Our Lady of Grace Church Celebrates 75 Years!
Previous church on Anita Avenue, circa 1956.
Our Lady of Grace Parish was established on September 19, 1947. Its first masses were held in a temporary hall on Baker Road and subsequently mass in its newly completed building on Anita Avenue was celebrated on Easter Sunday, 1948. By the early 1950s, the rapid growth of the parish made it clear that a larger facility including a school was necessary. However, the church only had $8,000 in the bank and the archbishop would not loan the additional $458,000 needed to build a larger church and a school. Therefore, 400 parishioners under the leadership of then-pastor Father Stack took on the task of a $450,000 capital campaign. Our Lady of Grace School on Anita was opened in September of 1955 and the TK-8 school is still a vibrant and integral part of the parish. The current church on Somerset opened in 1957 along with a new convent on Anita.
But the Church is more than just its buildings. It is people and over the years, thousands have found Our Lady of Grace Church to be a place of faith, hope, love, and community. As author and parishioner Mark Cotta Vaz writes in his upcoming book about the parish:
“In a spiritual community, one’s life becomes a process of cultivating divine growth, allowing its good fruits to take root and blossom in the world. Like an athlete, we train to run the race, but in the mystery of one mystical body, our spiritual growth is not solely about transforming and disciplining ourselves alone, but in humbly realizing that we cannot prepare for and achieve something as mysterious as eternal life on our own.”
Celebration Events
Several events are planned to celebrate the 75th and all are welcome.
“We are proud to have been a part of Castro Valley for 75 years and we welcome the larger community to join us in celebrating,” says 75th-anniversary chair, Michael Gonzalez.
On September 17, there will be a ravioli dinner provided by Branch #343 of the Italian Catholic Federation and on September 18, there will be a Fiesta Mexicana lunch provided by the Hispanic Community of OLG following the 12:00 bilingual mass with the bishop. Tickets can be purchased by calling the parish office at 510-537-0806. On September 24 there will be a small car show and a live concert featuring the Rev Tones and the Night Owls. Admission is free and food and drinks can be purchased on site. On September 25, a Family Fun Day is planned from 10 am to 3 pm with carnival games, food, and fun. Food and drink and wristbands for the games can be purchased on-site.
For more details on these events, you can visit the church website at www.olgcv.org