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CHURCH AND PARISH HISTORY

Our Lady of Loretto Parish was formed in 1905 by then Bishop T.J. Conaty and we intend to create a complete history on this page. We are working with several sources including the church, the school and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles archives office to gather all information available. If you have any information, photos or if you can add to this page or this website please click here and help us to build this site for all OLL alumni.

CHURCH AND PARISH HISTORY

By Gerry Gallagher

Note - One of the great rewards in doing research is that you get the chance to learn so much about your topic of interest and to pass on these newly found historic treasures. That is very much the case here and it is a delight to be able to pass on what I have learned in researching OLLI Church and Parish.

Part 1 - EARLY HISTORY (1890’s – 1907)

At the turn of the century the relatively young city of Los Angeles was growing with the influx of settlers coming into the area from the East and Midwest of the country. At the same time, there was a large migration from south of the border of Mexican born residents that had embarked upon their new lives in the USA and settled in the many developing suburbs of Downtown Los Angeles. One of these new suburbs was located a few miles north west of the city center and became what we know today as Los Angeles 90026 or the former Angelino Heights/Echo Park/Edendale/Ivanhoe/ Belmont Heights areas of Los Angeles.

With these new residents came the obligation to supply for the religious needs of this ever growing community and as such the Archdiocese of Monterey and Los Angeles (as the archdiocese was called back then) set up the infrastructure for a local parish to cater to the Roman Catholic faith of these new Angelinos. Around the late 1890’s to early 1900’s then Bishop George Montgomery created the diocese within the general borders of what we now know as Our Lady of Loretto Parish. However, the parish was not originally known as Our Lady of Loretto, it was known originally as Saint Augustine Parish and remained as such until 1905. Thus, Saint Augustine Parish was established and the quest was now to find a place to worship within the new parish. Needless to say, building a church was something well down the road and as such the hierarchy of the church put out the word that it was seeking a suitable building in order to be able to provide religious services for its new Saint Augustine parishioners.

Early cable car line – Los Angeles late 1890's

The answer soon came back with the availability of the old Temple Street Cable Railway Company’s car barn (storage and repair facility for the cable cars) located at the corner of Edgeware Road and Temple Street (this location is now part of the Hollywood Freeway). Thus, Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation services were now held in the car barn and this remained the case until 1907 when a new church was built to service the parish’s ever growing and very devoted Roman Catholic community.

Before the new church was built (and indeed probably even before plans were even conceived for the new church) a major change was made in 1905 in regards to the parish. Bishop Thomas J. Conaty had taken over the reigns of the Archdiocese from Bishop Montgomery in 1903. Bishop Conaty had a first hand view of the growth in his archdiocese and especially the influx of Roman Catholics into the area known as Saint Augustine Parish as Bishop Conaty’s residence was located at 717 South Burlington Avenue (7th and Burlington). Being essentially a neighbour to the parish, Bishop Conaty could see the expansion of the city as it grew in a north westerly direction and as such the development of the very first suburb of Los Angeles known as Angelino Heights (which still exists to this day as part of the Echo Park district). In 1905 Bishop Conaty was to embark upon a trip back to Rome at the invitation of Pope Pius X who was hosting the 1905 Eucharistic Congress. Bishop Conaty was busy planning his trip which entailed leaving Los Angeles by train in order to meet up with the White Star Line ship “S.S. Cretic” departing from New York for Naples, Italy on September 26, 2005 and he wanted to bring good tidings and breaking news for the Pontiff in Rome.

White Star Line "S.S. Cretic"

Bishop Conaty wanted to share with Pope Pius X some very exciting news from his ever-growing and expanding archdiocese and announced on August 28th (the day he departed by train from Central Station in downtown) that he had changed the name of the parish of Saint Augustine and that he would be delivering this breaking news back to His Holy Father Pope Pius X. Thus, as of this August 28, 1905 announcement, we now were given (and still embrace to this day) our identity as ... Our Lady of Loretto Parish!

At the same time as he renamed the parish, Bishop Conaty also showed his personal commitment to the parish and how much he thought of the parish when he appointed his own former Secretary as the new pastor of Our lady of Loretto Parish and as such Father George Donahoe became the first assigned priest and pastor. Masses and religious services continued at the old Temple Street Cable Railway Company’s car barn facility through 1905 – 1907. A decision was made in 1906 to erect a parish church and plans were drawn up, approved and work commenced on or about June of 1906.

Bishop Thomas J. Conaty (middle back seat)

A grand celebration was commenced to dedicate the new church when a new Gothic style church was erected on the corner of Union Avenue and Court Street (now the playground area across Court Street from the school). Reports of the church’s opening indicate that the structure was "a magnificent Gothic style structure" and that "the steeple was the most prominent in the entire city".

On November 17, 1907 Bishop Conaty’s dream for Our Lady of Loretto Parish was culminated with the dedication of the new and extremely impressive church! A High Mass was celebrated headed up by Bishop Conaty officiating and assisted by Monsignor Hartnett (Rector of the Cathedral) and 16 other priests ... including pastor George Donahoe.

(To be continued) ...

MORE CHURCH AND PARISH HISTORY TO COME ... and again, if you want to contribute to this page or any of the many pages on this site please feel free to submit your suggestions, photos, ideas, stories and comments by clicking here.