1923 - Fr. Carlos Siemes, Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate (O.M.I.), was appointed by Bishop Cantwell
to serve the church of St. Ferdinand, at the time the only Catholic Church in the San Fernando Valley. Fr. Carlos realized that a large number of his Spanish-speaking parishioners needed a place where they could
pray and
listen to the word of God in their own language.
In this year, a piece of property was purchased at Kalisher Street that was within the Mexican district of the
town of San Fernando. In 1925 a church was erected on the new property with a seating capacity of 300
and dedicated under the invocation of Saint Rosa of Lima.
1934 - Fr. Felipe García, O.M.I. In this year, our current property was purchased at Workman Street and the
Church was moved to our current location.
1949 - Fr. William Grant, O.M.I. In this year the Parish Hall was built.
1955 - Fr. Raymond Knopp, O.M.I. Santa Rosa Catholic Church was built in charge of the Franciscan Sisters
of the Immaculate Conception.
1962 - With the growing Catholic population, Bishop Timothy Manning, along with Father James Whelan,
O.M.I, and Father Amador López, O.M.I., blessed our current church that is reflective of a traditional Spanish
Mission.
Fr. Luis Valbuena, O.M.I., mobilized the parish as the charity epicenter following the 1971 Sylmar
Earthquake. He made the effort to establish Santa Rosa Church as the new parish and he became its first
official pastor. He also established the first bilingual adult school in the United States.
1972-1979 - Fr. Amador Lopez, O.M.I. During this time, the bell tower was added. Also, the Virgin of San
Juan de Los Lagos and the Virgin of Talpa were brought and installed in the parish.
1979-1986 - Fr. Thomas Rush, O.M.I. During this time, a counseling ministry was introduced and is now
known as the Valley Family Center, and the development of the Valley Organized in Community Efforts
(VOICE). In addition, a partial expansion of the church was completed and a religious
education program
for
children with special needs was created.
1986-1994 - Fr. David Ullrich, O.M.I. In this period there was an Evangelism Program parish that has
generated a number of faith communities, both in Spanish and in English and religious education programs. There were also additions to the parish and repairs for damage caused by the 1994 earthquake. This includes
murals painted over the Blessed Sacrament.
1994-2002 - Fr. Paul Wilhelm, O.M.I. In this period established the Ministry of Bereavement and
imprisoned. It was at this time that the parish began collecting food for people in Tijuana, Mexico, as well as providing
scholarships for children also of Tijuana. Moreover, reparations for damages produced by the
Northridge earthquake, including new floors and benches, were completed.
2002-2009 - Fr. Carlos Alarcón, O.M.I. During this time he made repairs and improvements to the parish,
school, and convent. The Center of Santa Rosa was bought and restored by our ministries. Also established was the Faith Communities for Family and Youth Ministry.
2009-2015 - Fr. Stan Zowada, O.M.I. Our parish is connected to the world with the technology required by our times. Communication has been established at cyberspace, leading the world evangelizing mission of
our parish. Locally, within the parish disclosed the Gospel through a sophisticated computer system to
broadcast the Mass in full celebration, and away through this
website can reach every corner of the earth
for the sole purpose of making known the Good News.
2015-present – Fr. Webert Merriland, O.M.I. Our story continues from the work done by our predecessors,
advancing positively towards a future in which the gospel is lived up to the demands of our time.
