Founded: 1902
Location: 600 Olive Avenue, Long Beach
San Pedro Region: Deanery 20

The "Mother Parish" of Long Beach evolved early in the 20th century from the few Catholic families who lived in an area that originally extended from Redondo to the Orange County line.

Bishop George Montgomery attended the first meeting with this small group on July 17, 1902, in the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Ena. They proposed to erect a church and for that purpose raised among them $2,500. A Mr. F. E. Shaw donated a site near Sixth and Olive. Father Ramon M. Ferrer, then the pastor at Wilmington, brought a plan for the new church seating 200 that was accepted, estimated at $3,500 and on October 19 the cornerstone was put in place.

On July 19, 1903, Bishop Thomas Conaty, newly installed as head of the Monterey/Los Angeles Diocese, dedicated St. Anthony Church. Two months later an additional lot at the corner of Sixth and Olive was purchased giving the property extended frontage.

In 1907 Father James Reardon was appointed and served the parish for 14 years. He opened the first school in 1910 but the financial burden was too much for the parish and it closed in two years. Not to be denied, efforts were renewed and in September 1919 a one-story frame and stucco school opened with 125 pupils in grades K-8.

The Immaculate Heart Sisters were placed in charge and by 1921 there were 500 students and two high school grades in operation. The IHM Sisters continued their teaching ministry at St. Anthony, both in the elementary and high school, for the next 50 years.

In 1924, a new church was dedicated, featuring Tudor Gothic design, three altars of Carrara marble and seating for 600. The first frame building was moved to Cerritos Street and serves today as the parochial mission of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Father John M. Hegarty of County Kerry, Ireland, headed the parish for seven years, built the rectory and purchased a site for new parish schools, completed in 1927. Succeeding Msgr. Hegarty (who died in 1954 at age 71) was Father Robert E. Lucey, a native Angeleno, who guided St. Anthony's through the devastating Long Beach earthquake of 1933 and built the third parish church. He went on to become Bishop of Amarillo, Texas, in 1934 and then Archbishop of San Antonio in 1941. Noted as a leader for social justice, assistance to Spanish-speaking peoples and prominent in his work against racial discrimination, he died in 1977 at age 86.

One of the most influential pastors in all Southern California was Msgr. Bernard J. Dolan who served in various offices in the archdiocese for almost 50 years and for 30 at St. Anthony. A native of County Roscommon, Ireland, he was ordained for L.A. in 1919 and hailed as "a modern Cure of Ars" and mentor for the golden age of vocations.

No less than 45 young men were guided to the priesthood by Msgr. Dolan. Among them: Archbishop George Niederauer of San Francisco; Msgr. Peter Healy, pastor emeritus of St. Robert Bellarmine, Burbank; and Auxiliary Bishop Gerald Wilkerson of Los Angeles.

Similarly, St. Anthony Church itself has spawned 11 area parishes since 1902: St. Matthew, Holy Innocents, St. Athanasius, St. Bartholomew, St. Barnabas, St. Cyprian, St. Lucy, Our Lady of Refuge, St. Cornelius, St. Maria Goretti and St. Joseph.

Succeeding Msgr. Dolan was Msgr. Ernest J. Gualderon, named pastor and monsignor the same year (1968) he began his pastorate. A native of Akron, Ohio, he was a state Golden Gloves boxing champion, outstanding golfer, halfback for Ohio State, a drummer and a singer. He served for 26 years at St. Anthony's, directed the archdiocesan scouting program and oversaw local camps for boys and girls. He died in 2003 at age 84.

Since 1994, three pastors have served the Long Beach parish: Father Lawrence Caruso, noted educator, who died in 1998; Father Richard Krekelberg, pastor for six years and now pastor of St. Rita, Sierra Madre; and currently Father Jose Magana from Mexico, ordained in 1998.

St. Anthony's church patron, known worldwide as the "seeker of lost articles," was a doctor of the Church, born in Portugal and died in 1231. The Franciscan Friar gained an enormous reputation as a preacher and was so beloved that he was canonized within the year of his death at age 36. His name means "inestimable" and can be applied to both the growth of the Long Beach parish and the outstanding pastors who ministered there.