Saint Rita Catholic Church

100 Marinda Drive
Fairfax

Saint Rita’s was established in 1881 as a mission of San Rafael with half a dozen Catholic families in Fairfax.  In 1907, the Parish of San Anselmo was established and included Fairfax.  St. Rita’s little brown church on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard was built in 1916.  St. Rita’s was made a parish in 1930.  By 1951, attendance at Sunday masses had grown so large that a tent with loudspeakers was erected next to the little wooden church.

The new Spanish Colonial church was designed by architect Martin Rist of San Francisco.  The first mass in the new church was celebrated on Easter Sunday, 1953.

The stained glass windows were designed and installed in 1953 by Carl Huneke, Century Stained Glass Studio, San Francisco.  The Saint Rita window in the choir has the vibrant contrasts of red and blue found in the stained glass of the Chartres Cathedral.  The windows in the nave filter the bright morning and afternoon sun through 13th century grisailles of vines and grapes, and glow warmly with soft accents of mauve, lilac, celadon green and brown.  The small windows in the chapel, which follow the design of the larger windows, were probably installed by Mr. Huneke in 1965.