Parish History

Originally built in 1928, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church was known as Guadalupe Chapel. It was a small wooden structure located at Seventh and Mesa Street and was attached to Santa Clara Parish. The small Chapel was constructed to serve Catholic Mexican sugar beet workers, farm laborers and their families. Unfortunately, on December 23, 1963, the chapel was accidentally destroyed by fire. Fortunately in 1958, five years before the fire, a piece of land was donated to a small Parish known as Cristo Rey.

In 1958, the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit, a congregation of priests devoted to Jesus Christ, as Priest and Victim, were entrusted with a modest Parish – Cristo Rey - and a piece of land. In the late 1960’s, a committee led by Rev. Jose Jesus Madera (now Bishop Madera) and Rev. Jose Jesus Arredondo was formed in order to raise the funds necessary to build a new Church for the community of “La Colonia,” which was still largely composed of agricultural, low-income families. With tireless dedication and hard work, a new structure on the corner of Juanita Avenue and Colonia Road was built – Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. The committee was also able to raise the funds necessary to build a new Rectory and a new School. Their tireless efforts were publicly recognized and they became a permanent part of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s History.

Since its construction, some things have changed – the surrounding community, largely composed of Mexican and Mexican-American working class families, has grown substantially, the needs are greater and more complex. Some things have not changed – Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish continues to be a spiritual refuge. It is a refuge for those experiencing personal/family difficulties; it is a sanctuary for those seeking to deepen or maintain Catholic traditions and values.

Today, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish serves an estimated 7,000 Parish families, a number that far exceeds the Parish’s structural capacity. Lack of space has created overcrowding - Parishioners overflowing onto the sidewalk and parking lot have become a familiar sight for many years. It has been a concern for many years.

In 2002, motivated to resolve the overcrowding situation, a committee, led by Missionaries of the Holy Spirit,Rev. Enrique Ramírez and Rev. José de Jesús Sánchez was formed. In 2004, Rev. Lucio Villalobos joined our Parish and our efforts to build. By the end of February 2005, two more priests will join our Parish - Rev . Pablo Sánchez and Rev. Ricardo de Alba

Over the past two years many fundraising events have taken place in order to raise the funds necessary to build. In 2003, an idea was presented and by December 2004 that idea was put in motion - a House Drawing, with many fundraising events taking place throughout the drawing period. Through the House Drawing, it is our hope to raise the funds necessary to start the first phase of the construction project – the building of a new Church.

The task ahead of us takes an extraordinary amount of effort and dedication. It takes many extraordinary people who are willing to make personal or economic sacrifices, willing to give up precious time in order to contribute their energy, talents and knowledge in order to achieve a common goal that is for the ultimate good of a community. We thank and appreciate the efforts of all those that have given in the past and those that continue to give. The history of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish is still being written, we hope you join us and become part of that history.