Santa Clara Chapel

From the Pastor

Dear Friends in Christ,

Throughout her almost 140-year history as the “Mother Church” of the Oxnard Plain, Santa Clara Catholic Church has been the center for faith and community for tens of thousands of families. I often think of our founding families, most of whom settled in the area from Ohio, Germany, Mexico and Ireland. I think of our first pastors too, Fr Juan Pujol (1885-1910) and Fr John Laubacher (1910-1918). They began with almost nothing, and, through hard work and generosity, constructed the Santa Clara Chapel, then the main church, another couple of chapels, a convent, a school, then a high school, and, with the combined efforts of the Sisters of Mercy, a hospital.  Our founders did all of this during economic booms and busts, droughts and floods, pandemics, and even during four major wars. It is amazing to stop and think about what has been established for our use and  benefit even in the most difficult and trying of times.

Over the last century, our population has grown and changed, but our mission – bringing our Catholic faith to Oxnard and El Rio – has not.  To my knowledge, Santa Clara Chapel has never embarked on a major campaign to raise funds for its own needs, and now we join with parishes, missions, and schools in the last wave – Wave Five – of the Called to Renew Campaign.  This campaign seeks to raise a total of $500 Million dollars for badly needed improvements for our facilities, and provide funding for prison, hospital and higher education Newman ministry, priestly vocations, and religious education and faith formation programs.  

The goal for the Santa Clara Chapel campaign is $230,000 dollars, of which half will remain in the chapel account for our own stated uses. Please take a moment to prayerfully discern how you can most generously support this campaign. I encourage you to consider making a five-year pledge, which will allow us the best opportunity to reach and even surpass our goal.

As a founding member of the steering committee for the Called to Renew campaign, I join with Archbishop Gomez and my fellow committee members to thank you for your prayers and efforts to make our Called to Renew campaign a success as we near our overall goal. Since the inception of the campaign, parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Los Angeles have already raised an astonishing $420 Million in cash and pledges, and now it is our turn to fly!

May our patroness St. Clare of Assisi intercede for our chapel and parish community during this time of growth and renewal.

Peace in Christ,

Rev. John Love