Los Angeles County
Biographies
ST. JOSEPH’S PARISH, LOS ANGELES
St. Joseph’s parish was established in 1888 – some years
before the Franciscans came to Los Angeles – under the auspices of the
Rt. Rev. Francis Mora, D. D., bishop of Monterey and Los
Angeles. According to the original plan it was to be a German parish; hence, no
definite limits were assigned to its territory, but it was intended to embrace
in its jurisdiction all the German-speaking Catholic families in Los Angeles
and vicinity. In accordance with this regulation the parish was administered up
to the time of the dedication of the new church, although convenience and other
motives caused the parish church to be largely attended by English-speaking
members of the community.
When St. Joseph’s parish was founded the city had a
population of about forty-seven thousand. In the city there were only three
other parishes: the Cathedral and St. Vincent’s serving the English-speaking
Catholics and the Plaza Church serving those of Spanish tongue.
At this time the territory of St. Joseph’s Church was
little more than a prairie that was occupied and cultivated mostly by scattered
German farmers and dairymen. Where now stand the twelve-story Printing Center
building and the ten-story Allied Crafts building, on Maple avenue,
between Twelfth and Pico streets, there was not a single house, only a walnut
orchard. In the block bounded by Twelfth, Pico, Main and Los Angeles streets,
and now occupied by the six-story Braun building, the three-story Daily News
building and other business establishments, there was a pear orchard. In the
parallel block between Eleventh and Twelfth streets there were three homes, one
of them that of Father Francis Redman’s family, on Main near Twelfth; the rest
of the block was an olive orchard. At the corner where now is the Fathers’
convent and its garden there stood two small houses and on the site of the
present sacristy was a farm house occupied by a Mr. Prudens
and family; around the house was an alfalfa patch and on the site of the
present school an orchard, and through the present school grounds ran a creek.
In order to start a church for the German Catholics,
Bishop Mora had to send all the way back to the Milwaukee diocese for a
German-speaking priest. From its bishop he borrowed the Rev. Florian Bartsch, the first rector
of St. Joseph’s. Father Bartsch administered the
parish temporarily until August, 1890, when he left to join the Trappists. To replace him Bishop Mora had sent for another
German priest from the same diocese and was given the Rev. A. Reidhaar, who served as rector until September, 1892. In the following month Rev. John B. Metzler
took charge of the parish, over which he presided until
September 10, 1893.
It was Father Bartsch who was
responsible for providing the parish with its first church, the one still
standing on Santee street, behind the present school, though the structure then
was not as large as it now is. It was blessed on January 1, 1899. The
first boy baptized in that church was Ambrose Trabert,
who subsequently became its pastor.
Fathers Bartsch and Reidhaar both lived in a room behind the church.
Father Metzler built the first rectory, which was later remodeled and
enlarged and is now occupied by the school Sisters.
On the retirement of Father Metzler, Bishop Mora offered
and turned the parish over to the Franciscan Fathers of the Sacred Heart
province, who had only eight years previously extended their territory to the
coast and had already several houses in California.
Well founded misgivings, however, concerning the
feasibility of permanently maintaining a purely German parish in Los Angeles
induced the Franciscans to accept it only under the condition that, in the
course of time, definite limits should be drawn and a mixed parish, German and
English, be thus formed. With this understanding the parish was accepted by
them and has remained under their care ever since. The Rev. Hugo Fessler, O. F. M., acted as temporary rector
until the arrival of the Rev. Victor Aertker,
O. F. M., on October 10, 1893.
Soon after his coming, namely, in the following year,
1894, Father Victor had to have the church lengthened by an addition to
the main body and by a new sanctuary. But so fast did the parish keep on
growing along with the marvelous growth of the city that it was not long before
the enlarged church was likewise inadequate for the needs of the parish. And so
a movement was inaugurated toward the erection of an entirely new and much
larger church, better able to accommodate the ever increasing congregation, as
well as better equipped to carry out with full splendor the ceremonial of divine
services.
Accordingly, in the year 1899, Father Victor secured
additional property, the site of the present church and convent. Ground was
broken December 20, 1900. The cornerstone was laid
July 16, 1901. The building was erected under the personal supervision
of Father Victor and of Brother Leonard. At the same time also a new convent
was constructed. The building of the two edifices took two years because
Father Victor’s policy was not to put the parish in debt, therefore not to
carry on the work unless there was actual money on hand to meet expenses. But
finally, in the year 1903, the new plant was ready for occupancy. On Sunday,
May 3, 1903, it being that year the feast of the patronage of
St. Joseph, the patron of the parish, St. Joseph’s Church was
formally dedicated to the worship of God, with the most solemn and impressive
ceremonial of the church, and amid a brilliant gathering of church prelates,
dignitaries, priests, members of religious communities, and also prominent
governmental officials, among them non-Catholics, such as ex-Governor
Henry T. Gage and Meredith P. Snyder, mayor of the city,
and with a concourse of people that even the large church could not hold, so
that hundreds had to be turned away.
