery for decades.

“We’re appreciative … very grateful … for all they’ve done in the past,” Ford said.

How will Old Santa Rosa Chapel’s uses change?

Under the changes determined by the Monterey diocese bishop, the Most Reverend Daniel E. Garcia, Old Santa Rosa Chapel will be available only for happenings such as occasional small masses, contemplation and prayer, according to Ford.

The new rules take effect immediately, Ford said.

Community events and religious ceremonies must now be held at the larger, newer Santa Rosa Church, located about three-quarters of a mile away.

“There could be an exception or two,” Ford said. “We’re not rigid.”

Decisions on which events can occur at the chapel will be up to Grajeda. He’s second in command at the diocese, taking orders from the bishop.

According to Ford, event proposals would be reviewed by Grajeda and approved or denied by Garcia.

Cemetery operations will remain essentially the same, Ford said. Burial ceremonies will be held on the grounds, and people can still visit gravesites, although the gate will be locked at night.

The bishop’s decision also means Judith Larmore now has six months to find a new place to live.

She has guarded the chapel and cemetery for 15 years while living in a committee-owned mobile home on the property.

A new local committee to oversee the chapel and cemetery is being formed by Grajeda, according to a few current Old Santa Rosa Chapel and Cemetery Committee members who said they might join it. Others say they’re too upset by the change to continue their service.

While some committee members learned of the bishop’s decision at a Sept. 5 meeting in Monterey, the decision was announced publicly at a concert at Old Santa Rosa Chapel on Sunday.

Although Garcia did not attend the Monterey meeting, Grajeda and Bernice Rosillo, diocese director of cemeteries, were present.

Community reacts to closure of chapel to events

Longtime San Luis Obispo County meteorologist John Lindsey said Tuesday that he’s shocked and saddened by the diocese’s decision to essentially shutter the chapel.

He and his wife, Trish, were married at Old Santa Rosa Chapel 27 years ago.

“We’d go there every Easter, on our anniversary, and for concerts,” he said, describing the chapel as “a very small, intimate venue” with marvelous acoustics.

During their 2019 visit to the chapel, the couple renewed their wedding vows with their children, Sean and Chloe Lindsey, by their side.

“It’s a very special place to us, such a beautiful part of California history,” Lindsey said. “It’s been a wonderful and beautiful ambassador for the Catholic church to the community.”

Cambria musician Brynn Albanese, who’s organized fundraising concerts at the chapel since 2018, called the decision to close the chapel to most events “huge, unexpected, horrible news.”

Dunlap, who left the Old Santa Rosa Chapel and Cemetery Committee a year ago over fears the diocese would become too involved in chapel management, had harsh words for church officials.

“The Monterey Diocesan officials are remiss in their lack of graciousness and gratitude toward the Old Santa Rosa Chapel and Cemetery Committee and the Cambria community,” Dunlap said Wednesday. “To deprive the committee and the community the use and enjoyment of the chapel is heart-breaking and an injustice.”

Others expressed hope for the chapel’s future.

“We want the chapel to continue to flourish and succeed,” Gloria Fiscalini said Wednesday. “It’s been a treasured community asset since 1870. That needs to continue.”

“We all love that chapel, Catholics or not,” Linda Knott Payne, committee secretary for about 20 years, told The Tribune via text. “So many people have done so much to put it back together. I hope the Diocese of Monterey will do the same.”

She added that the community “will want to keep a watchful, caring eye on that.”

Garcia, Grajeda and Rosillo had not responded directly to requests for comment as of 3 p.m. Thursday.