Rectory

Rectory Office at St. Therese

Pastor's Office

St. Therese Pastorial Group

Rev. Fr. Jan Lundberg, OCD

Pastor

Ext. 222

pastor@mysttherese.org

Welcome to St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church

 
 

St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church

510 North El Molino Street
Alhambra, CA 91801
Rectory Hours (Mon - Fri): 9 AM - 1 PM & 2 - 9 PM
Mass Schedules
Map and Direction
Our website is currently undergoing renovation, but please be sure to visit us again over the next few weeks as we continue development.
 
Our goal is to develop a Catholic "cyber-parish" that better serves the needs of our parish while remaining rooted firmly in the rich traditions of the Catholic Church and Carmelite Spirituality. Please pray that we attain this goal.

Thank you.

The St. Therese Friars and Staff
 

Carmelite Friars

Priest and other Clergy in residence at St. Therese
The Order of

Discalced Carmelites Friars

and the California-Arizona Province

Carmelites trace their roots and their name to Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. There, in the 13th century, a band of European men gathered together to live a simple life of prayer and witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ. Their first chapel was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. They called themselves the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel.

In the 16th century in Spain, St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) renewed the Carmelite Order. With St. John of the Cross (1542-1591), she strengthened the Order’s commitment to follow Christ through an intense life of prayer for the good of all the Church. They and their spiritual descendants were known as the Discalced—or reformed—Carmelites.

St. Teresa’s call to build up the Church fully evolved when the immense project of the missions dawned on her. St. John of the Cross was preparing to join a Carmelite mission in Mexico at the time of his death. Later, Fr. Andrés, Fr. Antonio, and Fr. Antonio were part of that mission. The Vizcaino Expedition gave them the opportunity to spread the Gospel and take the spirit of Carmel to a remote, but promising new shore in California in 1602.

The California-Arizona Province of Discalced Carmelite Friars dates from 1912, when friars working in Mexico—originally from Catalonia, Spain—fled to Arizona to escape persecution. Today two parishes in Tucson, Arizona are part of the Western Province:

• Santa Cruz Parish (1919)

• St. Margaret Mary Parish (1951)

In 1924, two Carmelite friars from Ireland established our first permanent foundation in California at St. Thérèse Parish in Alhambra. New foundations followed:

• El Carmelo Retreat House, Redlands, CA (1952)

• House of Prayer, Oakville, CA (1955)

• Carmelite Novitiate, San Jose, CA (1959)

• St. Cecilia Parish and Institute of Spirituality, Stanwood, WA (1989)

• Carmelite House of Studies, Mt. Angel, OR (1999)

In 1964, the Catalonian Carmelite friars in Arizona affiliated with the friars in California. Our official name is the California-Arizona Province. Our jurisdiction includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, and Utah.

Within this geographic area, there are also 16 monasteries of cloistered Discalced Carmelite nuns, two congregations of active Carmelite Sisters, and 45 communities of Secular Order Discalced Carmelites for lay people.

Due in part to the tremendous popularity of such Carmelite Saints as St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérése of Lisieux and St. Edith Stein, our Province is experiencing an unprecedented increase in vocations.



After much prayer and discernment, on November 12, 2002—the exact 400 anniversary of the first recorded Mass on the west coast of the United States by the Discalced Carmelites, the Province officially began a new missions and schools in Uganda, Africa.

Fr. David Guzman

Fr. David Guzman, OCD

Ext. 337

Fr. Jerome Lantry, OCD - In Residence

Fr. Jerome Lantry, OCD - In Residence

Ext. 334

Fr. Robert's E-vangelization Site

On-Line Evangelization
Fr. Robert Elias'
E-vangelization Site
Ext. 226
rbmercy@yahoo.com

Parish Pastoral Council

Private group for the PPC at St. Therese
AttachmentSize
PPC Guidelines 01 18 10.doc78 KB

Staff

Staff at St. Therese

Parish Secretary

Secretary
Denise McMasters
Ext. 223

History of St. Therese

In the early 1920’s, two Carmelite Priests from Ireland, Fr. Bernard and Fr. Cyril, were sent to the United States to open a new foundation for the Carmelite Apostolate. Settling in southern California, the priests petitioned the Archbishop of Los Angeles and were assigned a small parish on the east side of Alhambra. The parish was officially founded on December 25, 1924, and dedicated to Blessed Therese of the Child Jesus, who would not be formally canonized by the Catholic Church until May 7, 1925. The Alhambra church is therefore quite possibly the first church in the world to be dedicated to St. Therese of Lisieux.
The chapel of the Carmelite Sisters located at 215 East Alhambra Road served as the parish church until the church-school combination building was erected at 515 North Vega Street in 1926. The first major event held at the parish was a Solemn Novena in preparation for the canonization of St. Therese on May 7, 1925.
J. Earl Trudeau, a renowned architect, drew up the plans for the present church, which was completed in 1950. The first Mass was celebrated in the new sanctuary on December 10, 1950; and it was dedicated on January 14, 1951, by Cardinal Francis A McIntyre, then Archbishop of Los Angeles. The old church was subsequently converted into the Parish Hall.
The edifice, which has the character of a shrine dedicated to Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, was built in a modern Mediterranean style with a 120-foot-high bell tower. A statue of the saint was placed behind the main altar in a cascaded niche. Carmelite Father William Fenton served as pastor for two terms, a total of twelve years.
The present rectory was completed in 1957. In 1959, a new convent was built for the Sisters at 520 North Vega.
Due to an increased school enrollment, the old school and hall were demolished and the present school and parish hall of reinforced concrete and brick were completed in 1963.
Until 1930, the Dominican Sisters comprised the school’s faculty, staff, and administration. Later, the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary of the Woods consented to maintain the school until the 1980s. Since then, St. Therese School has been solely staffed by lay people. The school celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2001.
In 1966 a new organ was installed and, in response to the changes of Vatican II, the sanctuary was updated for the new Liturgy. In 2002 the organ was completely renovated.
At the turn of the millennium, the parish enjoyed the great blessing of hosting a visit from the relics of its very own patroness. Today, our parish community continues to follow the way of our patroness with unshakeable confidence in God’s love.

 

Mission / Vision Statement

Mission Statement

St. Therese Church is an active and Eucharistic Parish Community dedicated in faith and service to a loving and merciful God under our Patroness, St. Therese of Lisieux. We are committed in our ministries to providing discipleship and fostering a contemplative life, resulting in Christian formation and spiritual growth of our members.

Vision Statement

To be a spiritual Catholic Family focused on prayer, as well as service to the Gospel, through a Sacramental life. We envision our Parish as a community of stewards dedicated to building up the Body of Christ through active ministry while living the example of simplicity, humility, confidence and love of our Patroness, St. Therese of Lisieux.