Antioch Parish Celebrates 150th Anniversary

A celebration 150 years in the making

By Christine Schreck

Photos by Justin Cardona

The railroad came to the city of Antioch in 1878, opening the community to new transportation and communication possibilities. But even before the railroad arrived, there was Most Holy Rosary. The parish marked its 150th anniversary on Oct. 26 with Mass celebrated by Bishop Michael C. Barber, SJ, and a reception.

The mayor of Antioch declared Oct. 26 to be Most Holy Rosary Church Day in the city. His proclamation congratulated the parish on this milestone and recognizing its importance to the city, including the use of materials almost exclusively manufactured in Antioch when the old church was built in 1905; the fundraising efforts to build a parish school in 1954; the inclusion of a Spanish language Mass beginning in 1970; and the 1982 opening of the parish center for social events and its continued ministry to a multicultural community.

The first Mass was celebrated in Antioch in1864 when a Dominican priest from Benicia, sent to minister to an injured miner, called together all Catholics in the area. Mass continued to be offered in a private residence in Antioch until the building of the first church, christened Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. The parish was founded in 1874.

During the anniversary Mass, Bishop Barber thanked the Dominican friars and sisters for their vital role in founding the Catholic faith in eastern Contra Costa County, noting that the Dominicans named many of the parishes in the area, including Most Holy Rosary, in honor of their saints and devotions.

Most Holy Rosary Church, AntiochThe current church, completed in 1966 and dedicated by Bishop Floyd Begin, was one of the first major construction projects for the new Oakland Diocese. The 90-foot-tall steeple, shaped to resemble hands clasped in prayer, made the church one of the tallest structures in Antioch at the time. Ecumenical reforms from the Second Vatican Council were incorporated into the new church’s design, and the pews are arranged in a semicircle so all attention is directed toward the altar.

A celebration of Our Lady of the Rosary

Bishop Barber and the concelebrants wore white vestments in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary for the anniversary Mass. His homily detailed an event from his service as a Navy chaplain. The aircraft carrier he was serving on received a distress call from a ship nearby after an explosion in the boiler room. The injured sailor was brought onboard the aircraft carrier for medical treatment. A quick thinking nurse recognized that the rope wrapped around the fatally injured sailor’s wrist was the remnants of a rosary and had Father Barber paged to the operating room to administer last rites.

“Mary sent me to that ship. She came to that sailor’s aid. That is how good Our Lady is, how faithful she is to her promises. She can take care of any request that we may have. She is standing by,” Bishop Barber said.

He thanked those assembled in a full church that seats approximately 1,000 people. “If nobody comes to Mass, the parish dies out,” he said. “You’re thriving.”

Bishop Barber encouraged the community to keep practicing the faith, supporting the parish and praying for new vocations to the priesthood. 

“Pray that generous young men may come forward to become priests,” Bishop Barber said, young men like Father Ramon Urbina, ordained in 2022, who was among the concelebrants. He grew up in the parish and received his first Holy Communion and Confirmation there. When he was ordained, he celebrated his first Mass and celebrated his first nuptial Mass at the parish as well.

A resilient community

Liza Luccio, chair of the 150th anniversary committee said, “I feel good to see how many peopleCommunity members celebrate after the 150th anniversary Mass love and support this parish and to have Bishop Barber say our parish is thriving. It has been a difficult couple of years but when we come together, beautiful things happen.”

Those difficult years included the Dominicans leaving the parish in 2018 after 144 years. About a year later, while finding their footing under new diocesan leadership, the pandemic forced the church to close down for a time. Even with the shutdowns, the community found ways to stay connected. “The Gabriel Project never stopped,” said Jackie Hooke, pastoral associate, who has worked at the parish for more than 40 years. “We made phone calls and maintained connections. We hosted drive-throughs for diapers when they were needed.”

When things started opening back up, Father Ramiro Flores and Father Jimmy Macalinao began to celebrate Mass from the roof of the rectory garage. “One group at a time came back,” said Hooke. “It was during the first Harvest Faire [after the pandemic] that we saw the impact. People want to be involved.”

The strength of the community bond comes as no surprise to those who witnessed another hardship in the church’s history. In early 1987, three teenagers set fire to the interior of the church. The crucifix was lost, but the fire did not damage the structural integrity of the building.

The community rallied, and Masses, baptisms and confirmations were held in the school gym. “We had CYO [Catholic Youth Organization events] on Saturday and Mass on Sunday. They would bring the Blessed Sacrament over before Mass, and the bells would ring. It was amazing,” Hooke said. “Weddings and funerals went to other churches. We vowed to reopen at Christmas.”

Fundraising dinners were organized for the restoration, and the refurbished church was able to reopen for Christmas Eve Mass.

Honoring the past

The celebration following Mass was filled with food celebrating the diverse cultures present in the parish including lumpia, Portuguese sweet bread and tacos. Parish groups donated their services and supplies to the reception. Photographs, display boards and artifacts from the ministries active in the parish, assembled for the Ministry Faire earlier this year, lined the reception hall, each item telling a piece of the story of the parish’s rich history.

That history includes the Holy Rosary Harvest Faire which dates back to 1890; Knights of Columbus Council 3265 established Aug. 8, 1950;  the Holy Rosary Theatre Group that put on productions such as Hansel and Gretel and Cinderella and the Glass Slipper; and the Antioch chapter of the Young Ladies Grand Institute, founded in 1922 that enriches the spiritual lives of its members and supports two diocesan seminarians as well as providing scholarships for four Catholic elementary school students each year.

Photo exhibits lined the walls, depicting a Ladies Dinner at Christmas, weddings throughout the decades, baptisms, holy orders, quinceañeras and various other events.

“Looking at the history makes a big difference to people,” Hooke said. “People want to know the past. It’s how we get to the present.”