Salesian Parishes Minister to the West

by Dick Demeter

SS. Peter and Paul parish in San Francisco, Calif., began its second century of service buoyed by last year's centennial celebrations. Its parochial school of 300 students, its pre-kindergarten and kindergarten programs, and its renowned Boys and Girls Club of 1,000 registered members continue to provide tutorial programs, computer labs, performing arts opportunities, competitive interleague sports, and summer camp programs for young people. Many of the city's prominent professional people and public officials, in fact, reminisce about their days at the Boys and Girls Club. The parish also serves the community through its scouting and religious education programs and its various ministries to the elderly and the ethnic Italians and Chinese.

To the southeast, in the San Joaquin Valley, the Mary Help of Christians (MHC) Community serves the local Vietnamese population in Stockton, Calif. Sharing the facilities of St. Luke's parish, the community numbers 340 families (more than 2,000 souls) and is served by Fr. Tuan Quoc Nguyen and Fr. Paul Hung Tran, themselves Vietnamese. Some of the parishioners were acquainted with the Salesians in their native land or are alumni of Salesian schools there.

As part of its outreach to teens and young adults, the MHC Community offers recreation and classes in Vietnamese through the "Valiant Heart Club". The Christian education program, meanwhile, has 300 children, 60 of whom recently received their first sacraments while a like number were confirmed. Adults in the parish are active in the Legion of Mary, Catholic Mothers and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Association.

When the MHC Community outgrew its facilities at St. Luke's, Bishop Donald A. Montrose donated a parcel of land, where the groups now gather for Mass and meetings. A new church will be constructed on the site sometime in the future.

Much farther to the southeast is San Luis Rey parish in Laredo, Texas, the second fastest-growing city in the United States. This Salesian parish serves 2,000 families and numbers about 500 children a year in its religious instruction classes. The small but expanding Don Bosco Youth Center offers recreational facilities and sponsors a variety of activities: tournaments, Bible study, a dance team, a Sunday choir, and liturgical dancing and decorating. The center also supports an outreach program for destitute families, participates in the Cursillo movement, and shares counseling responsibilities at the Salesian Sisters' Oratory. "For many of our young people the center is a second home, where they feel welcome and safe and where learning goes on," explained pastor Fr. Tom Juarez. "We hope that through the years the seeds of leadership, social concern and living faith will add new vigor to the parish."

Although originally created to meet the needs of the Irish in the Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles, Calif., St. Mary's parish today serves a predominantly Hispanic community. Last November the parish marked its centennial with a festive liturgy concelebrated by Bishop Gabino Zavala and 15 priests, and about 500 people attended a celebratory dinner. Speaking for himself and his parishioners, Fr. Jim Nieblas described their common goal for the next century: "To see the needs of today and to touch the issues facing us as a community, be it violence, poverty, or immigration."

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