When Cardinal Timothy Manning ordained the St. John's Seminary class of 1980 to the priesthood on Saturday, June 21, during a morning liturgy at St. Vibiana Cathedral, there were approximately two million Catholics in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Today, the Catholic population has more than doubled in Los Angeles as 11 members of the class of 1980 marks their silver jubilee year.

The ordination Mass included an original meditation of the Magnificat, sung by the ordinands in Spanish for the congregation. It signified a special recognition of Cardinal Manning's coat of arms, according to Father Leon Hutton who later lived with the retired cardinal at Holy Family Church in South Pasadena for five years. (Shortly before the cardinal's death in 1989, the ordination class met with him for a final blessing at Holy Family.)

In The Tidings June 27, 1980 was this message: "With the help of God and the prayers and support of the people…these priests ordained by Cardinal Manning will guide the Church into the 21st century. Then, in 2005, they will celebrate their silver jubilees and remember their parents, friends and comrades of ordination today."

As a further reminder of their call to priesthood, a photo of the words engraved in stone at St. John's Seminary was included: "The office of the priest is to offer sacrifice, to bless, to govern, to preach and to baptize. Truly it must be with great fear that you ascend to so high a station."

Those who accepted that challenge (including those ordained apart from the June 1980 ceremony) are now celebrating 25 years of priesthood. The silver jubilarians:

A native of Van Nuys born in 1954, Father Joseph Brennan attended St. Elizabeth School, Notre Dame High School and the University of Portland. As associate pastor he served at St. Vibiana Cathedral; St. Linus, Norwalk, and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Los Angeles. He was appointed pastor of Holy Trinity Church, San Pedro, in 2004, after serving 12 years as pastor of St. Linus.

Father Rizalino Carranza was born in Magallanes, the Philippines, in 1954. He studied in the seminary there and entered St. John's in 1976. His first assignments were St. Robert Bellarmine, Burbank; St. Mel, Woodland Hills; and St. Mary of the Assumption, Santa Maria. In 1993 he was named pastor of St. Philomena, Carson, and in 1999 was named pastor at St. Mary of the Assumption.

A native Angeleno, Father James E. Cavanagh was born in 1952 and attended St. Jerome School and St. Bernard High School, Playa del Rey. He has served as associate pastor at St. Camillus, Boyle Heights; Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Los Nietos; St. Sebastian, Los Angeles; St. James, Redondo Beach; and St. Mary of the Assumption, Santa Maria. Currently he assists at St. Philip Neri, Lynwood.

Currently the spiritual director at St. John's Seminary, Father James Clarke was born in Santa Monica, 1953. For several years he worked in the Religious Education Office while serving at St. Pius X, Santa Fe Springs; St. Joseph, Hawthorne; and St. James, Redondo Beach. Officially a member of St. John's class of 1980, he was ordained in 1981 after first spending a year in Mexico learning Spanish.

A native of Mexicali, Father Juan Enriquez was born in 1954 and received his high school and college seminary training in Mexico. He was named pastor of St. Philip Neri, Lynwood, in 2003 after serving as pastor of Guardian Angel in Pacoima for seven years. His associate assignments include Our Lady of Guadalupe, Rose Hill; Holy Family, Artesia; St. Ignatius, Highland Park; and Christ the King, Hollywood.

Born in Los Angeles in 1954, Father Lawrence Estrada attended Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Stephen School, Monterey Park. His first assignment was St. Paul Church and in 1985 he was named priest-secretary to Archbishop Roger Mahony. In 1989 he became an associate at St. Andrew, Pasadena, and then administered St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Stephen for three years. After serving as St. Stephen's pastor (1996-2003), he is now Sacramental Minister at the Monterey Park parish.

Father Leon Hutton is currently the director of formation and evaluation at St. John's Seminary, having served there for 10 years as a teacher and director of students. He was born in Upland in 1954 and attended Sacred Heart School in Lancaster; St. Mary Magdalen, Camarillo; and Santa Clara High School, Oxnard. As associate pastor he served at St. Robert Bellarmine, Burbank, and Holy Family, South Pasadena. Father Hutton was a doctrinal student at Catholic University of America.

Father Robert Juarez was born in Los Angeles in 1953 and attended school at St. Anthony, San Gabriel. He was an associate pastor at St. Bernard, L.A., for five years and taught at Queen of Angels High School Seminary. He was pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Hammel Street) from 1991 to 2003. Since 1987 he has been Hispanic vocation director, and also is director of Guadalupe House in East Los Angeles, formation center for seminarians.

Father Richard Martini was born in Santa Monica in 1955 and graduated from Loyola High School in 1972. As associate pastor he served at St. Dorothy, Glendora, and St. Clement, Santa Monica. He was on the faculty atSt. Bernard High School and rector of Queen of Angels Seminary in Mission Hills for three years. He served as director of the Office for Vocations from 1995 to 2002, when he became pastor of Transfiguration Church, Los Angeles.

A native Angeleno, Father Allan Roberts was born in 1944 and attended school at Transfiguration and St. Agnes. He spent four years in the Navy in Long Beach, Vietnam and Japan before completing studies at Loyola University. Cardinal Manning ordained him in October 1980 at St. Vibiana's. His associate appointments include St. Maria Regina, Gardena; St. Frances X. Cabrini, South Los Angeles; St. Francis de Sales, Sherman Oaks; St. Maria Goretti, Long Beach; and St. Dorothy, Glendora. Father Roberts is administrator of St. Bernadette, L.A.

Father John Woolway has been pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Los Nietos since 1994. He was born in Los Angeles in 1954 and graduated from Loyola High School. His early assignments were at St. Gertrude, Bell Gardens; Nativity, El Monte;St. Agatha, Los Angeles; and a faculty member at St. John's Seminary College for four years. Cardinal Manning ordained Father Woolway in December of 1980 in St. Brendan Church.