Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church :: 7669 Girard Ave., La Jolla, CA 92037

About the Parish

Mary, Star of the Sea in 1909

In 1906, the community of La Jolla was growing and there was need of a Catholic church in the area. The task was assigned to Fr. Joseph C. Mesny. He raised money to purchase three lots on Girard Ave., but had no money for an architect and so designed the church himself.

The new church was ready in 1909 and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin under her title of “Mary, Star of the Sea.”

Over the years, as the geographical lines of La Jolla grew, so did Mary, Star of the Sea’s congregation. By 1936, the pastor, Fr. Thomas McNamara, began to make plans for construction of the present church of Mary, Star of the Sea.

The architect was the celebrated Carleton Monroe Winslow, F.A.I.A., who created the building in Contemporary Spanish Mission design. The roof is of red clay mission tile with the ceiling of heavy, exposed wood rafters. Above the main entrance is a large true fresco, entitled “Our Lady, Star of the Sea” painted by Alfred Ramos Martinez.

The new church was dedicated by the Most Reverend Bishop Charles Francis Buddy on December 5, 1937. Ten years later, ground was broken for a parish school, and in September, 1947 Stella Maris Academy opened its Mary Star of the Sea La Jolla doors for the first time.

The parish buildings of Mary, Star of the Sea are an icon in the lovely village of La Jolla, and those entering the doors of the church to see the interior will be touched by the hush of its simple beauty, and no one who leaves the church ever leaves it without a sense of the peace it imparts.