About Our Parish

History of the Parish

A land donation of two and a half acres in 1942 by Mr.& Mrs. H. Jahn, members of Sacred Heart Parish, paved the way for a groundbreaking new church on September 30, 1945. The site was chosen for easy access to parishioners from Mira Loma, Glen Avon, Glen Heights, Pedley and Sparrland.

Earlier Fr. Michael O’ Farrell, the pastor of the 150-family parish, together with Bishop Charles Buddy, had offered the first Mass in the American Legion Hall on Palm Sunday 1945. The church became a reality with the help of a wide array of donations: $5,000, a marble altar, an electric organ, Stations of the Cross and an artistic plaque of the Last Supper.

Of particular note was the donation by the Chapel of Academy of the Sacred Heart of San Francisco of 10 stained-glass windows depicting women saints both early and recent. These include St. Madeline Sophie Barat, St. Cecelia, St. Catherine, St. Agnes, St. Rose of Lima, Apparition of St. Margaret Mary, St. Philomena, St. Joan of Arc, St. Teresa of Avila and St. Claire.

In 1957 the church was extended to accommodate a growing congregation.

Viva Cristo Rey!

Our Sacred Heart of Jesus and Blessed Mary of Guadelupe statues were donated by Kathleen Bonner in honor of her brother, Father William Bonner, SVD in 2007. The marble is from San Julian Mexico; the site of the first of the battles against persecution of the Catholic Church in Mexico from 1926 to 1929. Priests and parishioners were murdered for their participation in the Catholic faith and the uprising was from the rural community against the persecutions of the Mexican government. The Cristeros, whose cry was "Viva Cristo Rey!" remind us of how vailaintly they fought to protect the Catholic community moung those faithful to the Church. In 2009 Fr. Martin Rodriguez commissioned the chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe.