The Redemptorists celebrated Mass for the first time at St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Whittier on Sunday, May 14, 1922. Only a week before, it had been announced that the Vincentians would be leaving and that the Redemptorists from Downey would take charge of the parish.
Fr. Marcellus Ryan was appointed the new pastor and four other Redemptorists joined him to form the new community. The Redemptorists were able to move into the rectory, the former house of the Vincentians. The church that stood on the corner of Newlin and Pickering was only eight years old. The Redemptorists were blessed to be able to follow in the shoes of the Vincentians, but they quickly set their own mark on the parish community.
In the last 100 years of Redemptorist service, much has changed. Our school opened the year after the Redemptorists assumed leadership. A new rectory was built in 1951, a new church in 1961. Soon after, a school was built where the second church stood. After an earthquake in 1987, a new school was built.
Eighteen Redemptorists have served as pastors, countless Redemptorists priests and brothers have served the parish, and many have called 7215 Newlin home. Several men from the parish were called to religious life and joined the Redemptorists over the past 100 years.
Countless baptisms have been performed, confessions heard, people confirmed, weddings celebrated, sick anointed, dead have been mourned. There have been a few ordinations. A multitude of liturgies have been celebrated and homilies preached, and there have been myriad festivals, novenas, missions and Triduums.
How do you measure 100 years? A few parishioners are close to 100 years old, but they weren’t baptized at St. Mary’s so it’s safe to say that no one was here 100 years ago when the Redemptorists arrived. That milestone – 100 years – means that this parish is much more than ourselves.
If something lasts that long, it was begun by someone else. We are carrying on a tradition that has been handed down to us. That means that what we have received, we have the obligation to hand down. I can say with some certainty that if any of us are around in 100 years, none will have a memory of this day. We all may have moved on, our families may be scattered around the world, the parish itself may even be closed.
Who knows what the future holds? My prayer is that what is truly
important will continue to grow and thrive. It is my hope that the faith we have received from our ancestors will be handed on to our descendants. It is my firm belief that the Redemptorists charism will continue to thrive here, and the poor will have the Good News proclaimed to them at St. Mary of the Assumption Church.
It has been an honor and a privilege for the Redemptorists to have served here for the past 100 years. May God continue to bless us all as we continue to live our vocations. An anniversary is an opportunity to look back, but more importantly, it is a moment to look forward.
Eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and no heart has imagined what God has ready for those who love Him.
