Sister Maureen Webb retired after years of teaching elementary school, high school and college biology at the Pacific School of Religion. Then she started a home in Oakland for pregnant girls. She came to Los Gatos last October, and only because she'd fallen twice before that. Most people who visit Holy Names, are attracted to the grounds. Walk a few steps from the parking lot, and visitors begin to relax.
Paths meander through oak trees, sycamores, fruit trees, junipers, and little patches of flowers.
A cat sits on a stone wall scratching his ears. It's a perfect place to sit on one of the benches on a warm spring or summer day and listen to the birds. In 1945, when Los Gatos was still way out in the country, Holy Names bought much of their property, including what is called the villa, from the family of famed violinist Yehudi Menuhin. Out of this property, they created Villa Holy Names, a vacation and retreat house for nuns. The 17 acres allowed the order to build two large buildings, one a novitiate for novice nuns and the other a care center for retiring nuns.