St. Francis of Assisi Church La Quinta: History Guide

A desert landmark with a deeper story

Before the sanctuary stood on Washington Street, a small Catholic community gathered wherever it could. The Diocese of San Bernardino records that St. Francis of Assisi was established in 1974, when the parish was still part of the Diocese of San Diego. Fr. Raymond Bluett served as founding pastor.

That beginning explains the character of the institution today. St. Francis was not placed into a finished city as a completed monument. It developed alongside La Quinta.

The land itself connects the parish to an older layer of local history. The church site was part of the historic Clarke Ranch at Point Happy, once owned by Chauncey and Marie Clarke. Arabian horses, Deglet Noor dates, citrus and gardens occupied a landscape that would later become one of La Quinta’s busiest corridors.

From “St. Crocker” to a permanent church

Parish history preserves affectionate names for the temporary venues. Mass at Crocker Bank became “St. Crocker.” Worship at Simon Motors became “Our Lady of the Cars.” The humor reflects a mission-like period when the congregation had an identity but no permanent home.

Construction of the present church began in 1983, when parish accounts describe the surrounding area as largely open desert. The first Mass in the new sanctuary was celebrated on Holy Thursday, April 19, 1984. Bishop Philip Straling formally dedicated the church on November 25.

St. Francis timeline

Franco Zeffirelli and an Italian idea for the desert

Most churches have an architectural story. St. Francis has one connected to Franco Zeffirelli, the Italian director known for films and opera productions with a strong visual sense of history and sacred drama.

Parish history says Zeffirelli and Fr. Bluett first imagined a church inspired by the medieval religious complex associated with St. Francis in Assisi. A direct reproduction proved impractical, and the idea evolved into a basilica-style building with a vaulted interior and Romanesque influence.

The result should not be reduced to generic “Mission style.” Its arches, symmetry, long nave and rose window look toward Italian sacred architecture, while pale walls, red tile and intense desert light root it in Southern California.

Hollywood, La Quinta and the first Mass

The first Mass in the new church joined the parish story to the Coachella Valley’s long relationship with Hollywood. Parish accounts identify Frank Sinatra and Gregory Peck as the first two readers on Holy Thursday, April 19, 1984.

The same history credits support from Frank Sinatra, Frank Capra, Bob Hope and the Annenbergs. Their involvement belongs to a specific period when La Quinta was becoming more visible through resort life, residential development and the cultural network surrounding La Quinta Resort.

The celebrity names are memorable, but they should not overpower the larger fact: a local congregation had spent a decade creating the permanent spiritual home in which that first Mass could occur.

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Murals, Giotto and a pepperwood crucifix

The exterior makes St. Francis recognizable. The interior gives the church its deeper artistic identity.

La Quinta artist Alexander Rosenfeld painted 16 murals, including 14 scenes from the life of St. Francis. Parish history says he worked from faded copies of Giotto’s frescoes in Assisi and, while in his 90s, painted nine hours a day, six days a week, for roughly two and a half years.

The murals are more than decoration. They connect the La Quinta sanctuary to the visual tradition of Assisi while preserving the disciplined work of a local artist inside a living sacred space.

The altar crucifix has a similarly unusual origin. Parish history attributes it to northern Italian sculptor Ivo Demetz, who carved it from a single 700-pound block of pepperwood except for Christ’s extended left arm. The work was then shipped to California by air.

A 1986 Los Angeles Times travel feature also noted the murals, Irish stained glass and Italian-carved altar piece. Together, the features make the building both a house of worship and an important local art site.

A church that grew with La Quinta

St. Francis did not begin inside a finished city. La Quinta incorporated in 1982, two years before the church opened, and both the city and parish grew rapidly through the following decades.

By 1998, parish history reported about 2,200 families and nearly 5,000 parishioners. That growth prompted an enlarged hall, a pastoral center and a chapel. By 2016, the same history listed 5,661 registered families and 16,327 registered parishioners.

Those numbers are historical snapshots rather than a current census. Their value is that they show scale: the congregation grew far beyond the small community that once gathered inside a bank and dealership.

More homes, seasonal residents, families and retirees reshaped La Quinta and nearby Indian Wells. The parish expanded in response, becoming one of the major Catholic communities in the eastern Coachella Valley.

The parish today

St. Francis remains an active parish, not a preserved historic site. Its public schedule reflects the diversity of the valley, with Masses offered in English, Spanish and Vietnamese, plus a periodic Tagalog Mass.

The institution also supports religious education, music, pastoral care, outreach and a wide range of liturgical ministries. These daily rhythms distinguish the parish from the architecture visitors see from Washington Street.

Why the church is expanding again

The expansion is driven by a practical problem: the parish has outgrown its meeting, ministry and parking capacity.

As of September 2026, the City of La Quinta lists the project as under construction. Its planning record describes a 22,499-square-foot parish hall and a 4,835-square-foot administrative building, totaling 27,334 square feet.

The parish’s current expansion FAQ describes ten classrooms, a large event room, a commercial kitchen and a choral room. Parking is planned to increase from 398 spaces to 512, including more accessible stalls and nine EV charging stations.

The same FAQ lists an $18.4 million total project cost divided between the parish-hall phase, related operating and fundraising expenses, and a future administrative-building phase. It lists November 2026 as the parish hall target, while the administrative offices remain dependent on funding.

That language matters. November 2026 is the parish’s stated goal, not a guarantee. Construction schedules and fundraising can change, so readers following the project should use the parish and city pages for the latest status.

Why St. Francis matters to La Quinta

St. Francis tells several La Quinta stories at once.

It is a story of faith: a congregation that formed before it had a permanent home. It is a story of architecture: an Assisi-inspired idea translated into desert light. It is a story of art: Rosenfeld’s murals and Demetz’s crucifix connecting local labor with European traditions.

It is also a story of the valley’s Hollywood era, with Sinatra, Peck, Capra, Hope, Zeffirelli and the Annenbergs appearing in parish memory. Most importantly, it is a story of La Quinta’s growth—from ranch land and open desert to a large residential and resort city.

The expansion adds the final layer. St. Francis is still making room for the community it serves.

St. Francis at a glance

Frequently asked questions

Sources and further reading