Dubbed a “cultural and historical jewel” and “absolute treasure” by its pastor, Mission Santa Inés in Solvang will receive one of two federal grants for retrofit projects to prevent damage during earthquakes.

The Santa Barbara-based California Missions Foundation announced that Mission Santa Inés will receive $500,000 while Mission San Juan Bautista will get $750,000 under the Save America’s Treasures grant program. 

“This is a big moment for the California Missions,” said David Bolton, executive director of the California Missions Foundation. “They are so important to our history. They continue to serve as a platform for so many stories to be told. We’ve all seen recently what can happen to an unretrofitted building during a massive earthquake.”

“It’s really a blessing  for us to be here today, and we want to thank the California Missions Foundation for their hard work,” said Father Michael Ronayne, Mission Santa Inés pastor who arrived a year ago. 

Mission buildings needing retrofit work have roofs and walls that have not been joined with metal or steel, meaning when a quake strikes the structure could collapse inward, he said.

“When you do a retrofit like this, you connect the roof and the walls all together with the steel infrastructure. That keeps it together and it moves kind of as one unit, and it prevents the top from coming down,” Bolton added. 

Solvang’s Mission was first built in 1804. After its initial construction, Mission Santa Inés, like others in Santa Barbara, saw significant damage in the earthquake of 1812 “regarded as one of the largest earthquakes in California history,” according to a UC Santa Barbara website. Data is limited, but some estimated its magnitude at 7.0.

A second story collapsed during the 1812 temblor, and other quakes in the years after caused additional damage. 

“We’ve lost that bell tower several times in the process, and it’s been rebuilt so we see what can happen when we have an earthquake. The seismic retrofit is very, very important,” Ronayne said.

Mission Santa Ines serves as an anchor point for the Santa Ynez Valley while also acting as a cultural and historical jewel.

“As important as it was for the community historically, today spiritually and otherwise it’s also so important and we certainly want to see work moving forward to make sure this remains intact for future generations and safe place for our community today,” Ronayne added. 

During the seismic retrofit work using current methods, the church can continue to host Masses and other events in the church.

“That’s a great blessing,” Ronayne said.

“It very important for a project like this that the community rallies around it,” Bolton said. “This is the most historic structure here in the Santa Ynez Valley. The Missions throughout the state are very important, and for a project this size it really needs help from everyone, both the parishioners and also those throughout the community.”

Save America’s Treasures are matching grants, so the foundation has worked with church parishes to raise funds, with Santa Ynez Valley church members pledging $250,000 for the project. 

For Solvang, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians donated $50,000.

Fundraising for the Mission Santa Ines will continue through the rest of this year, with work expected to begin in 2024 and last six to eight months. 

Donations to the project can be made through the California Missions Foundations by clicking here and specifying that it’s for Mission Santa Ines.

The California Missions Foundation has now received six grants under the program, with the first awarded to fix Mission San Miguel in San Luis Obispo County after serious damage in the San Simeon earthquake of 2003. 

“We want to make sure that doesn’t happen here,” Bolton said. 

The nonprofit group’s fourth SAT grant focused on improvements at Mission Santa Barbara, with retrofitting of the crypt and fixing of the facade in 2012.

“The one at San Juan Bautista is the largest ever,” Bolton added.

While Mission San Juan Bautista sits in San Benito County, it’s part of the Roman Catholic Church’s Monterey Diocese.

That project will focus on the front facade of the Mission church, which sits just feet away from the San Andrea Fault.

“This is going to be a huge project for that community,” said Jewel Gentry, Missions coordinator for the Monterey Diocese. 

Of the 21 Missions throughout California, only three had not been fully retrofitted to modern standards. With these two new projects in the works, only Ventura’s remains in need to retrofitting. 

“We’re going to do everything possible to work on Ventura next and do what we can to strengthen that church as well,” Bolton said.