[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 101 (Wednesday, June 18, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1258-E1259]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   A TRIBUTE RECOGNIZING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF ST. 
    MARCELLINUS CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE CITY OF COMMERCE IN THE 34TH 
                                DISTRICT

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 18, 2008

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 50th 
anniversary of the founding of the only Catholic church in the City of 
Commerce in the 34th Congressional District.
  On August 10, 1958, the church's founding stone was placed on the 
spot that would become St. Marcellinus Church at 2349 Strong Avenue. 
Eight months later, the church's official open house took place on the 
feast of St. Marcellinus, the church's patron, on April 26, 1959.
  Today, more than 600 people are registered parishioners of the 
church, and hundreds more attend mass on a regular basis. The church's 
services--held in both English and Spanish--continue to draw 
generations of Commerce families together in this industrial community 
of about 13,500 residents.
  Parish Life Director Humberto Ramos was appointed to lead the 
congregation in August following the retirement of Father Jules Mayer 
after more than 21 years of service. Minister Ramos said the church 
serves many purposes in the community that extends well beyond 
religion. ``Everybody knows each other in this community. This is their 
church. People need to have a sense of belonging.''
  To celebrate the church's important milestone, Cardinal Roger Mahoney 
will preside over its Golden Jubilee Mass on June 22 and recognize some 
of the church's founding members.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me along with Cardinal 
Mahoney and the parishioners of St. Marcellinus Church in celebrating 
the parish's 50 wonderful years of service to its members and the 
community.
  I would also like to submit for the Record excerpts from a June 29, 
2007 article that appeared in The Tidings, the weekly newspaper of the 
Los Angeles Archdiocese, that provides a detailed overview of the 
creation of St. Marcellinus Church. As the article points out, the 
church's founders are especially to be commended for their commitment 
and fortitude in creating this place of worship that today stands as 
the spiritual centerpiece of the Commerce community.

                   St. Marcellinus Church: A History

                     (By Hermine Lees, The Tidings)

       ``. . . Before 1957, the idea of a local Catholic church 
     serving this industry-heavy community southeast of downtown 
     L.A. was only a dream for its residents, and fulfilled only 
     after some 14 years of praying and planning. By then, 
     residents of the communities of Bandini and Rosewood Park 
     were hemmed in by the creation of the Santa Ana Freeway, rail 
     yards and industry that separated them from St. Alphonsus 
     Church.

[[Page E1259]]

       Father Patrick O'Dowd, St. Alphonsus pastor, attempted to 
     solve the problem by purchasing a parcel of land at the 
     corner of Atlantic and Panocha, planning for a chapel in the 
     area. But the Korean War and freeways intervened.
       Only through the efforts of two local residents, Alex Perez 
     and Ben Garcia, was a Catholic committee formed in 1954 to 
     survey the area, raise funds and communicate their plan for a 
     church to Cardinal James Francis McIntyre. By early 1957 
     their hard work was rewarded when Auxiliary Bishop Timothy 
     Manning sent them this encouraging letter: ``I join with you 
     that this year will see the completion of our plans for 
     Bandini. We have purchased the extra property we needed.'' On 
     June 14, 1957, the parish of St. Marcellinus was established, 
     with Father Thomas G. Hayes named the founding pastor.
       The 42-year-old New Orleans native started his first 
     pastorate by searching for a location to celebrate Mass. On 
     Sunday, July 14, in the upstairs dining room of Kelly's 
     Restaurant, he celebrated the first Mass for 120 faithful and 
     claimed that Christ had come to Bandini and gathered his 
     friends around him in another ``upper room.''
       A crew of parishioners ``rigged the upper room for church'' 
     for 10 weeks until a former Protestant church became 
     ``home.'' Eventually a plot at Strong Avenue and Harbor 
     Street was available and by Holy Saturday, 1959, Father Hayes 
     sang the first High Mass in the new church . . .
       Although several historical sources differ on the name and 
     rank of St. Marcellinus (some claim he was a pope, others a 
     martyred priest), it is recorded that many miracles have 
     occurred in his name. Kind of like the phenomenon of this 
     parish surviving in the midst of freeways and commerce.

     

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