St. Peter Chanel, Hawaiian Gardens CA, exteriorName of Church St. Peter Chanel

Address 12001 E. 214th Street, Hawaiian Gardens CA 90716

Phone number 562-924-7591

Website www.spcomv.com

Mass times Saturday vigil, 6 p.m. Sunday, 6:30 a.m. (Spanish), 8 a.m., 10 a.m. (Spanish), noon, 2 p.m. (Spanish), 4 p.m. (Spanish), 6 p.m. & 8 p.m. (Spanish) Monday – Friday, 6 a.m., 8 a.m., noon, 6:30 p.m. (both English and another Spanish Mass in the old church). Saturday, 8 a.m. Holy days: same as weekday schedule.

St. Peter Chanel, Hawaiian Gardens CA, interiorConfessions Following the practice of the community’s founder, Venerable Bruno Lanteri (1759-1830), the Oblates of the Virgin Mary have the desire to make the mercy of God available through the sacrament of Confession. Hence, you will often find an Oblate in the confessional at the parish Monday – Friday during Masses, Saturdays, 5 – 8:30 p.m. or by appointment.

Names of priests Father Larry Darnell, pastor. Father Edward Broom, Father Craig MacMahon, Father Dave Yankauskas, associate pastors. Father Vincenzo Antolini, priest in residence. All priests are Oblates of the Virgin Mary (www.omvusa.org), a community founded by Bruno Lanteri in Italy in 1826. There are about 200 Oblates worldwide today, engaged in such apostolates as teaching, offering parish missions and retreats and spiritual support of diocesan clergy. The Oblates, including those at St. Peter Chanel, are known for their orthodoxy and fidelity to the Holy Father and teaching authority of the Church. Father Broom regularly writes blog posts in English and Spanish, and posts YouTube videos and podcasts, particularly relating to the Spiritual Exercises. To hear him, visit the parish website and click on the Spiritual Works and Father Ed Broom tabs.

School No, but there are many classes offered through the parish on a variety of topics, particularly spirituality.

Special parish groups Jovenes para Cristo, Saturdays at 6:30 p.m.; youth and young adult ministries; food program; pro-life ministry; natural family planning classes.

Devotional activities Daily Eucharistic adoration, 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. (except during Masses) and all night Friday and Saturday; rosary and chaplet after Masses; the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola are regularly offered; quarterly retreats (register on parish website).

Liturgy Reverent. You’ll see many altar boys at Sunday Masses.

Fellow parishioners The church is located in a poor Hispanic community, not far from Long Beach, in the archdiocese of Los Angeles. The community is a mix of Anglos, Hispanics and Filipinos. Many drive in from outside the parish boundaries due to its orthodoxy.

Parking It has a busy lot on Sundays, and finding parking can be a challenge. You can park on the street, too.

Acoustics Good sound system.

Cry room Yes, the entry of the church is separated from the body of the church by glass and has ample seating for families with small children.

Additional observations St. Peter Chanel Church is named for a French martyr who was killed in the New Hebrides islands near New Zealand in 1841. It has been staffed by the Oblates since the 1980s. It is a haven in the area for faithful Catholics. The priests emphasize spirituality, obedience to the Commandments and the Church. The priests won’t be shy about telling you to stop looking at pornography, for example, or if you’re “living in sin,” that you should get married or separate from your partner. If you’re observing the commandments, they’ll encourage you to do better, perhaps by attending daily Mass, praying the rosary daily or making a total consecration to Mary according to the method of St. Louis de Montfort. They all wear the cassock.

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Rest in Peace
Father Joseph M. Scerbo, S.A.
February 14, 1944 – March 19, 2015
Father Scerbo said the Tridentine Mass at St. Pascal Baylon in Thousand Oaks.  He was a Franciscan who became more conservative in his later years.