The year 2021 is a momentous one for St. Martin of Tours. The parish celebrates its 100th anniversary. In celebration of this event, a Centennial Mass will be held on Nov. 7, followed by Centennial Lunch Celebration.
St. Martin of Tours @ 100th
"Immensely Grateful for a Century of Blessings."
- St. Martin of Tours
This year St. Martin of Tours celebrates its parish 100th anniversary. As per its webpage, the church announces its 10 a.m. Centennial Mass celebration on Nov. 7. St. Martin of Tours shall arrange seating outside under the canopies to accommodate parishioners as not everyone will fit inside the church.
Moreover, TV monitors will also be set up under the canopies. The Mass will be live-streamed via YouTube.
The Most Reverend Robert W. McElroy will be the mass presider.
A Centennial Lunch Celebration will follow the 10:00 a.m. mass. The church, through its website, sold tickets for the affair. The tickets were available for sale starting Sept. 19 – Oct. 17.
Meanwhile, St. Martin of Tours shared a YouTube link for its anniversary video on its Facebook page. Last Nov. 1, the church updated the video for its first series of presentations showcasing the 100 years of St. Martin of Tours.
The church also shared another video of former pastors, associate pastors, Weekend Supply Priests, and Deacons from 1921 -2021 through YouTube.
About St. Martin of Tours
This church is located at 7710 El Cajon Blvd., La Mesa, California. According to the St. Martin of Tours webpage, its history dates to 1920. La Mesa's early Catholic Community first gathered in homes, where on special occasions, priests would visit and celebrate Mass or officiate marriages and baptisms.
Those who wanted to attend a regular mass would need to travel by horse, by train and buggy, to the nearest Catholic Church in El Cajon or San Diego.
The first initiative to provide local facilities for Mass was in 1920. The first location for local Catholic worship was the main hall of a local undertaking parlor. This place is where the first regular schedule of Sunday Masses was held.
The acting pastor of Our Lady of Angels Church in San Diego, Father McGrath, agreed to minister to this congregation. A news article featured this event dated Nov. 19, 1920, indicating Catholics were coming together although not yet under any parish.
This faith community grew and now includes La Mesa, Lemon Grove, and Encanto areas. As a result, there was a need for a permanent church. The Cavano family, a prominent name in Los Angeles, had been instrumental in the St. Martin of Tours Church building.
In 1921 construction began in a small lot purchased for the church. Father McCormack, the church's first assigned pastor, and the congregation celebrated Christmas Mass 1921 in their new church.
From here, the church grew its congregation, and in 1948 there was an immediate need to expand the church facilities for Sunday Mass. The congregation moved St. Martin of Tours Church in Normal Street to its current location at El Cajon Blvd.
Through "moving engineering, the church was moved from its former location and placed on its new site.
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