Mission Statement
The Catholic Community of St. Polycarp is blessed with many cultures and vibrant ministries that offer a welcoming spirit to all people, especially the youth, who desire a deeper encounter with Jesus Christ. We are disciples who feed the hungry, journey with our brothers and sisters on the road to new life with hope and courage, within a safe and joyful environment.
The Early History of the Parish
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, 1964.
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.
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, 1964.
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.