St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church

From the Pastor

Dear Friends in Christ,

At our beloved parish, we concretely experience what it means to be Catholic. But we are part of something much larger than St. Maria Goretti — and as members of the local Church, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, we are invited to participate in Called to Renew, a capital campaign designed to strengthen parishes and elevate ministries in our Archdiocese.

Our presence in Long Beach since 1955 is due to the generosity of so many people who helped build and maintain our parish campus and programs. I am grateful to have served as your servant leader since 2010. By our coming together for worship, outreach, and shared life, we are truly missionary disciples of the Gospel for our time and place.

Called to Renew provides a wonderful opportunity for us to join together as an Archdiocesan family with our sisters and brothers in the hundreds of parishes across Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. We know what a challenge it is to constantly renew and refurbish our parish facilities.

Every one of our sister parishes faces this same challenge. Called to Renew will enable us to meet some of our own needs, while at the same time providing resources for the rest of our local Church. We would like to put new flooring in our church, improve the air conditioning, purchase a new organ, and replace the windows with panels that better filter sunlight, especially the west facing window.

This brochure gives us an overview of the scope of Called to Renew. May it provide us with the information we need to help us understand the impact this campaign will have for the future generations who will form the Church in southern California. I completely support Called to Renew. I hope you will join me in responding generously to this call.

Peace in Christ,

Fr. John Schiavone