At last Saturday's noon liturgy celebrating the 100th anniversary of Holy Cross Parish, the gathering song said it all: "We come to share our story; We come to break the bread; We come to know our rising from the dead."
Cardinal Roger Mahony echoed this sacred theme during his homily. "It is important," he said, "to recognize that a parish is a story, a history about a people."
The story of Holy Cross began on another November 4 in 1906, when Father Thomas Fahey celebrated the first parish Mass in a wood-framed cottage.
"The reason Holy Cross, on the outer boundary of the diocese, was established was because the other two nearest parishes, St. Joseph's and St. Vincent's, were too far away," Cardinal Mahony pointed out. "People in the area had to go by horse or buggy to get to these churches, which was a long journey. So they petitioned Bishop [Thomas J.] Conaty to establish a parish."
In 1910, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet opened a parochial school. Three years later a permanent church was finished of red brick with a Gothic edifice, which cost $50,000 and is still being used today, having survived two major earthquakes. In 1970, the Comboni Missionaries came to the urban parish and have remained ever since. Cardinal Mahony praised the religious community for its "great zeal and spirit."
The cardinal traced the racial and ethnic changes at Holy Cross, from almost all-white to African American to Latino today. "As with all parishes, there's always a transition of people, and I suspect that could be true again in the future," he observed. "But that's part of the vitality of a parish.
"Not only because of the diverse population, but that's important in bringing everyone together in the sense of unity, harmony - regardless of our backgrounds, our culture or our language. That sense of unity, harmony continues to be one of the great signs of the presence of Christ here."
Cardinal Mahony noted that another "hallmark" of the parish over its century has been the tremendous number of priestly and religious vocations to come out of Holy Cross. He put the number of priests and brothers at more than 30 and sisters (mostly Sisters of St. Joseph) at more than 50. Both Cardinal Justin Ragali, archbishop of Philadelphia, and retired Auxiliary Bishop John Ward of Los Angeles grew up in, and attended parochial school at, Holy Cross.
After the bilingual Mass, which featured liturgical dancers and pulsating music, Msgr. John Sheridan, pastor emeritus of Our Lady of Malibu Church, told The Tidings that when he was assigned as a newly-ordained priest to Holy Cross in 1943-44, the congregation was largely German, Irish and Italian. Most of the blue-collar households were headed by men who worked for the nearby Southern Pacific Railroad.
"They were wonderful people," he recalled, smiling. "It was a very unified, true community. A very friendly place."
Margaret Donohue, 64, was baptized, received first Communion and confirmed at Holy Cross, which features a huge 50- by 70-foot reproduction of Munkacsy's Crucifixion painting over the main altar. Donohue's family lived in the close-knit neighborhood, which was becoming integrated with African Americans. She graduated from the grade school in 1955 and readily recalls a favorite teacher.
"Sister Mary Letitia taught seventh grade, and she was wonderful," Donohue said. "She just did so many innovative things. You know, we were always doing projects. And we'd get together in teams and study South America, and then write all these things and make posters about it.
"I also remember every morning saluting the flag and cross, then marching into class to Sousa marches. It was great. It was really great."
Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet Daniel Therese Flynn taught seventh- and eighth-graders English at the new middle school when it opened in 1969. She returned as principal in 1977 and still lives in the convent. She witnessed dramatic demographic change in the mid-'80, when half of the students were Latino, the other half from a dwindling African American population.
"What's very special about this parish are the families, whether they're English-speaking or Spanish-speaking, or they're just newly come or they're been here," she explained. "It's that mixture of the old and the new, and the good-heartedness of the people."
Comboni Father Tesfaldet Asghedom, Holy Cross' current pastor, agreed. In closing remarks at the end of the two-hour Mass, he said the story Cardinal Mahony told had been passed to today's parishioners.
"So many have kept it alive in this parish community," he stressed. "I cannot be more thankful to those who have been here before, and they who are here now. They are the new generation who carry on the torch, from the youngest child to those who have gone to their reward in our midst."
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