Anointed in tradition: Calif. nuns revive olive-oil production

FREMONT, Calif. - Glinting blue-black in the pale afternoon sun, the olives of Mission San Jose hang plump and smooth against a wintry sky.

"See how much? Look above you - amazing!" exclaims Sister Jane Rudolph, her dark eyes sparkling. "I love it!"

The Dominican Sisters' 47-acre property is nestled at the foot of wintergreen hills about 40 miles southeast of San Francisco. More than 200 trees dot the neatly manicured lawns.

For years, a labor shortage meant the fruit of these trees would fall to the ground. But this fall, the sisters decided to strike the oil in their back yard and connect with a tradition dating back two centuries.

"The thing that is important to us is being stewards of the Earth," Sister Rudolph said. "We've been blessed and now to use this historic resource - it's exciting."

For years, the olives were used to make oil for sacramental purposes, for gifts to benefactors and for convent cooking.

In 1964, the nuns could no longer handle the labor of harvesting, crushing and bottling the oil. They stopped production and gave away their crushing machine to monks in Big Sur.

For a while the olives were mainly a nuisance, dropping onto parking lots, sticking to the tile and wood floors of the elegant, early 20th-century convent.

In the late 1980s, a resurgence of interest in California olive oil was fueled by a new generation of gourmands hungry for fresh, unique and local products.

It was about three years ago when the Dominican Sisters started thinking about reviving their grove and got a "wholeheartedly, `Yes, let's go,' " from leadership.

The project got a big boost when Modesto grower Dan Sciabica offered to crush the olives and bottle the oil for free.

"We are wild with gratitude," Sister Rudolph said.

Sciabica, whose family has been making olive oil for three generations, is happy to help. He's particularly pleased oil proceeds have been earmarked for the care of elderly nuns.

"I"m a product of Catholic education," he said. "Now these sisters are getting older. They've given so much to us. It's time for us to give something back."

Each nun has adopted a tree and is praying for it. Since December, the sisters and a squadron of community volunteers have picked enough olives to yield about 100 gallons. They plan to sell the medium-fruity oil at their arts and crafts fund-raiser this November.