On the Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes, Feb. 11, Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Montclair celebrated its 70th anniversary with a special Mass presided by Bishop Alberto Rojas.
“Dear sisters and brothers, congratulations on 70 years of the presence of Christ in this parish community in many different ways the Lord Jesus makes His presence felt,” Bishop Rojas said.
The parish community had participated in a Novena beginning on Feb. 2, which concluded with the Mass.
“Today we gather with hearts overflowing with gratitude, we are very grateful to God in the first place and to all those people who have formed and kept this parish community alive for 70 years,” Bishop Rojas said. “We can think of parish staffs, community leaders, volunteers, pastors, deacons, religious sisters and brothers and all of you who have been committed members, we are very grateful to all of them throughout the years and to all of you now.”
The parish’s first pastor, Father Joseph C. Mackey, celebrated the inaugural Mass on June 12, 1955 for some 20 families at the then Valley Drive-In Theater. During that summer, a property was purchased and, a year and a half later, a church had been built by hardworking and dedicated parishioners during weekends and evenings.
Dominating the structure is a 60-foot bell tower capped by a dome inlaid with 24-karat gold mosaic Italian tile crosses. The church was dedicated by Bishop Charles Buddy of the Diocese of San Diego, of which Montclair was then a part, on December 12, 1956.
“We came together today to celebrate the 70 years of parish life as a family of God. For seven decades this parish community has been blessed as a sanctuary where the waters of grace have been flowing just as they do from the grotto at Our Lady of Loudes site in France,” Bishop Rojas said.
Concelebrating the anniversary Mass was Monsignor Gerard Lopez, Vicar General, and Father Clarence Saldua, M.S., the current pastor, along with several other diocesan priests.
“So let us celebrate these 70 years by renewing our fiat, our yes, to the Lord Jesus, like the Blessed Mother did.”