The parish was founded in 1921 with the purchase of an existing Methodist church structure at Weddington and Bakman.[1][2] The parish was known as Immaculate Conception Church until 1925 when it was renamed Saint Charles Borromeo.[1][2] Before the parish was established, Catholics in the central San Fernando Valley shared a priest with St. Robert Bellarmine (then known as Holy Trinity).[2] By 1936, the parish had outgrown the space on Weddington, and a parishioner named Goykes donated land on Moorpark.[1] A new church was built on Moorpark in 1937—the structure that is now the parish hall.[3] The church had a seating capacity of 600 and was styled after the San Carlos Mission in Carmel, California.[1]
In 1939, St. Charles Borromeo School[4] opened in four portable bungalows and operated by five Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.[5] A new permanent school opened in 1947 in a building with 14 classrooms, a cafeteria, library, music room, and auditorium.[1]
The parish continued to grow in the years after World War II, and in 1957, ground was broken for the current church. The new church opened at Thanksgiving 1959 with a blessing from James Francis Cardinal McIntyre.[1] St. Charles Borromeo served a wide swath of the San Fernando Valley for many years, but with the population growth in the Valley, additional parishes were carved out of the territory previously encompassed by St. Charles Borromeo. Modern parishes that were carved out of St. Charles Borromeo include Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Sun Valley (1937), St. Francis de Sales in Sherman Oaks (1938), St. Finbar in Burbank (1938) and St. Patrick in North Hollywood (1948).[1]
The Rev. Msgr. Harry C. Meade was the pastor at St. Charles Borromeo for more than a quarter century starting in 1936.[1]
St. Charles Borromeo Choir
The St. Charles Borromeo Choir has enjoyed a long reputation as one of Southern California's finest parish choral groups. Prior to 1949, the choir director was Roger Wagner, who later formed the Roger Wagner Chorale. In 1949, Paul Salamunovich became director of the choir.[1][6] Volunteer singers from Santa Barbara to San Pedro drove to North Hollywood to sing for Salamunovich as part of the St. Charles Choir.[6]
The St. Charles Boys Choir under Salamunovich appeared with Dinah Shore on the Chevy Show and The Lucy Show with Lucille Ball in 1965. Later that year, they also formed the Disneyland Boys Choir, with which Salamunovich recorded the It's a Small World album of folk songs still sold at Disney theme parks.[6] Former members of the St. Charles Boys Choir include former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen and former UCLA head football coach Terry Donahue.
Salamunovich also became the leader of the Los Angeles Master Chorale from 1991 to 2001 and remains their Music Director Emeritus. Most notably, the St. Charles Choir has sung for Pope John Paul II in private audience at the Vatican, for the official Mass of Greeting with the Pope presiding in St. Vibiana's Cathedral in Los Angeles and in St. Peter's Square on the Feasts of St.'s Peter and Paul with the Pope presiding in high Mass. They hold the distinction of being the only American choir to be honored with this invitation.
The St. Charles Choir has performed on the soundtracks of the motion pictures, Air Force One, My Best Friend's Wedding, First Knight, Waterworld, The Devil's Advocate,xXx,Flatliners, Grand Canyon and True Confessions, on which he also coached Robert De Niro on the sung responses of the Latin Mass. They have also performed on television including The NBC Doc Severinson Christmas Special. Salamunovich conducted the choir at the 10:00a.m. Mass for 60 years before retiring in June 2009.[7][8] He died on April 3, 2014.
