Parish Information

• On November 15, 1961, His Eminence, James Francis Cardinal McIntyre announced the formation of Saint Linus Parish.
• The first Pastor assigned to St. Linus was Father Michael J. McNulty.
• The first Mass of St. Linus was held at the Elk's Hall in Norwalk on November 26, 1961.
• Parishioners came from St. John of God, Norwalk; St. Pius X, Santa Fe Springs; St. Gregory the Great, Whittier and St. Paul of the Cross, La Mirada.
• Not long after the first Mass, a house at the southeast corner of the parish property was purchased as a temporary rectory and a new industrial building across the street had been rented and converted by the men of the parish to serve as a church and hall.
• The first Masses were held there on December 10, 1961.
• The men of the parish built the Altar and the women made altar cloths, vestments, and curtains. Furnishings came from many sources, some loaned and some donated.
• By Mid-December classes were being held for all public school children in the first through eighth grades.
• By January 1962, 750 children were enrolled. The garages of parishioners as well as the rectory and hall were used as classrooms.
• The choir of the parish made its first public appearance at the 1961 Christmas Masses. Miss Judy Rubin accompanied the choir on an organ donated by Mrs. Winninghoff.
• A door-to-door census was done of the entire parish. The census showed a total of 1080 Catholic families. Two years later it was up to 1300.
• The first class for Altar Boys was held April 7, 1962.
• In May of 1962 Father Robert E. Howard came to St. Linus as assistant pastor.
• A groundbreaking ceremony for the permanent church and school was held on the feast day of St. Linus, September 23, 1962.
• For the next ten months all eyes were watching the construction of the church and school buildings.
• On July 28, 1963, Masses were held for the first time on the home ground of St. Linus Parish. One of the school buildings was complete except for a few panes of glass, so the men of the parish moved the furnishings from the rented temporary Church into our own building, which was our Church for a little more than four months. The building then served as the parish hall until it was needed for classrooms.
• Father McNulty's search for teaching Nuns had led him over most of the United States, Canada, and Ireland. He announced that the school would open in September 1963; even if all lay teachers had to be used. Finally, in August, just one month before school was to open, The Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Faith sent two Sisters, Sister Mary Francisca and Sister Mary Loretto.
• In November the altar that had been built by the men of the parish was moved once again...this time into the permanent, though incomplete, Church.
• On November 24, 1963, the first Masses were held in the new permanent Church.
• On May 31, 1964, Cardinal McIntyre dedicated to God the School and Church.
• On the day of the dedication of the School and Church, a program was distributed. The above information came from that program. Along with the following highlights.

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