Ventura County Landmark No. 22: St. Mary Magdalen Church

Historical Background

This St. Mary Magdalen Church was established in 1913 by city namesakes, Juan and Adolfo Camarillo. Today, the Chapel is a thriving religious institution, and many visit the grounds to admire the church’s Spanish Neo-Classic architecture (St. Mary Magdalen Church – Camarillo, 2023).

One day while Juan was traveling near his father’s birthplace of Mexico City, a mission-style church caught his eye. He commissioned architect Albert C. Martin to design the Camarillo church along the same lines. Juan built the church in honor of his father, Don Juan Camarillo, and his mother, Martina Hernandez. It was named for Juan and Adolfo’s oldest sister, Magdalena (St. Mary Magdalen Church – Camarillo, 2023).

The chapel design included an east wing, a family crypt, and a picturesque foundation. The east courtyard foundation, which was modeled after one at the Santa Barbara mission, quickly became a popular bird bath and favorite gathering place for many of the parishioners after Sunday Mass. To celebrate Mass, a priest drove over from Oxnard each Sunday and for feast days and special ceremonies. The crypt beneath the southwest corner of the building was unfortunately used all too soon by the Camarillo family and now contains the remains of many of its members (St. Mary Magdalen Church – Camarillo, 2023).

The chapel reflects California’s mission heritage with a white stucco exterior, red tile roofing, outdoor patio surrounded by lush gardens and a series of arches, colorful stained glass windows, and an interior of warm brown, beige, and gold earth tones (St. Mary Magdalen Church – Camarillo, 2023). The inside is composed mainly of a handsome lattice work of exposed wooden beams, paneling, a dark walnut alter, and pews with towering hand carved sanctuary. The Stations of the Cross were crafted by artisans in Italy. The composition, mainly wood and stucco, will alleviate dangers from nearby earthquake faults (St. Mary Magdalen Church – Camarillo, 2023). It is a church that is large enough to accommodate the needs of a growing, vibrant parish and one which will serve as a continuing tribute to the proud traditions initiated by the Camarillo family (St. Mary Magdalen Church – Camarillo, 2023). (Other designated sites relating to the Camarillo family include Ventura County Landmarks No. 3 and 8).

Stained Glass Windows

The church is noted for its fourteen intricate stained glass windows. While on a trip to Europe, Juan Camarillo selected the windows in Munich, Germany (St. Mary Magdalen Church – Camarillo, 2023). The year was 1913 and the early rumbles of the continent gathering its strength for conflict were growing with each passing day. Somewhere between the studios of glass-blower F. X. Zettler of Munich and the church on a hilltop in faraway Camarillo, the stained glass windows were lost. Zettler’s name can be seen at the bottom of the windows depicting the Holy Family (east side) and Christ with the children (west side). Despite the best efforts of the Camarillo family through consuls and ambassadors, the windows appeared lost forever. Juan Camarillo feared they were at the bottom of the sea. One day, a letter arrived from a German official. This official in Munich had noticed several large crates staked outside a building with Juan’s name on them. He had written Juan several letters and finally one got through at the end of World War 1. Much to the joy and relief of everyone, the lost windows had been found. However, it was a painfully slow and long trek to Los Angeles, and then on to Camarillo, before they were finally installed in the thick brick and plastered chapel walls in 1919 (St. Mary Magdalen Church – Camarillo, 2023).