We are in the process of posting a brief history of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish.
For now, this brief account of the beginnings of the parish will serve as a sample of its rich history:

The archival records of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles show that on January 3, 1918, in his first official meeting with the College of Consultors, (cf. 1983 Code of Canon Law, Canon 502) the newly concecrated Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles, Bishop John Joseph Cantwell, established an as yet unnamed parish. The new parish’s territory was to cover the north of Pasadena; and Bishop Cantwell appointed Father Victor Follen as its first pastor. Father Follen had been the priest secretary of Cantwell’s immediate predecessor, Bishop Thomas James Conaty, who had died a little over two years earlier on September 18, 1915.

As was common at the time, no name had been given to the newly established parish. For quite some time it was simply referred to as “the north side parish.” Its territory streched north from Mountain Avenue to the mountains, for about three miles; and, it extended for a distance of about five miles west to east, from the Arroyo Seco to Michillinda Avenue – the boundary of the city of Sierra Madre. Lake Avenue was its principal north-south street while Washington Street served as the central cross town thoroughfare.

The first temporary place of worship of the new parish was the storage room of a grocery store on the southeast corner of Lake and Washington. Approximaately 160 people met for the first time at this “temporary chapel” to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on Sunday, February 10, 1918 at 8:00 and 10:00 am. Soon after the celebration of the two inaugural Sunday Masses, the celebration of daily Mass at 8:00 am continued at the same location.

More to follow…

Meanwhile enjoy some of the vintage photographs of our “Lourdes of the West”!