Name of Church Church of the Visitation
Address 6561 West 88th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90045
Phone number (310) 216-1145
Website: https://www.visitationchurch-la.com
Mass times Saturday vigil, 5 p.m. Sundays, 8, 9:30 and 11 a.m. Weekdays, 8 a.m.
Confessions Saturdays, 3-4 p.m. and by appointment
Names of priests Father Matthew Wheeler, administrator. In residence, Father Timothy McGowan. Retired, Msgr. Charles Hill and Msgr. James Forsen. Father Wheeler is a solid young priest, devout and a good homilist. He is originally from Minnesota and came to Los Angeles to attend USC. He was ordained a priest in 2018.
Special groups/activities Bible study, bereavement support, Viz Seniors, Knights of Columbus, men’s group.
Music Adult and youth choirs.
School Yes.
Fellow parishioners This parish is an English-speaking community, part of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and located just north of Los Angeles airport and not far from the beach at Playa del Rey.
Acoustics Good.
Parking Beside the church and on the street.
Additional observations The Church of the Visitation was established in 1943, built in the Italian Renaissance architecture style in 1950, and recently renovated. It is an attractive, open church, tabernacle in the center. It has good stained class, chandelier, baptistery. Take a tour of the church on the parish website with commentary by the former pastor.
Nice exterior but I don’t see an altar rail.
News flash: Catholic churches don’t need altar rails.
If you don’t like reverently kneeling ar the altar rail to receive Our Lord in Holy Communion, you are missing out on a very beautiful and holy experience.
I agree emphatically!
Okay, the many thumbs down for the post above show how out of touch and extremist are the Trads who frequent this site.
The poster’s comment is categorically true: Catholic churches do not need altar rails.
Given the indisputable truth of the remark, the thumbs down can only mean one of two things:
1. The downvoters disagree with the commenter on the basis of a false belief that Catholic churches do need altar rails.
2. The downvoters disagree with church legislation that does not require churches to have altar rails.
It’s probably 100% number 2, because Trads will not accept the post Vatican 2 church.
The Trad takeover of this website has slowly materialized, but it’s noticeable now.
You do not sound respectful, reverent nor ready to receive Our Lord in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. There is no such thing as a so-called “Trad.” I am way too old for such nonsense.
To the contrary, many Trads proudly identify and isolate themselves as such because they don’t want to be considered nor associate with Novus Ordo Catholics.
Then they are schismatics.
Our archbishop regularly says the Latin Tridentine Mass, along with the Novus Ordo Mass. Fr. Illo says the old Latin Mass daily, along with the Novus Ordo Mass. That does not make Abp. Cordileone and Fr. Illo so-called “trads.” All religious scholars agree, the 1500+ years old Latin Tridentine Mass is of great historical as well as deep religious value.
No those aren’t rad trads.
Nothing wrong with the Mass.
The Novus Ordo Mass does not require the removal of altar rails or communion standing or communion in the hand. I have never been to a TLM but I have been to NO Masses where communion was for a time given at the altar rail while kneeling. It was for me (and I speak only for my self) immeasurably more reverent than standing in line with communion in the hand. Something very precious has been lost IMHO with the current practice, and I blame the LA Chancery for this loss.
You mean Mass.
You can always receive kneeling on the tongue.
You can always kneel and receive Communion on the tongue.
My last post said that in a way that sounded weird.
Is that a primary factor in how you evaluate a parish?
Yes. That and tabernacle location
Really? For you the primary factors in evaluating a parish are the presence of an altar rail and the location of the tabernacle? Really? I say, you’re mistaken because although those things may be important liturgically, they are not the primary factors in evaluating a parish.
“Then jon, what are the primary factors,” you might ask. Glad you ask. The primary factors should be:
Do the parishioners love their neighbor? Do they engage in any corporal acts of mercy? Do they look after the poor not only within the parish, but also in the wider community? Or are they just navel gazing and preoccupied with their own little world, not reaching out to others with the Gospel? Are they willing to evangelize? How’s their relationship with their family? Do they love their enemies or are they just like the non-believers who despise, gossip about, malign, lie about people they don’t like? Are they loyal and reverent to the Holy Father the Pope and the rest of the Magisterium? Or are they separating themselves from the rest of the Church? Do they despise those who go to the “novus ordo” parish in the other side of town?
Especially with respect to the least of our brethren, those primary factors above are more important (way more important, I say) than your altar rail.
jon, people evaluate things simplistically because that is the best they can do.
Thank you for pointing out some other things but really…we are not supposed to judge.
And since we are supposed to keep our deeds of mercy secret, it is such a good way to evaluate.
Also, we have seen people who talk the talk but do not walk the walk or where everything looks good but there is really a catastrophic failure, like obeying the Catholic Faith vs. obeying the Catholic Church.
One of the funniest misjudgments I made when coming back to the Church was that I thought all the parishioners were rich because of the way they dressed.
After meeting some, I realized they were just wearing their Sunday best…they were not rich at all.
“We’re supposed to keep our deeds of mercy secret,” is a misinterpretation of Our Lord’s words.
Remember what Jesus Christ said: “Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to you Father in heaven.”
The complete truth of what Christ teaches is that you shouldn’t make a show of your deeds of mercy in order to bring attention to yourself and show people how wonderful you are.
Instead–whether or not people get to see you doing works of mercy—you do them in order to bring glory to God, not glory to yourself.
The fact remains that God will evaluate and yes, judge, a parish based on whether or not they have loved the least of their brethren.
Altar rails will have nothing to do with God’s judgement.
In other words, the primary factor in evaluating a parish is: do the parishioners love God above all else which shows itself in their love not only for their kin, but especially for those in need?
It depends on what the meaning of the word “love” is.
So, if James Martin preaches heresy in a church with an altar rail and the tabernacle centered on the altar, you’re okay with that?
(I’m presuming by tabernacle location that you did not mean back by the restrooms.).
That’s bizarre. Change the words of the Mass? Sure, as long as there’s a Communion rail and the tabernacle is where I think it should be. Your priorities need re-evaluation (to put it nicely), since you say the altar rail is a first consideration.
I have often seen the church’s bell tower from my window seat when landing at LAX. LMU’s bell tower also. Is LMU’s church worth driving to? It’s not far from this church; maybe two miles? So you could visit both in the same morning or afternoon.
Is LMU’s “church” still Catholic?
Jesus is in the tabernacle. So it would seem so.
So the priests don’t change the words of consecration? If so, you’re right.