We are Catholic and we root ourselves to the very begining of Christ's teachings, through his disciples and their successors.

Below are references to help our growth in faith of our Lord.

• The Bible
• The Vatican
• The New Advent
• Our Catechism
• Catholic News
• EWTN
• American Catholic
• Los Angeles Archdiocese

Matthew 16:13-19
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 
Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
read more

In 1922, the distance between Harbor City and Wilmington seemed too great. So thought two Harbor City women, Mrs. Myerscough and Mrs. Crossfield. The two had met at a PTA meeting, and recognized each other from church. In their opinion, the traveling time from their homes to Saints Peter and Paul Church in Wilmington was much too long, and they were determined to do something about that. They decided to petition Bishop John Cantwell if a new church could be built west of Figueroa Street to serve the growing Catholic community. They found other parents who shared the feeling that traveling to Wilmington for Mass, Confession and religious education was too far a journey from their Harbor City homes

read more

As Harbor City and Lomita continued to grow in population, membership of the mission church community increased. Community members knew it was time for another meeting with the Bishop. In 1937, now numbering well over one hundred families, the church leaders returned to pay a visit to Bishop Cantwell. Impressed by the growth of this local Catholic community, he agreed to formally establish a new parish with its own resident pastor. He appointed Father Timothy Lynch as the founding pastor, and dedicated the parish to the patronage of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a 16th century Visitation nun who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Father Lynch (like his successors) immediately found a community proud of its history, its spirit of collaboration and its sense of pride. The challenges and obstacles of their previous twelve years as a mission church formed a bond of families which exists seven decades later.

read more

Now that the property was purchased, the parish was eager to build a new church. But Father Hegarty had other plans He surprised the parish by announcing that his first goal was not a new church, but rather a new parish school. Father Hegarty recognized that his parish was a community of young families with hundreds of children who needed to be taught. He also knew that opening a school would immediately create a community of parents and their children. His creative approach would further his desire to empower his flock as a people dedicated to his vision. Of course all school fathers were immediately members of the Holy Name Society and all school mothers were to join a guild.
read more

The parish quickly turned its attention to the next project - a new church. To the disappointment of the school children who had established a baseball field on the corner of 255th and Eshelman, construction of a new mission-style church began in 1953. Several designs were considered. Father Hegarty wanted to build a church with the highest capacity of seats. Some were puzzled by his insistence. In fact, when the church was built, the entire parish community could fit inside. But always a visionary, he knew that his small parish would continue to grow and a large edifice would be needed for future generations.

read more

The parish was slow in ushering in changes which came from Vatican II in the 1960's. It is said that Fr. Hegarty was not particularly fond of Mass in the vernacular or other changes which shook Church life following the Council. These reforms fell into the capable hands of the parish’s fifth pastor, Father Harold Cremins. Father Cremins was not a stranger to the parish when he was appointed in 1971. In fact he served as administrator for some time previous to his appointment as pastor.

read more

In October of 1978 (the same week the universal Church greeted a new pope, John Paul II) welcomed its sixth pastor, Joseph Sartoris. A native Angeleno, Father Sartoris’ priestly ministry was almost entirely dedicated to parish life. Already a priest for twenty-five years, Father Joe, as he preferred to be called, brought to the parish a wealth of knowledge and experience in the formation of parish life and quickly went to work soon after his arrival.

read more

In early 1994, the parish rejoiced (and mourned a bit) with the announcement that their long-time pastor was to be ordained a bishop. Bishop Joseph Sartoris was ordained on March 19, 1994 and soon thereafter left the parish. This meant a period of transition. The parish was not used to changes in its pastors (the Hegarty, Cremins and Sartoris pastorates collectively spanned a period of 49 years).

read more