Our Lady of Angels History
Our Lady of Angels (OLA) parish was formed on November 15, 1926 by Archbishop Hanna when he assigned the Capuchin Franciscans www.olacapuchins.org to the new community of 200 families. The boundaries of Easton’s 1500 acre farm defined the new parish: Skyline, Sanchez, Murchison, and the Bay.
With a $35,000 loan the Capuchins purchased a small cottage, a vacant lot, and a small building which had previously been the Easton School. The old school served temporarily as a church and the cottage as a rectory. Parishioners sat on wooden planks facing an improvised altar for the celebration of the first Mass on Sunday, December 19, 1926.
One of the first organizations formed was the Capuchino Club, which helped raise funds for the development of the parish. Later a theatrical group was organized, then the Capuchino Women formed a Ladies Guild (a forerunner of today’s Altar Society), and later the Mother’s Club and the Women’s Club were organized.
To provide a school for the rapidly expanding parish, the cottage was converted into classrooms and another small house was purchased for the rectory.
On August 22, 1927, the first parochial school in the area opened with five grades staffed by the Sisters of Mercy. In less than one year, a church and school were flourishing in the new parish. When Archbishop Hanna made an official visit in 1927, he claimed to have given the Capuchins the choicest spot in the diocese and predicted OLA would be one of the outstanding parishes in the years to come.
Five additional lots were purchased in 1929 for $27,000. By 1930 the little school house had become hopelessly inadequate and was torn down. The present mission-style building replaced it with five classrooms and a temporary auditorium. Three years later, however, enrollment reached 240 and the auditorium was partitioned to provide even more classrooms
In the late 1940’s, with 800 families in the parish, the temporary church no longer sufficed. A campaign drive was initiated and by 1950 the present church had been built at a cost of $300,000. The larger church was indeed welcome as the parish census had jumped to over one thousand families by the time of its completion. The old temporary church became the parish hall.
School enrollment continued to increase and at the conclusion of another fund drive in 1959, the convent was built and four classrooms added to the school. In 1961, four more classrooms were added, providing 2 classrooms for each grade. The enrollment peaked at 707 in 1965.
Fr. Fergus Lawless returned to OLA as pastor in 1961 and was elected Provincial in 1962, at which time the rectory became the Provincial House. That same year a group of parishioners organized CCD classes, which later evolved into the School of Religion.
Always the innovator, OLA formed a Parish Senate in 1967, the first on the Peninsula. This group of elected lay members served in an advisory capacity to the Pastor in the administrative functions of the parish, overseeing plant maintenance, financial planning, etc. The current Board of Education was originally a committee of the Senate. With the many activities of the school, CCD and various organizations, the parish eventually outgrew the old hall. With the income from yet another fund drive, the current multi-purpose hall was built in 1968.
The parish celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 1976 with a Mass and Champagne Reception attended by state and local dignitaries, religious leaders, OLA school alumni, and parishioners. There are currently 2100 families within the parish.
84 Years with the Capuchins
The relationship between the Capuchins and OLA goes back to the very beginning of the parish in 1926. The Capuchins have enriched the community with a warm, caring, and a joyful spirit. In recent years, the establishment of the Provincial residence at 1345 Cortez Avenue has enhanced the Capuchin presence in the parish.
Capuchins Franciscans from around the world gathered in 1979 to celebrate the formation of the new Province of Our Lady of Angels, encompassing California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Idaho and Arizona. This area was formerly a Vice-Province of the Province of Ireland. Fr. Enda Heffernan, O.F.M. Cap., a former pastor, served as Provincial with the headquarters at OLA. Fr. Gerald Barron, O.F.M. Cap., was appointed pastor in 1977 and celebrated his Silver Jubilee in 1982.
The following year, Fr. Fergus Lawless, O.F.M. Cap. celebrated his Golden Jubilee. Fr. Gerald was elected to serve as Provincial in January 1985. Fr. Finton Whelan, O.F.M. Cap. was appointed Pastor of OLA on August 22, 1985. Then Fr. Michael Mahoney O.F.M. Cap. was elected to serve as Pastor in 1991 and carried out this mission until August 2000. In August 2000, Fr.Gerald Barron was appointed Pastor of OLA for the second time.
In 2004 Fr. Harold Snider was appointed Pastor of OLA and serves the Parish with
Father James O’Shea, O.F.M. Cap., Father Flavian Welstead, O.F.M., Cap., Father John De La Riva O.F.M., Cap., Brother Mark Mance, O.F.M., Cap., and Sister Pat Hunter, SNJM.