History
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| St. Christopher parish was
founded on October 6, 1957, by its first pastor, Rev. John R. Domas. The
first Mass was said in a garage near the corner of Perris Boulevard and
Sunnymead Boulevard. Known Catholics in the area then took a door-to-door
census of the Moreno Valley area and recorded
approximately 150 Catholic families.
For six months, services were held at the
Edgemont Women’s Club Community Hall on Cottonwood Avenue near Highway
395. |
Fr. John Domas
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| As the parish grew, services were moved
to John Descher’s “walnut shed” near the corner of Perris Boulevard and
Highway 60.
It was during this stay that a search for
a permanent location was initiated. After considering several properties,
plans were submitted to Most Reverend Charles Francis Buddy, Bishop of
San Diego, for a church to be built at the present location of Perris Boulevard
and Cottonwood Avenue. With the approval of the Bishop, five acres of property
were purchased for $9,000 in March of 1958. |
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Ground breaking ceremonies for the new church took place on June
1, 1958. Construction of the new church began the following day. Newell
Baumunk supervised the parishioners who did a large part of the work. Personnel
from March AFB also donated generously of their time. In addition, the
ladies of the parish contributed significantly to the effort by serving
lunch to the volunteer workers each Saturday during the six and one-half
month construction phase.
The original construction was an “L” shaped building consisting
of the church, a hall, and a rectory.
Seating capacity of the church was 300 with plans for “any
future growth” being accommodated by seating for 150 more in the hall behind
the altar
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