QUEEN OF ANGELS CATHOLIC CHURCH
HISTORY

For many years there was no Catholic church in Alpine and in order for the Catholic community to attend Mass they were required to make the nearly 30 mile round trip over mostly country roads to St. Mary’s (now Holy Trinity) in El Cajon or to Blessed Sacrament in Descanso.

In 1946, through the courtesy of the Sheedy family, and with permission of the Most Reverend Charles F. Buddy, Bishop of San Diego, a first Alpine Mass was celebrated at the Sheedy’s ranch on Highway 80. This continued until the early spring of 1951 when a new church was made possible through a donation of land by John Vitalich. Though no official records exist, it is believed that a groundbreaking ceremony was held sometime in the 1950’s. With the help of the Extension Society and with funding from the local Catholic community, the first Mass was celebrated at the new Queen of Angels, (originally named St. Philomena), on Christmas Day 1951. The new parish was dedicated June 15, 1952, by Bishop Charles F. Buddy.

Catechism classes were originally held in the church, the choir loft and in the small kitchen. New classrooms were built by parishioners in 1966 and are still in use today. In 1984, under the direction of Father Laurence McLaughlin, the church was enlarged to accommodate 225 families. A new kitchen and multi-purpose room, now the parish hall, was included in the project.

In the early 1990’s, Ms. Cleo Wallen, Ms. Carmen Lewis, and Mrs. Anna Jerney were honored by Pope Paul VI for being the founding members of Queen of Angels. And, in August of 1999, all of Queen of Angels parish honored these women for their contributions.

Pastors of Queen of Angels

Rev. Earl Ullman 1950—1951
†Rev. William Goodrow 1951
†Rev. Joseph Hill 1951—1952
Rev. Jeremiah Murphy 1953—1954
†Rev. Alfred Geimer 1954—1955
†Rev. John Gallagher 1955
†Rev. Joseph Di Cristina 1955—1957
Rev. Thomas Bolten 1958—1969
†Rev. Anthony Timlin 1969—1974
Rev. Walsh Murray 1974—1978
Rev. Laurence McLaughlin 1978—1989
Rev. Gerald Lord 1989
†Rev Alphonsus Ryan 1989—1990
Rev. Harold Tindall 1990—1996
Rev. Matthew Spahr 1996—2003
Rev. Edward McNulty 2003—2004
Rev. Brendan McKeever 2004—2006
Rev. Chris Kintanar 2006—Present

Copyright 2006, Queen of Angels Roman Catholic Church -- Alpine, California