After the completion of St. Joseph’s Church the parish
kept on increasing steadily and rapidly. From what was once a sparsely settled
district it grew into one built up solidly of comfortable homes. This growth
made necessary the building of a new school and the enlargement of the Sisters’
convent. Thus soon St. Joseph’s had a complete parish plant and was
enabled to carry on its activities well equipped and unhampered. Parish
societies began to flourish and reach their zenith with the completion of the
school, namely, St. Antonius’ Unter Stuetzung’s Verein, the Christian
Mothers’ and Altar Society, the Third Order, the Young Men’s Society and the
Young Ladies’ Society. Mention must also be made of the choir, which was second
to none in the city.
It was most notably the Young Men’s and Young Ladies’
Societies that blossomed out, under able leadership. Thus, for instance, they
could boast of championship in various sports, and produced actors and
actresses that made St. Joseph’s justly famous for its plays and
entertainments. In many of their activities the young people were motivated by
the good purpose of aiding the cause of the church and school and parish, and
they deserve praise for putting forth great efforts and making real sacrifices
for the cause. It was proof that their spiritual advancement was also being
looked into and ably fostered.
A great transition is now going on. The parish is once
again becoming a district of sparsely settled homes, for homes are step by step
yielding to business houses, which already surround the parish on all sides.
Gradually the members of the parish are moving out into the new residential
districts, although many are still attending St. Joseph’s church.
With a seating capacity of about one thousand, this is one
of the largest churches in the diocese. Outstanding among the beautiful
features of St. Joseph’s are the altars, pulpit and communion railing, all
of solid white walnut, for the most part in natural finish, and for the rest
richly gilded and spaced, principally in their lower sections, with paneled
backgrounds of delicate shades of blue and red. They are magnificent examples
of the wood-carver’s art and carry out faithfully the Gothic motif of the
church itself.
In 1913 a splendid pipe organ was installed, beautiful in
tone and still one of the largest among those in any of the Los Angeles
churches. Its pastors, as well as several lay people, deserve credit for
enriching St. Joseph’s with elegant accessories of church worship. Thus an
elaborate crib, all of wood carved figures, semi-life size, was acquired.
Likewise, exquiste (sic), hand-wrought
chalices, ciboria and sets of altar vestments were procured. Father Victor
collected jewelry from the faithful to have it made over into a superb monstrance
and ciborium. In her will a Mrs. Hancock bequeathed to St. Joseph’s
jewelry worth thousands of dollars to be converted into a gorgeous ostensorium that is a masterpiece. In 1927, a year before
the celebration of its silver jubilee, the church was presented with a ten tone
set of electric altar chimes, and in the same year the pastor had put in a new
and beautiful tabernacle which is burglar-proof. In preparation for the
jubilee, the pastor, Rev. Vincent Arbeiter,
O. F. M., with the generous cooperation of the people, altered and
greatly improved the church lighting; remodeled the vestibule; installed new
runners; replaced the sanctuary carpet with a new Wilton rug; had all the
statues and parts of the frescoing touched up and the altars, communion
railing, confessionals and church doors completely refinished. He procured
additional statues to grace the church as well as to cater to the veneration
for some of the popular saints. Thus a statue of the “Little Flower” was placed
in the sanctuary; the right transept was adorned with statues of St. Anne
and St. Rita; and three statues, one of St. Vincent de Paul
with clustering children and one of the Guardian Angel protecting the children
in danger from a serpent, were set up in the rear of the church, and next to
St. Anthony’s altar, one of St. Anthony dealing out bread to a poor
man. Besides these two magnificent oil paintings, having St. Francis as
their central motif, and two other large paintings depicting the Holy
Sacrifice, were secured to complete the sanctuary and a series of paintings of
St. Francis were placed over the arches in the clear-story of the church.
These additions made St. Joseph’s, thus far prominent only for its
architectural beauty, known as well for its pictorial art.
The present pastor, Rev. Dominic Gallardo, was born in
California, April 11, 1878, and spent his early days near the old
mission at Santa Barbara. He studied philosophy and theology and has been a
priest for a quarter of a century. He was a resident of San Diego for five
years, having full charge of the old church there, and in 1932 came to Los
Angeles as rector of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church at 218 East Twelfth
street.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard
04 May 2012.
Source: California
of the South Vol. II, by John Steven McGroarty, Pages
359-364, Clarke Publ., Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis.
1933.
© 2012 Marie Hassard.
GOLDEN NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES BIOGRAPHIES