Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center / Facebook
CV NEWS FEED // One month after the Eaton Fire nearly destroyed Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, the 100-year-old spiritual retreat house in Sierra Madre, California, is set to partially reopen the weekend of Feb. 7-9 following a swift cleanup and recovery effort.
The fire, which swept through the retreat’s 83-acre property, destroyed employee apartments, a hermitage, and a garage. However, the main retreat center building was spared, allowing staff to move quickly toward reopening, Angelus News reported.
Mater Dolorosa is a Passionist Retreat Center that focuses on sharing the Passion of Jesus Christ through “preaching, hospitality, and compassion.” Operated by the Passionist order of priests, the center offers retreat programs for parishes and high schools, addiction and recovery programs, and special events.
“In our minds, we needed to have the ministry back as quickly as possible,” Mater Dolorosa’s director, Father Febin Barose, C.P., told Angelus News.
Since the fire, staff members have launched a cleanup and informal fundraising campaign, arranged professional cleaning, replaced furniture, and conducted hazardous material testing. Crews have worked to restore essential services, including electricity, plumbing, and kitchen facilities.
The retreat center will welcome visitors, but some fire-damaged areas will remain fenced off as restoration efforts continue.
“We will have some limitations, people will not be able to go anywhere they want,” Fr. Barose explained. “But we can still work things around. We don’t need to have things at 100% to be open. We are human beings, we are resilient, and we are flexible.”
Speaking about the funds still needed to fully restore the retreat center, Fr. Barose expressed confidence in the community’s support of the beloved center.
“I’m sure God will provide,” he told Angelus News. “A lot of people love this place and consider it a place of peace, prayer and spiritual renewal because they have experienced it. So I’m sure the community will provide to build it back.”
