Name 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, 3:45 p.m. (bilingual). Sunday, 8 a.m., 10 a.m. (Spanish), noon, 2 p.m. (Spanish). Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. (bilingual), noon, 6 p.m. (Spanish). Saturday, 8 a.m. (bilingual). Saturday vigil and Sunday Masses are celebrated outdoors, with some livestreamed. Monday through Saturday morning Masses celebrated inside the church, with some livestreamed.
Confessions Following the practice of the community’s founder, Venerable Bruno Lanteri (1759-1830), the Oblates have the desire to make the mercy of God available through the Sacrament of Confession. Hence, you will often find the Oblates readily available for confession. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 to 5:45 p.m.
Names of priests Fr. Larry Darnell, pastor. Fr. Edward Broom, Fr. Craig MacMahon, Fr. Dave Yankauskas, associate pastors. Fr. 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 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 also known for their orthodoxy and fidelity to the Holy Father and teaching authority of the Church. Fr. 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 Fr. 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, pro-life ministry; natural family planning, food program, bereavement ministry, young adult group, Now I Begin youth group
Devotional activities Eucharistic adoration, Marian consecration, rosary and chaplet of Divine Mercy, spiritual exercises, parish retreats.
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.
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 an outstanding parish in many ways, and 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.
Details listed are subject to change. Check the church’s website or social media or call the church before visiting.
I remember this parish used to offer the Traditional Latin Mass. Does anyone know when and why that is not longer the case?
Spanish was more in demand there.
Father Larry, the pastor, likely knows. You could ask him directly: 562-924-7591.
And, especially if there are no TLMs in nearby parishes, he may be open to a suggestion to resume them there.
Gambling available in the city card hall across the street too.
In-N-Out Burger on the other side of the San Gabriel Freeway, 605. Have some delicious burgers for lunch after church!
Probably my favorite parish in all of Southern California. I used to make a weekly commute there for Fr. Ed Broom’s Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola course. It changed my whole life. His Facebook videos and podcasts have really helped me get through the pandemic.
It’s a holy place, but the music at Mass needs desperate help, as is the case with so many Catholic churches. Why is music as a rule terrible at Mass? Why can’t the church find competent, talented people to lead the music?