St. Mary's Church

History of St. Mary's Parish.

The 100th Jubilee of the parish of St. Mary's of the Assumption, in Whittier, brings to mind the interesting story of its establishment and early days.

Before we had a church in the Whittier area, Mass was said for a few Catholics of the neighborhood in the house of Mr. Edward Payorenas at Los Nietos. Sometimes the priest came from the Old Mission at San Gabriel, but most frequently from the Cathedral in Los Angeles. Mass was occasionally held at the Fred C. Nelles School For Boys.

In June, 1891, Mr. William Volkmor and family arrived in Whittier, the first Catholics to settle in the town. Seeing the potential of this new town, he took steps to interest other Catholics and to arrange for the occasional celebration of Mass.

Mr. Volkmor then purchased from T.W. Newlin, of the Pickering Land and Water Company, several lots at the corner of Newlin and Wardman Street, for the sum of seventy-five dollars. On this land the first St. Mary's Church was built. It was dedicated by Right Reverend Francis Mora, Bishop of Monterey and Los Angeles, on Sunday, July 9th, 1893. Father A. Montanarelli was appointed the first resident pastor.

St. Mary's was the third church built in Whittier. The Quakers constructed their meeting place in 1887, and before the town celebrated its second birthday the Methodists had completed a church building.

In 1896, Bishop George Montgomery placed the parish under the care of Vincentians of St. Vincents College, forerunner of Loyola University of Los Angeles. Father D.J. Hurley, C.M. held the post of pastor until 1898, usually coming from Los Angeles on Saturday and remaining over Sunday.

Many names familiar to some of us even now were the first parishioners of St. Mary's.

They were:

William Volkmor; Louis Pellissier; L. King Family; Louise and Eugene Valla; Peter McGoldrick; Louis Volkmor; Henrietta Davidson; John J. Phelan; E. Poyorena; Edward M. Smith; Nora Porr; William Connors; Edward Phelan; Anna Kroks; John McAleese; Juan D. Ramirez; William Lynch; Mrs. Catherine Holahan; The King Family; The Weinshank Family; Elisa Barnard; Frances Alvarez; Edward Macrode; Lougardo Alvaredo; Edward Gailardo; G. Alvarado; Tom Sanchez and The Pico Family.

Misfortune struck at 1:00am on March 19th, 1912, when from an unknown cause, St. Mary's church was destroyed by fire. Saved, as volunteers played water on the belfry, was the bell that now hangs in the tower of the present church.

Pastors of St. Mary's Parish

	Fr. A. Montanarelli,	1893-1894
	Fr. P.J. Grogan,	1894-1896
	Fr. D.J. Hurley C.M.,	1896-1898
	Fr. James More C.M.,	1898-1910
	Fr. Eugene AntiIl C.M.,	1910-1922

Plans for rebuilding at Wardman and Newlin immediately got under way. The second St. Mary's was completed in 1914 and dedicated by Bishop John J. Cantwell on the parish's Silver Jubilee in July, 1918.

In the same year, Whittier Council 1898, Knights of Columbus, was formed.

The Redemptorist Order took charge of St. Mary's Parish in May, 1922, at the request of Bishop Cantwell and remained in charge since that time. Five priests were assigned to St. Mary's Parish and Missionary work among the area's Mexican Population. Father Marcellus Ryan was the first Redemptorist pastor. He served until 1927.

With the parish already established, Father Ryan could turn his efforts toward the construction of St. Mary's School. Ground was broken in March, 1923, on property facing Pickering on the corner of Wardman. The School was under the direction of a staff of Dominican Sisters from Houston, Texas. The pioneers in Catholic education in Whittier were Sister M. Loretta, Superior, Sister Eucharia and Sister Patricia.

A Convent was built in 1923 for the Dominican Sisters and was located just south of the school building off Pickering.

St. Mary's School opened September 17, 1923 with an enrollment the first week of 107 pupils.

Mission stations served by St. Mary's priests included St. Francis Xavier at Pico Park and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Los Nietos. The Murphy Ranch, Jim town and Rivera areas were the sites of regular services.

Following Father Ryan in 1927 as Pastor, was Father Alexander W. Chapaton under whose direction the Catholic Daughters, Altar Society, and the Holy Name flourished. The St. Mary's Parents Club was also organized under the original title of School Parents Teachers Association. Father Chapaton with his assistant Father McLaughlin carried St. Mary's through the early part of the great depression. During their leadership preserving the faith from outside forces occupied much of their time.

On March 10, 1933 the Long Beach earthquake hit the Southland and St. Mary's School was condemned and had to be closed during the repairs. The students were sent to either Jonathan Bailey Public Grammar School or to John Muir Junior High School depending on their age. After repairs were made they returned to St. Mary's School.

