Visalia’s Vision for a Big, Bold, Beautiful Catholic Church

In a State Obsessed With Shortages and Setbacks, the Central Valley Sees a Future Full of Growth

It’s Christmas, and there’s no room at any of your town’s existing inns. You can’t open additional inns because you’re already running short of innkeepers. What to do?

People in Visalia—who have a spirit rare in any season—might suggest building a bigger inn.

This is a Christmas story about the groundbreaking of a 21st-century California church. It’s also an example of how we could think more productively about the twin challenges of shortage and abundance—and of how the biggest things may fit best in our smallest places.

By 2021, Visalia, a city of …