Our Lady of Lourdes Inc history

In 1883 the foundation stone of another church was laid, as the first was no longer large enough.

In 1885, on the 25th anniversary of the episcopal ordination of John Joseph Lynch, the Archbishop of Toronto, the clergy of the archdiocese created a church next to the summer residence as a gift to the archbishop.

On 28 October 1886 the church was opened.

In 1873 the great "national" French pilgrimages were inaugurated. It was built at the foot of the basilica and was consecrated in 1901 and called the Church of the Rosary.

The first Mass was celebrated there on Sunday, September 7, 1902.

A frame building was constructed on the corner of 15th and Brown Street at a cost of $3,000 and the first Mass was offered on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 1903.

The most notable of these was the erection in 1904 of the beautiful Main Altar, designed by Thomas H. Poole and built by Allen of Fairhaven, Vermont.

These events established the Marian veneration in Lourdes, which together with Fátima, is one of the most frequented Marian shrines in the world, and to which between 4 and 6 million pilgrims travel annually. (Various sources; principal source - Catholic Encyclopedia - 1913 edition)

Now, over two and a quarter centuries later, the family of Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church, situated just below the bluff where Padre Crespi stood that historic day, marks its 90th anniversary. It all began on December 9, 1921 when Archbishop Edward J. Hanna of Archdiocese of San Francisco established the parish bounded by Perkins Street in Oakland, the Piedmont city line, Trestle Glen, Athol and Lakeshore Avenue.

The first Baptism, that of Ursula Ann Haven, took place in the McCarthy home on January 1, 1922.

She was exhumed yet again in 1925 and reburied in the Chapel of St Bernadette in the Sisters of Charity convent which is visited by huge numbers of pilgrims.

In November 1955, the recently completed school was expanded by adding four classrooms on the east end.

The centenary year of 1958 brought six million pilgrims to Lourdes and the usual annual figure is said to be five million.

He began this position on July 10, 1959.

In 1961, Father H.J. Toher initiated a development to build a new church, rectory, and offices at a cost of $473,000.

A social hall was built behind the school in 1964 and is now used by the school.

In 1966, the current church was built, and the old one converted into classrooms.

By this time, Father Seamus, also originally from Ireland, had been named pastor (on June 19, 1988). Father Seamus worked in partnership with the Liturgy Committee to bring about positive change.

To ensure the continued operation of the church and its programs, Father Stratman was instrumental in officially establishing the Endowment Fund in April 1992.

In 1997, construction began on The Gathering Space and Eucharistic Chapel in the church, as well as four new classrooms and the fine arts area at the school.

In November 2004, the Catholic Endowment of Bettendorf, Iowa, Inc. was incorporated as a separate organization to continue the mission of the original Endowment Fund.