St. Albert’s Priory

Dinner was great, we had the all-​you-​can-​eat salad bar, then baked fish and rice with vegetable curry. You should definitely get the chocolate cake with raspberry sauce for dessert.
I don’t get to eat here as often as I’d like… but it’s always good food, interesting conversation, and a variety of good vintages to sample.
After dinner, Fr. Fones led us in singing Compline in the chapel.
Later we heard a very inspiring presentation on «Relationship with Christ and Dominican Prayer».
My room on the third floor has an awesome view, it is very spacious and surprisingly quiet.

Be careful, according to the web site
there are quite a few «alledged abuse» priests living here. As beautiful as it is, I wouldn’t go here.

Often mistaken for wizards, the Domincan monks of St. Albert’s Priory are in fact an order of priests that was founded in 13^th century Europe by Saint Dominic.
I say «mistaken for wizards» because Dominicans typically wear white robes with black hoods. I also say «mistaken for wizards» because today there are more self-​professed «wizards» in the Bay Area than there are Dominicans.
Although not a parish in its own right St. Albert’s does have daily masses open to the public with beautiful liturgy, music, incense, stained glass windows, vaulted ceilings, pews, and architecture. All are welcome.
The Dominicans also count among their past members no less a figure than Saint Thomas Aquinas. Thomas set a model for all future Dominicans by engaging the culture of his time (from pagans like Aristotle, to the best Jewish and Islamic scholars like Maimonides and Averroes) in order to better understand the Catholic faith. In doing so St. Thomas fulfilled the Dominican vocation of being both a monk as well as a worldly teacher and preacher.
At their best Dominicans follow Thomas’s path: combating the crisis of faith not by flying from or denouncing the wider culture but by engaging it. In this way they keep the public square in their minds but never lose the monastery in their hearts.

This might me the cutest catholic gem in the east bay. Set up as a dominican church with pews facing each other makes for a unique experience. The brick outside takes you back to the east coast and the traditional stained glass windows add a touch of elegance. A simple, yet beautiful catholic church that I recommend anyone and everyone visit at least once. (The mass schedules are not your typical schedules… so look in advance before going in.)

I’m reviewing this as a place to go to on a walk, not as a church. At the end of a long cul-​de-​sac in Rockridge, it’s surprising to find this little chapel at the end. In front is a beautiful grass lawn and lots of trees. I wish I’d walked here more often when I lived in the neighborhood.
I just looked this place up online and was surprised to find out it’s a Catholic church. I had no idea. It’s so cute and old I assumed it was Episcopalian. So apparently the whole time I lived in Rockridge and went to Newman Hall in Berkeley and occasionally to St. Augustine’s in Oakland, I had no idea the nearest Catholic church was just down the street.