Eight priests of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles are observing their 50th anniversaries of ordination in 2004.
The group includes one (now retired) auxiliary bishop, and seven who were ordained from St. John's seminary in Camarillo. The eighth was ordained in Spain and later was incardinated for the archdiocese.
Altogether, Cardinal James Francis McIntyre --- then in his sixth year as Archbishop of Los Angeles --- ordained 16 members from St. John's on May 5, 1954 in St. Vibiana Cathedral. That same month, the archdiocese celebrated one of the largest religious gatherings in the history of the West when more than 110,000 persons attended Mary's Hour in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. In Los Angeles, seven new parishes were established that year and the Catholic population was 942,000 people.
Following are brief profiles of the 2004 golden jubilarians.
Bishop Juan A. Arzube
Bishop Arzube was born in 1918 in Ecuador and is the first native of that country to serve as a bishop in the United States. He studied in England and graduated as a civil engineer in New York. Prior to entering St. John's Seminary, he worked in several fields including radio and motion pictures. After ordination he served in several parishes and was named by Pope Paul VI as an auxiliary bishop in 1971. Bishop Arzube was instrumental in establishing local leadership in East Los Angeles; in 1973 he was appointed Episcopal Vicar for the Spanish Speaking and in 1986 named the first San Gabriel Pastoral Region auxiliary bishop under the newly-structured pastoral region system. He retired in 1994 and is presently in residence at Nazareth House in Los Angeles.
Father Eugene Buhr
A native Angeleno, Father Buhr was born in 1925, attended St. Cecilia School and Mount Carmel High School, and studied engineering at Loyola University and USC. Before entering St. John's, he served two years in the U.S. Navy. His pastoral work started at Our Lady of Peace, North Hills, then began teaching at Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance and served as vice principal. He also taught for 10 years at Pius X High School in Downey. Father Buhr was appointed administrator of Immaculate Conception, Monrovia, in 1974 and the following year formed a team ministry for the parish and implemented the same form at St. Joseph, Hawthorne. He retired as pastor emeritus in 2001 and resides at St. Joseph.
Father John Gutting
A native of St. Louis, Father Gutting was born in 1927 and attended St. Helen School, South Gate, and Mount Carmel High School. He first served at Holy Rosary, Sun Valley, for six years, then Sacred Heart in East Los Angeles, St. Monica in Santa Monica, and Our Lady of the Assumption in Ventura. In 1970 he was appointed chaplain at the Newman Center in Ventura and was pastor of St. Victor, West Hollywood, followed by his pastorate at St. Athanasius, Long Beach, for 20 years. He retired as pastor emeritus in 1997 and is currently living at Nazareth House in Los Angeles.
Father Charles Harman
Father Harman was born in Beverly Hills in 1927 and attended St. Monica and Loyola University before joining the U.S. Army and served during World War II. His first parochial assignment was St. Jerome, Los Angeles, then associate at St. Robert Bellarmine, Burbank; St. Anthony Claret, Anaheim; St. Anne, Santa Ana; and SS. Felicitas and Perpetua, San Marino. In 1973 he was named pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Los Angeles, and in 1985 served as associate at Cathedral Chapel. He is now retired and living privately in Beverly Hills.
Msgr. August Moretti
Msgr. Moretti was born in Rome, Italy, in 1928 and attended a junior seminary in central Italy that was destroyed in 1943 by air raids during World War II. He transferred to St. John's Seminary in 1949. After ordination he served in the parishes of St. Malachy and Holy Cross in Los Angeles; Holy Rosary, Sun Valley; St. Stephen, Monterey Park; and Mary Star of the Sea, San Pedro. He has a master's degree in canon law and a doctoral degree from the University of St. John Lateran. He was appointed associate director and then director of the Matrimonial curia in 1976 and initiated a multilingual apostolate. In 1984 Msgr. Moretti was named pastor of Assumption, Pasadena, his current assignment, and continues as a judge in the Tribunal for the archdiocese.
Msgr. Robert Pierce
Born in Pasadena in 1928, Msgr. Pierce attended St. Elizabeth School, Altadena, and the junior seminary. His pastoral assignments include Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Downey; St. Joseph, La Puente; SS. Felicitas and Perpetua, San Marino; and St. Basil, Los Angeles. In 1973 he was named pastor at Nativity, El Monte, and in 1984 became pastor of St. Louise de Marillac, Covina. He retired as pastor emeritus in 2001 and lives near the parish. During his ministry he advocated for a fund to aid in vocations and for 30 years helped seminarians through this effort.
Msgr. Manuel Sanchez
Msgr. Sanchez is one of three priest brothers from Granada, Spain, where he was ordained June 13, 1954. In Spain he taught French and Latin for 12 years at the Granada seminary. From 1971 to 1975 Father Sanchez taught at St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs. Incardinated in 1976, he served as associate pastor at St. Helen, South Gate, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Los Nietos. In 1980 he was appointed pastor of Sacred Heart, Pomona, and elevated to Prelate of His Holiness (monsignor) in 1995. Msgr. Sanchez retired in 2000.
Father Leo Steinbock
Father Steinbock was born in 1928 in Louisville, Kentucky. Locally he attended Holy Cross and Nativity schools and the junior seminary. He completed his theological studies at St. Patrick Seminary, Menlo Park, but was ordained by Cardinal McIntyre for the archdiocese. He has served at St. Philip the Apostle, Pasadena; St. Paul; Santa Teresita and St. Brigid, Los Angeles; St. Joseph, La Puente, Holy Name of Jesus, L.A.; and St. Mark, Venice. In 1979 he was appointed pastor of St. Kevin Church, Los Angeles, a pastorate of 24 years. His brother is Bishop John Steinbock of Fresno, also ordained originally for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Deceased Members of St. John's Class of 1954
---Father Lawrence Clark. Born in 1925 in Newport, Rhode Island, he had a master's degree in social work and trained as a fighter pilot for the U.S. Navy. He was pastor of St. Cecilia for 16 years, and of St. Bridget of Sweden, Van Nuys for six years, while also serving as associate director of Catholic Welfare Bureau and chaplain at General Hospital. He died at age 76 in 2001.
---Father Robert Condon. A native of County Limerick, Ireland, born in 1927, he served at Holy Trinity; St. Elizabeth, Altadena; and Our Lady of Victory, Compton. He was pastor of St. Joan of Arc, West Los Angeles, and died at age 73 in 2001.
---Father John McKenna. Born in 1919 in Long Beach and graduated from Loyola University, he served three years in the infantry in North Africa and Italy in World War II. He was the first chaplain at county juvenile hall and St. Francis Medical Center. He died in 1987 at age 68.
---Father James McKeon. Born in 1928 in Detroit, he served at St. Matthew, Long Beach; Cathedral Chapel, Los Angeles; and St. Alphonsus, East L.A., before being named the founding pastor of St. Peter Claver, Simi Valley. He died at age 70 in 1999. |