Our Lady of Grace (Encino)

Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church & School is a Catholic church and elementary school located in Encino, Los Angeles, California, at the corner of Ventura Boulevard and White Oak. The parish operates the Our Lady of Grace Elementary School. Crespi Carmelite High School is also adjacent to the parish.

Our Lady of Grace Church, Encino

History

Our Lady of Grace Parish and Our Lady of Grace Elementary School were developed in the years following World War II as the population of the San Fernando Valley boomed. The parish celebrated its first Mass on December 16, 1945, in the packing room of Canoga Farms, owned by Frank Flowers, a Presbyterian.[1]

In the 1990s the Church served 2,400 families.[2] It began holding mass in Spanish in 1991, as the neighborhood's population of Mexican immigrants burgeoned.[3]

The Church grounds feature a garden and fountain sculpture erected in memory of Nicole Parker, a child who was the victim of a notorious 1993 child kidnapping and murder.[4][5]

In 1965 a solid gold chalice usually stored in the church's safe, was reported stolen.[6]

In January 2018, a priest, Father Juan Cano, was removed from the church "on suspicion of having inappropriate conduct with multiple female parishioners - one of whom is an underage girl."[7]

Schools

The parish's elementary school opened in September 1947.[8] As of 1998, the elementary school had 336 pupils.[3] Notable former students include author Barry Lopez.[9]

In February 1959, the Los Angeles Archdiocese announced plans to build a high school for 600 boys, staffed by Carmelite fathers, adjacent to Our Lady of Grace. The high school opened in the fall of 1959 as Crespi Carmelite High School.[10][11] Crespi has produced numerous notable athletes, including All-Pro football player Randy Cross, Major League Baseball player and World Series MVP Rick Dempsey, NBA player Paul Mokeski, and Major League Baseball pitcher and NLCS MVP Jeff Suppan. Singers Gunnar and Matthew Nelson attended the school in the 1980s. Actors Martin Donovan and Michael Angarano are also Crespi alumni.

Pastors

The parish has been served by several pastors over its history:

  • Father Ignatius McDonnell was the pastor in the mid to late 1950s.[12][13]
  • Monsignor Francis M. Osborne was the pastor for 26 years from 1959 to 1985. Osborne oversaw the construction of the current, 1,300-seat church from 1960 to 1961.[14][15][16]
  • Gerald Wilkerson was the pastor from 1985 to 1998.[17][18] In 1998, Wilkerson was ordained as a bishop by Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles. His ordination took place at Our Lady of Grace.[2][3] Bishop Wilkerson, who grew up in Long Beach, California and was ordained in 1965, came to Our Lady of Grace as pastor in 1982.[19]
  • Father Austin Doran became pastor in May 1998.[18]
  • Msgr. Jarlath (Jay) Cunnane, a native of Ireland,[20] is the current pastor,[21] and has served in that role since at least 2013.[22] Cunnane was profiled by the Los Angeles Times in 2001 and by The New York Times in 2006 for his work with immigrant families at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Pico-Union.[20][23]

See also

References
  1. "Fete for Parish Birthday". Los Angeles Times. December 8, 1946. p. 41 – via Newspapers.coma.
  2. Wahlgren, Eric (22 January 1998). "BISHOP ORDAINED IN ENCINO; 'FATHER JERRY' HONORED DURING MASS AT HIS FORMER CHURCH". Los Angeles Daily News. ProQuest 281742499.
  3. Stammer, Larry; Dart, John (6 November 1997). "Pope Names Encino Pastor Auxiliary Bishop for Valley". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 421187593.
  4. "Nicole Parker's Memory Lingers On". Los Angeles Daily News. 1 October 2000. ProQuest 281910564.
  5. Chu, Henry (25 November 1993). "Slain Girl Eulogized by Family Services: More than 1,000 crowd the church to honor the memory of the Tarzana second-grader". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  6. "Police Continue Search for Stolen Chalice". Los Angeles Times. 29 December 1965. ProQuest 155311954.
  7. "Priest removed from Encino church over misconduct allegations involving an underage girl". abc7.com. October 27, 2018.
  8. "School Readying for Sept. 15 Bell". The Van Nuys News and Green Sheet. August 25, 1947. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Tydeman, William E. Conversations with Barry Lopez: Walking the Path of Imagination. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, OK. 2013. p. 3.
  10. "Panorama City, Encino to Get New Catholic High Schools". Los Angeles Times. February 22, 1959. pp. 8–1 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Two Catholic High Schools Being Erected in Valley". The Van Nuys News. February 26, 1959. p. 26C – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Encino Auxiliary Presents Flag To Catholic School". The Valley News. December 11, 1955. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Cub Pack 229 Holds Annual Dinner Event". Van Nuys News. March 4, 1958. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Work Begins on Church in Encino". Los Angeles Times. January 17, 1960. p. VI-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "New Church Spires Rising in the Valley". Los Angeles Times. November 6, 1960. p. L1 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Death Notice for Msgr. Francis M. Osborne". Los Angeles Times. January 16, 2004. p. B13 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Valley Catholics, Interim Leader Await Naming of Area Bishop". Los Angeles Times. December 29, 1996. p. B13 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "New Pastor Named". Los Angeles Times. May 9, 1998. p. B9 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "A New Bishop For the San Fernando Region". Los Angeles Times. 17 January 1998. ProQuest 421397251.
  20. Patrick J. McDonnell (December 1, 2001). "Immigrant Priests Brought Their Ideals: Having come from an Irish seminary to L.A., two friends seek better lives for other newcomers". Los Angeles Times.
  21. "Fr. Jarlath "Jay" Cunnane". Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  22. "Two in critical condition after car hits Encino church planter". The Los Angeles Daily News. December 15, 2013.
  23. "Nuevo Catholics". The New York Times. December 24, 2006.
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