Controversy over proposed renovations
Altar at St. Charles Borromeo
In 2002 and 2003, controversy followed after well-known consultant, Richard S. Vosko, was brought in to speak to the congregation about renovations to the church's interior.[9] Vosko's renovations in Detroit, San Antonio, and New Orleans had spawned controversy, and a book called "Ugly as Sin" had recently been published criticizing Vosko's work.[9]
Concerns over modernization of St. Charles Borromeo's interior space led to the formation of the St. Charles Borromeo Preservation Guild. Guild supporters held protests with dozens of protesters falling to their knees outside the church and reciting the rosary asking the Virgin Mary to intercede to prevent modernization.[9] Among other things, the protesters sought to return the Blessed Sacrament to the tabernacle behind the altar and to preserve the private confessionals, the interior's "dark beauty," kneelers, the large, dramatic wooden crucifix and the baldacchino hanging above the cross.[9] The traditional look and feel of St. Charles had become a refuge for traditional Catholics who rejected the secular look of modern Catholic churches.[9]
Pastor Robert Gallagher responded angrily to the protests. In the church bulletin, he claimed that most of the protesters were not parishioners and said it was insulting to suggest that it was the traditional trappings that attracted parishioners.[10] The protests drew widespread media attention, including two feature articles in the Los Angeles Times in April 2002 and June 2003.[9][10]
Renovations
In August 2013- April 2014 the church started remodeling. During the remodel the church was moved to the parish hall, during Christmas the patio from the parish hall and parish center was used for overflow crowding. The remodel was to add a 2nd tier to the altar, paint the dome, remove asbestos, and add a disabled stall in the restrooms. The library was moved to the parish hall, and windows were cut in the entrance of the church for light.
Connection to Cardinal Mahony
Cardinal Mahony graduated from St. Charles School
St. Charles Borromeo also has long ties with Cardinal Roger Mahony, the Archbishop of the Los Angeles Archdiocese since 1985. Mahony's parents were married at the original church on Weddington Street, and he went to grammar school at St. Charles Borromeo grammar school, graduating in 1950.[8] When Mahony's mother, Loretta Mahony, died in 1995, he celebrated her funeral Mass at St. Charles Borromeo.[11] Mahony also celebrated the parish's 75 anniversary Mass in November 1996.[12]
In 2000, Mahony attended the 50th reunion of the eighth-grade class of 1950. Sister Jean Dolores, who taught Mahony, attended the reunion, recalling that in those days, she taught 75 eighth graders in one class. The school had 900 students in the years following World War II, making it the largest parochial school west of the Mississippi.[13] Mahony recalled Dolores as a strict disciplinarian and as a mentor. She came to Fresno when Mahony was appointed a bishop in 1975 and was in Los Angeles in 1985 when he was named archbishop. She also traveled to Rome to be with Mahony when he became a cardinal.[13] Dolores described the parish as "like a ripple in a pond" -- "It just keeps going and going. That's what life is all about."[13]
Hollywood connections
Many celebrities have lived in the Toluca Lake, North Hollywood, and Studio City communities served by St. Charles Borromeo.[8]
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References
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 St. Charles Golden Jubilee 1921-1971. St. Charles Borromeo Church (softcover book published for parish's 50th anniversary. 1971.
1 2 3 "Church to Mark 50th Anniversary on Sunday". Los Angeles Times. February 13, 1971.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Patricia Ward Biederman (April 1, 2002). "Church Protesters Standing on Tradition: Group opposes modernization of St. Charles parish in North Hollywood, but pastor says there's no set agenda for changes". Los Angeles Times.
1 2 Patricia Ward Beiderman (June 7, 2003). "Congregation Divided Over Design - but Not the Divine; Some parishioners at a Catholic church in North Hollywood fear that remodeling plans could be too extreme for their taste". Los Angeles Times.
↑ John Dart (May 4, 1995). "A Final Blessing Cardinal Mahony Lays His Mother to Rest in Her Longtime Parish". Los Angeles Times.
↑ Steve Padilla (November 24, 1996). "Valley Newswatch". Los Angeles Times.
1 2 3 K. Connie Kang (September 10, 2000). "Archbishop Salutes a Mentor at Class Reunion: At a 50th anniversary gathering of his eighth-grade class, Cardinal Roger Mahony thanks the nun who was his teacher". Los Angeles Times.
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