Saint Vincent de Paul Parish History
Saint Vincent de Paul Church was established by Bishop William Johnson for the Diocese of Orange on September 27, 1977 with four acres of undeveloped cemetery property from Good Shepherd Cemetery. It was formed with families from Saints Simon and Jude, Saint Bonaventure, and Holy Spirit Churches. The Vincentian Fathers built up the parish and faithfully served here until July 1995. The priests of the Diocese of Orange began serving the parish after this time with Father Jerome T. Karcher as Pastor.
The members of Saint Vincent de Paul Church have been gathering together in various places for prayer and other community activities since its beginning. It started with the first Mass on October 2, 1977 celebrated by one hundred and fifty families at Dilday Mortuary which became known by parishioners as “Saint Dildays”.
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The Parish Hall was built in 1981 and has served the parishioners for almost every purpose including faith formation classes for children, teens and adults, social gatherings, liturgies and all other parish activities. Masses were celebrated for parishioners in the Parish Hall for twenty years until the Church was built in 2002. The construction of the Meeting Rooms, which was completed in 1994, allowed for more space for the needs of the growing number of parishioners. The Parish Office was enlarged in February 1996 to provide more adequate office space for the staff and priests in the growing parish.
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The parish began the challenge to build a Church in January 1997. The CHURCH CAMPAIGN 2000 was begun to provide funding to construct a beautiful Church to better serve the various liturgical needs for the increasing number of parishioners. To do this, the Diocese of Orange donated an additional acre of property from Good Shepherd Cemetery to provide for the lower parking lot. With the generous contributions of many parishioners and friends, the Church was completed in 2002. The Church was solemnly dedicated by Bishop Tod David Brown in the Mass of Dedication on Saturday, February 2, 2002 with an overflow crowd of priests, parishioners and friends celebrating this accomplishment for the glory of God. The first parish Masses were then celebrated on the First Sunday of Lent, February 16 and 17, 2002.
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The Tabernacle, which was created especially for the Blessed Sacrament Chapel by the German artist Egino Weinert, was blessed by Father Jerome T. Karcher and installed in the Chapel on March 25, 2006 on the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord.
For the 10th Anniversary of the dedication of the church, new statues were placed in the church. The statue of Our Lady Of La Vang was blessed by Bishop Dominic M. Luong on May 16, 2012; and the statues of Saint Vincent de Paul and the Sacred Heart of Jesus were blessed for public veneration by Father Jerome T. Karcher on the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 15, 2012
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In 2015 new buildings were added to the property. On February 11, 2015, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the new Meeting Rooms and the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Office and Storage Room were blessed by Father Jerome. The statue of Saint Michael the Archangel located in the alcove of the new building and the mosaic of Mary, Mother of Christians, on the wall in the patio area were also solemnly blessed by Father Jerome.
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Yet, more than the construction of buildings, many individuals and families since 1977 have constructed the fabric of our parish through lives of faith, hope, and charity. Some parishioners have been here for many years while others are recently registered. Over the years, many whom we have loved and with whom we have shared our lives of faith have died and gone before us with the hope of everlasting life in Christ. Others have moved away. Yet each one holds a place in our heart, in the Body of Christ. They have been and are witnesses to the Gospel of Christ as demonstrated by their generous stewardship and service in various ministries. As the Parish History continues in the upcoming years, may Saint Vincent de Paul Church continue to be a place of welcome and warm hospitality to build up the Body of Christ for the salvation of souls.