St. Mary Magdalene Church

St. Mary Magdalene parish was established in 1953. Rev. Daniel O’Donoghue was the founding Pastor. Like most parishes it had no buildings, so the first Masses were celebrated in private homes. The Parish began with 14 families. As the Parish grew, the Masses were moved to larger quarters, Red Sparks Plumbing Shop in Bay Park.

It wasn’t long before the grading was begun and the auditorium slab was poured. The foundation for the Rectory was also put in at this time. There were a number of houses on the hill along Milton Street as building began. The Rectory construction did not include the conference room until late 1956 or early 1957.

Huge pieces of steel were raised on the property to be attached to studs and footings. Steel was hauled from the port in San Diego to the church site. The first Mass took place in the auditorium once the roof was on. The altar was on the stage with an open back toward Cecelia Terrace.

The Church and school buildings were begun around November, 1956. Both were finished about the same time. Mass began in the Church the middle of summer, 1957. The dedication for the school took place in September, 1957, and the church dedication was October 1957.

The convent was also finished in 1957, thus having the total building project completed within a five year period. The church was completely paid for in a few years.

In the course of 22 years (1953-1975) the Parish family increased in number to approximately 1000 parishioners. Increases over the years have brought the number of registered families to todays figure (November, 2024) of 1480 registered families.

The Pastor following Fr. O’Donoghue was Rev. Msgr. William Bolger who was Pastor of the Parish for twenty years. After Msgr. Bolger retired in 1995, Msgr. Jophn A. Dickie took the reins. In September of 2005, pastor, Rev. Stephen McCall took the reins followed by the current pastor, Rev. Ed McNulty in 2021.

The most recent renovation on the Church began in 1995 and the first Mass took place on Palm Sunday of 1996. The current staff’s mission is that through the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy, with the help of the Holy Spirit, our members will be motivated to share Jesus with others.

Opportunities for faith renewal and individual growth are offered through various Ministries in the Parish and are open for all to experience.