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Saint Polycarp Church History
THE EARLY YEARS
As early as the 1920's, among
strawberry fields and orange groves in a once rural area now
known as Stanton, California, a small mission church (really a
converted barn) was established at Flower Street in Stanton,
mainly within boundaries that were formerly a part of Blessed
Sacrament Parish in Westminster. In 1959, a four-room school was
established by the Columban Sisters as an extension of Blessed
Sacrament School. Under the direction of Father Robert Ross, the
school was built to its present rectangular layout by volunteer
laborers.
Under the direction of Archbishop
(later Cardinal) McIntyre of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of
Los Angeles, the Catholic parish officially known as Saint
Polycarp was established in 1961 with its boundaries formed to
take in land and housing from five other parishes (Saint Pius V,
Blessed Sacrament, Saint Isodore Mission [Saint Hedwig], Saint
Columban, and Saint Boniface). Reverend (later Monsignor) Daniel
McLaughlin was appointed as its first pastor. A house on
Orangewood Avenue was purchased as a rectory for the priests
until the parish complex was complete. A church, adjacent
rectory and school expansions would be built on five acres of
farm land near the intersections of Chapman Avenue and Highway
39 (Beach Boulevard). The church building was opened in 1962 and
the rectory was finished in December,1 964.
The Columban Sisters continued as
teachers and administrators of the parish school until 1963. In
May, 1962, the Apostolic Oblates arrived from Italy to assume
administrative and teaching duties in the school. A convent was
established in a two-story duplex on Fillmore Street. School
classrooms held 50+ pupils in each grade and the school expanded
to eight grades (grades 1-8; two classrooms each) by 1966. The
peak attendance for the school was that same year with 649
students. The Oblates continued in the school until 1978.
Further administration of the school has been taken on by lay
leaders since that time. Because of declining enrollment, a
kindergarten was added in 1979.
PARISH LEADERSHIP
In the 1970's, dramatic
administrative changes took place which had direct effects on
St. Polycarp Parish. His Eminence, Cardinal James Francis
McIntyre resigned in 1970 and was replaced by Archbishop (later
Cardinal) Timothy Manning. In 1976, the Diocese of Orange was
created with Most Reverend William Johnson as its first Bishop.
At the parish level, Father McLaughlin retired in 1979 and
Father Frank Buckman was appointed administrator, then later
pastor of the parish.
It was during the 1970's that the
emerging Hispanic Community was recognized as a distinct and
important part of the parish community. To respond to the needs
of this viable part of the parish, by 1975 a Spanish language
Mass replaced the Latin language Mass on Sunday mornings.
Hispanic ministries have expanded and grown dramatically in the
last 20 years.
During Father Buckman's
administration, the former rectory (house on Orangewood) and the
convent (duplex on Fillmore) were sold and the funds used to pay
off the parish debt. Permission was given by the Bishop for the
building of a parish hall which was completed in 1979. The
annual parish Fiesta, begun in the late 60's, continued to be
the main fund raiser and social event of the parish. Father
Jaime Soto, an alumni of the school and parish (later a
Monsignor and Vicar of the Hispanic Community) was ordained and
celebrated his first Mass at St. Polycarp.
In 1984, Father (later Monsignor)
Lawrence J. Baird was appointed pastor for the parish. Under his
administration, the role of lay ministers and paid parish staff
continued to expand and be redefined. The 25th anniversary of
the parish was the largest social event enrollment. During the
1987 papal visit to Los Angeles, a large group of parishioners
from St. Polycarp made and displayed one hundred yellow and
white flags to fly over the Los Angeles Coliseum during the Mass
celebrated by John Paul II. After the death of Bishop Johnson,
Most Reverend Norman F. McFarland because the second Bishop of
the Diocese of Orange in 1987 until his retirement in 1999. Most
Reverend Tod Brown is now the third Bishop of Orange.
RECENT YEARS
Beginning his duties as pastor in
1989, Father Thomas P. Pado faced administrating a parish in the
1990's that continued to grow to over 3,100 registered families
and to change rather dramatically in many areas in recent years.
No longer is the parish an agricultural area made up of mostly
single-family dwellings. This portion of the Orange Diocese,
serving the cities of Anaheim, Cypress, Garden Grove, Stanton,
and unincorporated county areas, has become one with its
population at high density levels and is mainly suburban in
nature. In the last three decades the population demographics
have changed from an almost exclusively English-speaking, middle
class group to a predominately blue-collar/immigrant work force,
with a large portion of the residents with Hispanic background.
Within the last five years, St. Polycarp Parish has shown a
dramatic growth in the Asian/Pacific Islander groups, most
notably with ties to Vietnam, the Philippines, and Korea.
These ethnic, economic, and
demographic changes have greatly impacted the parish as a whole.
While embracing the richness of its cultural diversity, these
shifts have impacted enrollment in the parish school, the
celebration and scheduling of our liturgies, and the staffing of
all ministries of the parish. The pastor, parish staff, and
other ministers rely on recruiting more lay people to serve in
the various ministries and programs, as well as to serve as
program/organization directors, coordinators, and advisory board
members. This is especially true within the various ethnic
groups because of their specific language and cultural needs.
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