The Carmelite Sisters in Los Angeles are asking Catholics for prayers — and donations if they are able — after a fire destroyed one of their retreat houses on April 11.
Sister Meredith Boquiren, OCD, Director Sacred Heart Retreat House in Alhambra, California, told anchor Veronica Dudo in an interview on “EWTN News Nightly” on April 16.
The fire broke out on the second floor of one of two retreat houses on the campus Saturday afternoon during the four-day Healing the Whole Person Retreat, which is run by the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles.
No one was injured in the fire, but the damaged building is inoperable and will need to be rebuilt.
Fire damage at the Sacred Heart Retreat House in Alhambra, California on April 11, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles
Three fire departments responded to the scene and prevented the fire from spreading throughout the campus, including the motherhouse where all the sisters begin formation. The Sisters have operated the complex for 85 years.
The exact cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and the sisters believe the source may have been electrical.
Boquerain said in the interview that the fire alarm went off immediately after the conclusion of the final retreat Mass, which the sisters held during the latter part of the Easter Octave, just before Divine Mercy Sunday.
“We had had some false alarms before, so I ran to the location where the source indicated,” Boquerain said. “So I ran up to the second floor of the building and saw a plume of black smoke and realized it was real. And then I ran outside to look, and at that very moment the window burst open with flames.”
Fire damage at the Sacred Heart Retreat House in Alhambra, California on April 11, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles
He said it was “a strange experience because we had just finished some powerful evidence” and that within the next 10 minutes, “I experienced a feeling of weight and darkness at the same time.”
He said, “It was very strange … to experience the Paschal joy and Resurrection of our Lord through suffering, okay? The real healing journey that we were experiencing on the retreat.” “So it was, it was quite a strange contradiction of emotions.”
“The damage was quite costly,” Boquerain said, noting that “it’s a two-story, two-story building with 25 rooms.”
“Damage from water, smoke and fire is extensive,” he said. “Firefighters had to blow a hole in the building at the top, and so it’s basically unusable and irreparable at this point.”
In addition to asking for prayers, Boquiren said: “If you are willing and able to make a gift, we would greatly appreciate it.”
Fire damage at the Sacred Heart Retreat House in Alhambra, California on April 11, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles
Sister Mary Scholastica, OCD, director of advancement of the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles, told EWTN News, “It’s too early to estimate the cost of the damage” but “the entire building would need to be rebuilt and construction is expensive in Southern California.”
He said the retreat house serves more than 13,000 people annually.
Although one building is unusable, Boqueron said in his “EWTN News Nightly” interview that retreats are still taking place, but “it’s at a reduced capacity.”
“Thank God, they (are still happening), because we still have two buildings that we use in operations,” she said.
