In the heat of a June afternoon in 1949, seasoned priests and advisors
to the Chancery office of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles inspected
a T-shaped parcel of property between Firmament and Haskell Avenues,
with the base of the T-shaped fronting Ventura Blvd.
The site was tentatively designated to become the plant of the new
Encino parish of St. Cyril of Jerusalem. The name had been chosen,
because at the time, Jerusalem was in anguish through war and division
and strife. James Francis Cardinal McIntyre wished to signify the
concern of the Church for the holy places and for their distressed
peoples. This he did by placing the new parish in the Valley under
the patronage of St. Cyril of Jerusalem.
The Rev. Michael Lalor had been named pastor-designate of St Cyril’s.
He was born on May 04, 1904, in Cullohill County, Leix, Ireland, and
ordained at St. Kieran’s, Kilkenny, for the Diocese of Los Angeles
and San Diego on June 08, 1930. He was not only wise in the procedures
of development of a parish plant itself but in the ability to guide
a new coalition of families from a wide social and economic spectrum
into a cohesive unit, capable of working together for the greater
good of all.
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Father Lalor was name pastor of St. Cyril’s on July
07, 1949,
and the first nucleus of 300 families began attending Mass in Nazareth
House Home for Boys at Magnolia and Sepulveda Boulevards. The boundaries
of the new parish were Balboa Boulevard on the West; Van Nuys Blvd.
on the East; Mulholland Drive on the South, and Clark Street to the
North.
Evidence of Father Lalor’s prudence was his first edict once
the parish was fact. There would be a club for the men of the parish
and an Altar Society for women. No splinter groups would detract from
the full membership of each. The wisdom of this decision has been
borne through the first half century in the concentration of support
by the two groups to every parish endeavor from Scouts and teen clubs
for youth to senior citizen activity, Christian Service and the vital
fund-raising so necessary for growth.
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The Altar Society was established the first week in August of 1950
with Mrs. Delmar Mitchelson as president; Mrs. Henry H. Powell Jr.,
vice president; Mrs. Frank Ralphs, secretary, and Mrs. J.D. Lydon,
treasurer. The first meeting of the unit was held in what is now the
Convent, but which first served as rectory of Father Lalor and his
assistant pastor, the Rev. William Smith, a former army chaplain.
Loren Goodwin served as first president of the Men’s Club with
William Galbally as vice president, Andy Anderson as secretary and
Harold Hourihan, treasurer. They met in classroom bungalows.
Father Lalor and Father Smith moved out of the two-story Spanish
residence at 4550 Haskell Ave., in September of 1950 to provide a
home for the first cadre of nuns opening the school that month, guided
by Sister Francis Joseph Ferguson. Mrs. Kay Hammer was first secretary
of the school.
Dedication of the church, now the Parish Hall, was held on the Sunday
before Christmas 1950. The building cost $100,000 and had been designed
by George J. Adams. One of his primary features was architecture,
which brought those attending Mass in close proximity to the altar.
The Crucifix and carved wooden statues of Mary, the Mother of Jesus,
and St. John the Apostle, which graced the altar background are now
included in the magnificent carved triptych reredos of the new church.
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Mrs. Jack Vizzard was first organist for the parish and by the 1970’s
an adult choir was developed by William Cormier.
Community activity by the parish continued to grow. In 1953 a group
within the Woman’s Club dedicated solely to philanthropic work
for those in need was named "The Godmother’s." Its
first president was Mrs. Lawrence H. Jackson.
Parishioners became active in drives for the American Red Cross,
March of Dimes and Community Chest (now United Crusade) and each year
citations for these services were bestowed on St. Cyril’s, giving
it recognition as a needed support for the growing area.
Mindful of the service by so many of its family fathers in World
War II, the parish also continued to support United Service Organization
with funds as well as volunteers.
A rectory at 4601 Firmament Avenue, to replace the bungalow in which
Father Lalor and his assistants had lived for nine years, was completed
in 1958 with housing for three priests and space for an office staff.
The newly completed church was opened during Christmastime in 1966.
Joseph C. Styskall was the contractor in a contemporary design with
warm blue and gold with walnut wood accents, seating. Unfortunately,
Father Lalor died on April 09, 1967 at age 62, before the Church could
be dedicated.
Following in Father Lalor’s stead were Msgr. Christopher J.
Bradley, then assistant pastors Rev. Clinton Hagenbach, who established
the parish’s first teen club. Rev. Clement Connelly who was popular
with his parish for his German Shepherd Dog and Irish tenor voice
succeeded him. Rev. Paul Kelly served before going to St. Euphrasia’s.
Finally, in 1970, our dear Msgr. Cyril Navin joined us from his post
from Avalon,
Santa Catalina Island at St. Catherine’s Church.
Msgr. Cyril Navin is from
Village
of Clare Castle, County Clare, Ireland. He graduated from All
Hallows Seminary, Dublin, Ireland, and was ordained in June of 1945,
coming directly to California. He was welcomed as an official pastor
on December 28, 1971 with appointment by Cardinal Timothy Manning, then Archbishop
of Los Angeles and has been here ever since.
Anticipating his 75th birthday, Msgr.
Cyril Navin submitted his resignation as pastor of St. Cyril's and
retired effective July 01, 1996 and became Pastor Emeritus.
Msgr. Carl F. Bell was named the new pastor on July 01, 1996. Msgr.
Navin welcomed the surrendering of administrative responsibilities
and devoted the rest of his days to the priestly ministry of saying
Mass, hearing confessions, visiting the sick, visiting the students
in the school and relieving the priest from Avalon on Santa Catalina
Island at St. Catherine's Church so that priest could spend a few
days on the mainland.
Msgr. Carl F. Bell's
appointment to St. Cyril as pastor spanned 15 years until he
submitted his resignation effective July 01, 2011 and became Pastor
Emeritus, more than a year and a half past the normal retirement
age. The Reverend Larry S. Neumeier was appointed as
Administrator to St. Cyril's on July 01, 2011.
Doing this
transition, our beloved
Msgr. Navin passed away
quickly and unexpectedly
in his sleep early in the morning of June 24, 2011, the Nativity of
St. John the Baptist, the 66th anniversary of his
priestly ordination and two weeks shy of turning 90 years old.
Years ago, on a summer
trip to Ireland, Msgr. Navin stopped in a church to make a visit to
The Blessed Sacrament. Adjacent to the Church was the cemetery and
he walked among the graves. Msgr. Navin saw the
inscription on a gravestone and mentioned it upon his return to St.
Cyril's:
“Remember man, as you pass by. Where you are now, so once was I. Where I am now, so shall you be. Remember death and pray for
me.”
~Large portions of this history are taken from St. Cyril’s 25th
Anniversary memorial booklet.
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