Founded: 1944
Location: 23233 West Lyons Avenue, Santa Clarita
San Fernando Region: Deanery 8
Cowboys, Indians, Western films, oil refineries, agriculture and a dam named for St. Francis --- what more history could a parish have? In the city of Santa Clarita (formerly Elayon, and then Newhall until 1987), the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help has all that and a history of phenomenal family growth from its establishment in 1944.
The Archdiocesan Centennial Book of 1940 refers to a group of San Fernando churches, including the one at Newhall in the early 1900s as Our Lady of Perpetual Help. A Tidings article of Nov. 11, 1960, notes that the first church "was built in 1914, blessed in 1915 by Father Gerald Bergan and remained part of St. Ferdinand's until 1944, when Our Lady of Perpetual Help became a separate parish."
Little is recorded about the parish to that point, but community history --- good and bad --- abounds. In March of 1928, the St. Francis Dam in Newhall burst and 12.5 billion gallons of water rushed 50 miles to the ocean, taking some 500 lives and decimating several towns in its wake. Historians list it as California's second worst disaster (after the 1906 San Francisco quake).
But the area --- in the arid Santa Clarita Valley north of Los Angeles --- was an ideal setting for early Western films that starred William Hart, Tom Mix and even John Wayne (with his real name). That, and having the first oil refinery in the state, added luster to the expanding area.
The first pastor, Father Thomas O'Malley, brought his own unique history. The native of County Mayo had just served five years as chaplain with the Army, four of them in the South Pacific during World War II. When he was appointed to Newhall he said: "it was a beautiful country place. There was no rectory. I spent a year and a half living in the sacristy."
During the war he implored Tidings readers to "pray like you have never prayed before. Pray for the men going into battle, in battle, for those wounded…and for the dead." Msgr. O'Malley --- who in 1947 moved into a new parish house that adjoined the church --- died in 1994 at 86.
In 1948 Father Louis Buechner from Detroit became pastor for two years, then was asked to become founding pastor of Norwalk's first parish, St. John of God. Serving there 22 years, he died in 1986 at age 85.
For four years Father Joshua Kennedy of County Tipperary headed OLPH, his first pastorate. His next assignment was St. Sebastian, Santa Paula, where he directed construction of the church and remained for 18 years. He retired in Ireland where he died in 1990 at age 83.
Succeeding Father Kennedy was Father Henry Banks of County Leitrim, Ireland, serving 22 years. He oversaw the building of the new OLPH church, school, hall, library and rectory on the 10-acre parish property on Lyons Avenue --- just a mile west of the old church in downtown Newhall. He died after a long illness in 1976 at age 66.
The parish school in the 1960s served a 2,400-square-mile mountain and valley area. With the neighboring San Fernando Valley rapidly filling up, it witnessed a huge increase in home construction that has still not abated (though long gone are the days of new three-, four- and five-bedroom homes priced from $18,950 to $21,950).
Following Father Banks was Father Patrick Power from County Waterford, Ireland, a nephew of the late Archbishop John J. Cantwell (Father Power's mother had four priest brothers). Father Power, who previously headed the religious department at Bishop Garcia Diego High School, served for 23 years at Our Lady of Perpetual Help. During that time the efforts to incorporate Newhall, Saugus and Valencia culminated in the Nov. 3, 1987 establishment of Santa Clarita, the largest city ever to incorporate (the 1989 archdiocesan directory listed OLPH in Santa Clarita for the first time). Father Power retired in 2000 and died at age 73 in 2003.
Msgr. Paul Montoya, the present pastor, was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming but attended elementary school at St. John Chrysostom in Inglewood where in 1990 he was named pastor after serving five years as administrator. Ordained in 1973 from St. John's Seminary, he has also served on the Seminary board and as chaplain for the Inglewood Police Department.
Although three parishes in the archdiocese honor Mary under the title "Our Lady of Perpetual Help" (traditional feast day June 27), the church in Santa Clarita can claim a very early devotion. The wonderful Byzantine icon of Mary's image, dating from perhaps the 13th century, possesses a colorful history. The Mother of God is depicted holding the child Jesus as the archangels Michael and Gabriel present him with instruments of his future passion. The traditional prayer emphasizes the zeal of her intercession:
"O Mother of Perpetual Help, to thee we come, imploring help… obtain this grace, to see my God face to face." |