Name of Church Ss. Peter and Paul
Address 515 West Opp Street, Wilmington, CA 90744
Phone number 310-834-5215
Website www.sppc.us
Mass times Saturday vigil, 5 p.m. (English); Sunday, 6:30 a.m. (Latin Tridentine), 8 a.m. (Spanish), 9:30 a.m. (English; Latin Tridentine High Mass on 3rd Sundays), 11 a.m. (English), 12:30 p.m. (Spanish), 2 p.m. (Spanish), 5 p.m. (English), 7 p.m. (Spanish); Monday – Friday, 6:45 & 8 a.m. (English); Saturday, 8 a.m. (English)
Confessions Fridays, 7 p.m.; Saturdays, 4 p.m.; and during the Sunday Masses, 8, 9:30 & 11 a.m., 12:30, 2 & 5 p.m.
Names of priests Norbertine Fathers Hildebrand Garceau (pastor), Adrian Sanchez (parochial vicar), Brendan Hankins (parochial vicar), Claude Williams (school rector). The Norbertines are reliably orthodox and deliver good homilies. There is also a Norbertine Sisters Convent across the street from the church, with three professed nuns and a group of postulants: https://www.sppc.us/norbertine-sisters. The sisters work at the parish school and are involved in a variety of activities at the parish.
School Founded in 1944 by the Franciscan Sisters of Charity and Penance. Today, it serves grades pre-K through 8th grade and is under lay leadership. Nancy Kuria serves as principal and Fr. Claude Williams as rector.
Special parish groups and activities Perpetual Adoration Chapel, Pro-Life Ministry, Poverty Program, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Legion of Mary, Knights of Columbus, Third Order Norbertines, Home School group and many others.
Liturgy Reverent and traditional
Music Cantors and choirs
Fellow parishioners The surrounding community is mostly Hispanic and Spanish-speaking, although many Anglos from further away are drawn to the parish because of its traditional character.
Parking The parking lot fills up for the Sunday Masses, so come early. There is parking on the street when the lot is full.
Acoustics Good.
Cry room No.
Literature Visit the St. Joseph’s Bookstore to purchase religious books and other items.
Additional observations Ss. Peter and Paul Church, Wilmington was founded in 1865, making it the second oldest church in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Its first pastor was Franciscan Father Antonio Ubach, the last of the Franciscan padres in the line of Blessed Junipero Serra. In the Great Jubliee Year 2000, Ss. Peter and Paul Church was designated one of 20 pilgrimage churches in the Archdiocese. In 2006, the Norbertine Fathers of St. Michael’s Abbey in Silverado were assigned to the parish. The church is beautiful and well-maintained, and the priests foster an environment well-suited to prayer.
This seems like a ‘repeat visit’. Even my sometimes foggy memory thinks I remember Opp Street
Yes, this past March the same church was previously featured. Verbatim identical to this post in its description.
https://cal-catholic.com/ss-peter-and-paul-church-wilmington-california-2/
Maybe trying to drum up visits?
This church was profiled on this site three years ago: https://cal-catholic.com/ss-peter-and-paul-church-wilmington-california/
So I guess that means all the churches worth driving to have been mentioned and now we’re recycling.
The Norbertine Fathers and Sisters are a great blessing to Southern California. I thank thy came from Hungary or another far away country. Their landing here has made us more Holy. They also offer Mass at Little St. Mary by the Sea in Newport and sometimes have given us Latin Mass as far North as St. Buenaventura Mission before the current administration forbade it. Good Holy priests and Brothers. May God bless them, they helped me a lot.
Not sure it is the second oldest church in the Archdiocese. I believe San Gabriel Mission, San Fernando Mission and the Plaza Church are older.
I think you may be right. San Gabriel church was built in 1805; San Fernando church in 1806; and La Placita in 1784 — all of which predate 1865 founding of Ss. Peter and Paul.