Fundraiser to rebuild heart of Catholic retreat will take place
mid-October, at Casa Maria restaurant
Organizers of a fundraiser to rebuild the Saint Francis Retreat
have gelled up their plans and have decided to stage it in nearby
San Juan Bautista, Oct. 15.
Fundraiser to rebuild heart of Catholic retreat will take place mid-October, at Casa Maria restaurant
Organizers of a fundraiser to rebuild the Saint Francis Retreat have gelled up their plans and have decided to stage it in nearby San Juan Bautista, Oct. 15.
With the help of San Benito’s quintessential do-gooder, Niessa Bauder-Guaracha of A&N Plumbing, the friars of St. Francis plan to hold the dinner fundraiser at the Casa Maria restaurant, located at 600 First Street in San Juan Bautista, behind the Mission.
“There is a desperate situation here,” Bauder-Guaracha said while strolling through the retreat with reporters, accompanied by Brother Kelly Cullen, who hails from San Francisco and has lived at Saint Francis for seven months. “People don’t realize the high costs of construction these days.”
Earlier this summer, the haven’s nerve center – a glorious Civil War-era three-story Victorian home – burned to the ground. While the retreat still offers a scenic sanctuary (the other Mission-styled adobe buildings of the facility, tucked into the pastoral foothills of San Juan Canyon, were untouched by the fire) the Victorian served as a community center, a dining hall that served up to 150 people, gift shop, computer center, and friary for the six brothers who live at the retreat and run its operation.
Many nonprofits, Catholic, Christian and non-Christian groups, as well as businesses use the retreat for company and organizational meetings and getaways.
But on June 23, the 25,000 square foot old house – the heart of the retreat – was devastated by a fire that somehow started inside a wall. The flashpoint was a just inches away from Brother Cullen’s head while he was fast asleep with his cat in his dorm room. He could have easily died in the blaze had not another brother woken him – despite smoke alarms blaring. The friars used up three fire extinguishers, to no avail, as firefighters roared up their rural road. Everyone, including the cat, got out safely, and Cullens ended up with a burn on his foot.
Madonna stolen
Just two weeks ago, a thief — or thieves — proved the old adage that nothing is sacred (at least to them) when they stole one of the few religious items to survive the fire relatively unscathed. It was a small statue of The Madonna which graced the front garden of the Victorian retreat center.
The fire had caused the terra cotta icon to split in half, but one of the brothers had put it back together. It was the only thing sitting on the razed dirt spot where the house once stood. The entire area where the fire had occurred, including The Madonna, was enclosed with a temporary cyclone fence, but that didn’t stop the rip-off from taking off with the icon.
Cullens said it wasn’t worth much, monetarily, but meant the world to him and his fellow friars.
“It had become the landmark after the fire because it symbolized we were all still here,” Cullens said.
“We really do need people’s help to rebuild,” he added. “The replacement insurance isn’t enough to do it.”
The old mansion was originally built after the Civil War for the Coast Line stagecoach company, which had a route operating from San Jose to San Diego. In the 1930s, Hollywood star Jack Haley (who played the Tin Man in “The Wizard of Oz”) was looking for a ranch house escape for his family and asked some of his Franciscan monks friends for help finding one. They did so, in the bucolic San Juan foothills. In 1949 the Franciscan Fathers of California bought 73 acres of the property, including the Victorian ranch house, and it has served as a multi-use Franciscan retreat since then.
“We helped (Jack Haley) find his heart,” said Brother Cullen, “so he helped us bring it back to the public.”
“It was like a Swiss chalet,” Bauder-Guaracha said. “When you walked up to it you went back in time. We have lost, like, a major thing in our county.”
Bauder-Guaracha estimates it will take $3 to $5 million to rebuild a new center – this time a more modest facility, adobe-Mission styled like the other buildings on the grounds. Cullen added that they plan to incorporate environmentally “green” building systems into the new facility.
A&N Plumbing is replacing the elaborate plumbing system for cost, but the problem is that the building that burned down also was the original main building through which all infrastructure for the retreat networked. Pipelines and wiring for the other half dozen buildings stemmed from the Victorian. While water and electric services have been reconfigured, the retreat still needs a new focal point — if not physically, at least spiritually..
The St. Francis Retreat continues to be a remarkably calming and serene hideaway, and with it’s pond, oak tree forests, sweeping views of the San Juan Valley and landscaped grounds, it’s a beautiful spot to view an array of native wildlife, from deer to screech owls. The friars now live in one of the other buildings on the south side of the retreat.
The fundraiser promises to be exceptional affair, and the organizers have made the ticket prices more affordable to ensure a good turn-out, $60 each (down from $100). Special guest will be actress-comedienne Cindy Williams of Laverne and Shirley TV fame. Williams visited the retreat during Easter, before the fire, and has been a friend to Brother Cullens for many years.
Bauder-Guaracha is arranging for many local restaurants and wineries to participate in the indoor-outdoor dinner event, which will be from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Casa Maria at 600 First Street in San Juan Bautista. Tickets can be bought or reserved over the phone at Design Line Granger Printing (“DLG Printing”) at 435 San Benito Street in Hollister; at A&N Plumbing at 831-637-3873; or at the St. Francis Retreat at 831-623-4234. Volunteers can call Bonnie Flores-Voropaeff at DLG Printing at 831-637-3347.
