| The first Mass was celebrated
in the newly built church on December 14, 1958. Gifts of vestments and
other church furnishings were received from other parishes as well as the
Catholic Church Extension Society.Plans for a parish school and convent
began in 1963. A drive to raise $150,000 was headed by Fr. Domas and Mr.
Frank Busche.
Considering the annual income for the parish
was only $21,000 and $43,000 debt remained on the church, the school project
was an ambitious effort. Faith triumphed, however, and construction for
the school began on February 24, 1964. The land for the school was donated
by Mr. Frank Busche.
The school was staffed by the Sisters of
the Precious Blood from Dayton, Ohio. Their contract called for the sisters
to be paid $100 per month. The sisters were housed in a four bedroom convent
which presently serves as the rectory.
St. Christopher School consisted of grades
one through six with two guides per classroom. Tuition was $10 per month
per child. The school was closed at the end of the 1967-68 school year
because the Sisters of the Precious Blood were forced to reorganize due
to an insufficient number of sisters. The parish then rented the school
rooms to the Moreno Valley School District, first for use as a continuation
high school and later as an adult education center.
Rev. Lawrence N. Gatt, STD, succeeded Fr.
Domas as pastor of St. Christopher parish on April 26, 1968. Fr. Gatt remained
until February 5, 1971, when he was replaced by Rev. Thomas A Bolten. By
this time, the parish had grown to 344 families and with 250 children enrolled
in the CCD program. Parish organizations consisted of the Staffers Club,
Holy Name Society and the Altar Society.
Fr. Thomas F. Meagher became pastor on May
1, 1972, replacing Fr. Bolten. Fr. Meagher’s report for 1973 indicated
the ethnic makeup of the parish was 69 percent Anglo, 25 percent Black
and 5 percent Oriental/Filipino. |