Father Chapaton left in 1933 and Father Robert Mattingly assumed pastorship. In his time care of the poor and unemployed was a major preoccupation, but always continuing the mission activities in outlying areas.

Father Clement Wagner took charge in 1939 and at request of the State, St. Mary's provided a civil service chaplain for the Fred C. Nelles School for Boys.

Father Andrew Oehm served as pastor of St. Mary's from 1941, until 1947 when under the pastorship of Father Edward C. O'Neill the parish grew rapidly. The old auditorium was converted into classrooms and in 1948 construction of Smith Memorial Hall got under way. The Hall was named after E.M. Smith's wife who did not survive a major automobile accident. The cost of the Hall was borne by Mr. Smith in memory of his wife. Lots on Newlin Ave. and Pickering Street were acquired in 1948 and 1949. From 1950 to 1956 the parish saw its heaviest growth under the pastorship of Father Nicholas Meissen, reaching a membership of 2000 families. By 1953, classrooms for the school had increased to 16 and enrollment had reached 900.

During this period of rapid growth, the parish boundaries shrank as new parishes such as, St. Hilary's, and St. Marianne's in Pico Rivera, St. Gregory's and St. Bruno's in East Whittier, and St. Plus X in Santa Fe Springs were organized. St. Francis Xavier, which now has a resident priest, was also part of St. Mary's parish at one time

Redemptorists Came to St. Mary's

	Fr. Marcellus Ryan C.Ss.R.,	1922-1927
	Fr. Alex Chapaton C.Ss.R.,	1927-1933
	Fr. Robert Mattangly C.Ss.R.,	1933-1939
	Fr. Clement Wagner C.Ss.R.,	1939-1941
	Fr. Andrew Oehm C.Ss.R.,	1941-1947
	Fr. Edward C. O'Neil C.Ss.R.,	1947-1950
	Fr. Nicholas Meissan C.Ss.R.,	1950-1956
	Fr. Philip Aggeler C.Ss.R.,	1956-1961
	Fr. Franklin Karp C.Ss.R.,	1961-1967
	Fr. Joseph Palmer C.Ss.R.,	1967-1968
	Fr. Vincent Molthen C.Ss.R.,	1968-1972
	Fr. Joseph K. Nuttman C.Ss.R,	1972-1978
	Fr. William A. Peterson C.Ss.R.,	1978-1987
	Fr. Donald Mac Kinnon C.Ss.R.,	1987-1988
	Fr. Enrique A. Lopez C.Ss.R.,	1988-1999
	Fr. Arturo Uribe C.Ss.R.,	1999-2005
	Fr. Jos� Chavez C.Ss.R.,	2005-pres

Because the function of the Redemptorist was preaching missions, the present Mission House on Newlin Ave. was erected in 1952. Here reside the priest that care for the parish, the missionaries that serve other parishes, those priest who serve at Fred C. Nelles School for Boys and those priest who teach at St. Paul's High School.

Construction on the third St. Mary's Church began in 1957 under the pastorship of Father Philip Aggeler and the First Mass was said in October, 1958. The new church has a capacity of 1059 on the main floor, the cantilevered balcony 250 and the Mother's room 70 at a total of 1379 seating capacity. James Francis Mclntyre, Archbishop of Los Angeles, blessed the new edifice on Sunday, April 19, 1959.

As Father Aggeler left his post as pastor in 1961, a new 8 classroom school on the location of the old St. Mary's Church, on the corner of Newlin Ave. and Wardman Street was practically completed.

Father Franklin N. Karp served as pastor from 1961 to 1967 and Father Joseph Palmer from 1967 to 1968 During their pastorships a 28 rank pipe organ was installed in the church and an air-conditioning system completed. Lights were also added to the parking lots and surrounding parish buildings.

Father Vincent Molthen, who had served as assistant pastor at St. Mary for seven years, was appointed pastor in April of 1968. During his pastorship the first Parish Council was formed.

In 1972 Father Molthen was relieved of his pastoral duties and replaced by Father Joseph K. Nuttman. Father William Peterson assumed the duties of Pastor from Father Nuttman in 1978. Father Peterson computerized St. Mary's Parish during his Pastorship which ended just before the earthquake of 1987. Father Donald Mac Kinnon had taken over prior to the earthquake.

In October 1987 the Whittier Earthquake hit and again St. Mary's School and the Dominican Sister's convent were condemned and were torn down. The old original school was rebuilt but the convent was not, and the Sisters had to find other lodging.
	Uptown Whittier Earthquake. October 1, 1987

Of the vocations to the religious life from St. Mary's Parish we might note that Mabel Holahan, (Sister Mary Scholastic) of the Dominican Sisters taught the Second Grade in St. Mary's School. Also Florence Butler became a Dominican Sister at that time.