[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 14180-14181]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     IN RECOGNITION OF THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF HOLY ANGELS CHURCH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 8, 2014

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the 100th anniversary of 
Holy Angels Church in Colma, California. This diverse and close-knit 
parish beautifully calls itself a family of faith, sharing time, talent 
and treasure.
  Today the church on San Pedro Road has a seating capacity of 1140, 
but its beginnings a century ago were much smaller. St. Anne Church was 
built in 1868 on land donated by Peter Dunks of Colma and named after 
his daughter Anne Dunks. Priests from San Mateo and San Francisco rode 
their horses to the church until the advent of the railroad. One 
priest, Reverend James Cooper, spent so much time in the saddle that he 
was known as ``the horseback priest.'' It took him four days round trip 
to travel to the church.
  From 1899 to 1914, St. Anne was a mission of St. Michael in the Ocean 
View district. In 1914, the mission received the status of parish and 
the name of the church was changed to Holy Angels. Catholics from the 
coast had to travel to Colma for mass and sacraments until Father 
Sorasio, the pastor at the time, set up a mission in a house near 
present-day Nick's Restaurant in Rockaway Beach.
  By 1952, the parish had outgrown the size of the church. A growing 
number of Catholics from Broadmoor, Sterling Park, Sherman, Callan 
Heights and other new developments joined the church. A campaign to 
enlarge the church and build a parish school was launched in July of 
that year under the chairmanship of San Mateo County Supervisor Thomas 
Callan. As a result, Holy Angels underwent its first major alteration 
in 87 years. The church was enlarged and a school with eight grade 
levels, a library, office and convent was built.
  In 1960, a fire destroyed the whole sacristy including all vestments 
and linens. It was accidentally started by children playing with 
candles in the sacristy.

[[Page 14181]]

  The following year, the church once again needed to be enlarged and a 
new campaign began. The new Holy Angels Church and rectory were 
dedicated in September of 1962. Its mission architecture, mosaic murals 
and stained glass windows give it a simple beauty and grace.
  Holy Angels has had 16 pastors since its establishment in 1914. 
Father Alex L. Legaspi became the newest one on July 1, 2013. Holy 
Angels has a rich parish because of its diversity, from its humble 
beginnings with German, Irish and Italian immigrants and more recently 
with parishioners from Mexico, Central and South America, the 
Philippines and other countries.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to rise with me to 
honor the 100th anniversary of Holy Angels Church, a house of worship 
that enriches its parishioners with a close sense of community.

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