Founded: 1896
Location: 235 North Ninth Street, Santa Paula
San Fernando Region: Deanery 3

In the 120 cities that comprise the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, 64 parishes are named in honor of the Blessed Mother, while a half-dozen cities are named for women saints. Among the latter is the Ventura County community named for the fourth century Roman matron, St. Paula.

This mother of five children was widowed at age 32 and subsequently devoted her fortune to the care of the poor and pursuit of holiness. St. Paula was a great friend and supporter of St. Jerome, who later wrote her biography. In her later years she was a pilgrim to the Holy Land where she built churches in Bethlehem and a monastery, hospice and convent. She was the first abbess. Her feast day is Jan. 26.

Paradoxically, the patron saint of St. Sebastian Church bears some comparisons to St. Paula. A third century man of wealthy Roman nobility, St. Sebastian (feast day: Jan. 20) was an officer in the Imperial Guard under Emperor Diocletian who brutally persecuted Christians. Sebastian secretly aided the imprisoned Christians and also won many converts. The emperor discovered his actions and had him tied to a tree to be killed by arrows. A pious Christian widow came to collect his body but found him still alive.

Recovering from his wounds, Sebastian confronted the emperor in an effort to convert him. Instead, Diocletian ordered him beaten to death and thrown in a sewer. Artists through the ages have depicted the saint in numerous bloody poses covered with arrows; thus, the combination of a patron saint for soldiers and one for widows constitute the background for the city and the parish. (No historical records indicate why either name was chosen.)

Before Europeans arrived in the region, the Chumash Indians, a proud and peaceful people, lived on lands that stretched from Malibu to San Luis Obispo. Among their villages was Mupu, the present site of Santa Paula. Church records show that St. Sebastian's began as a mission in 1889 attended by Father John Pujol, pastor of El Rio. A church building was blessed in 1892 and the parish was officially established in 1896.

The first pastor was Irish born Father Patrick J. Grogan who administered the new parish as well as overseeing the distant missions of Camulos, Lancaster, Mojave, Tehachapi, Elizabeth Lake, Havila, Independence and Lone Pine. Father Grogan later headed San Buenaventura Mission for 42 years and at his death in 1939 was "revered as the last living link with the Spanish padres."

Father Pujol returned to Santa Paula until 1904 when he was able to present the parish with the deed to a lot in the town. Father Gerald Gay, his successor, built the rectory.

In the 111 years since St. Sebastian's was established, some 25 pastors have contributed to the spiritual and physical growth of the parish. Many were from Ireland, one from Canada, and others from L.A., Brooklyn and Burbank.

Msgr. Augustine O'Dea, from County Clare, taught for 30 years at St. John's Seminary. At his funeral in 1983, Cardinal Manning called him a "prophet" for as a teacher he had predicted that L.A. would become one of the largest and most important Hispanic centers in the country. He insisted that every priest should speak Spanish and know Mexican culture.

Among the longest-serving was Father Joshua Kennedy, from County Tipperary, who shepherded the parish for 18 years and built the church that was dedicated in 1956. He died in 1990 at age 83.

In 1987 Father James Rothe, of Burbank, was appointed and in the following year "resurrected" the parish school that had been closed for 19 years. Then, with parish pledges he was able to open the new parish center in 1993. To make the parish dream a reality, more than 400 parishioners pledged $21 a month for four years to provide for the facility that houses classes, offices and a gathering center for meetings. Father Rothe retired as pastor emeritus in 2000.

The present pastor, from Brooklyn, is Father Pasquale Vuoso, a member of the Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception. This congregation was founded in the 19th century in France by Dom Adrien Grea and received the title from Pope Pius IX. A religious community of priests and brothers who maintain the ideals of St. Augustine, they live an apostolic life in common and work in parish ministry. The cradle of the congregation was a church at Baudin (France) dedicated under the title of the Immaculate Conception, a mystery the community continues to honor, particularly at St. Sebastian.