Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish located in San Pedro, California, dedicated to Our Lady, Star of the Sea. Located on a hill overlooking the Port of Los Angeles, Mary Star of the Sea has sometimes been known as the "Fishermen’s Parish" because of its close ties with the fishing and cannery community in San Pedro. Established in 1889, the parish is one of the oldest in the Los Angeles Archdiocese. The present church, built in 1958, is the third church to serve the parish.
Mary Star of the Sea serves approximately 5,500 registered families. For many decades, the parish community was made up largely of Croatian and Italian fishermen, ethnic groups that remain large presences in the parish, along with more recently arrived groups from Latin America and Asia, especially the Philippines.
History
San Pedro was incorporated as a city in 1888, and Mary Star of the Sea parish was formed one year later in 1889. The original church, built in the 1890s, was a small wooden structure on West Ninth Street. In 1905, a larger church was built on Vinegar Hill (NW corner 9th St and Centre St). An elementary school opened in 1914, under the direction of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Father Maximus Benso, a native of Italy, purchased the land in 1919 that eventually accommodated the church and school. Father Benso died in 1981 at age 96, having served the church for more than 70 years.
Father James McLaughlin, the parish's eighth pastor and a native of Ireland, established the "Apostleship of the Sea," a Catholic organization for the merchant marine.
For nearly 30 years from 1946 to 1975, Msgr. George M. Scott was the pastor. When Msgr. Scott arrived, the parish community included 10,000 Croatians and 5,000 Italians, mostly fishermen, cannery workers, and their families. Msgr. Scott oversaw the construction of the current church in 1958, as well as a new convent, an elementary school and high school. In September, 1951, Mary Star of the Sea High School opened with classes initially being held in the elementary school. Msgr. Scott also served as the national president of the Apostleship of the Sea.
When Msgr. Scott retired in 1975, Msgr. Thomas Kiefer became the pastor and also served as Port Chaplain until 1984.
Msgr. Patrick Gallagher served as the pastor from 1984 until his death in April 2008. Seven months before his death, Msgr. Gallagher celebrated the opening of the new Mary Star of the Sea High School after overseeing the development and construction for 13 years. When the new high school was dedicated, Msgr. Gallagher said: "[T]here were lots of challenges. We just faced them and went on. I never, never doubted the high school would be built. That's not my personality to give up." Msgr. Gallagher also directed the establishment of the Perpetual Adoration Chapel located at the front of the church. Interviewed in 2003, Msgr. Gallager said, "This parish is the center of my life, really. I am happy serving here. I find great fulfillment here and I find great support with the people. I really love these people."
"Fishermen's Parish"
Mary Star of the Sea's renown comes principally from its relationship with the port and San Pedro's fishing community. The bronze statue of Mary atop the bell tower, lit up at night, has been a beacon for fishermen since 1958.
Close ties between fishermen and church
In a July 2001, the Los Angeles Times published a feature article on San Pedro, noting the central and longstanding role played by Mary Star of the Sea in the community:
Croatian, Portuguese and Italian fishing families, many of them Catholic, founded San Pedro. Content with the beauty of the hills rising from the harbor, they built their homes, their church, their businesses and dutifully produced large families to do the same. More than 100 years later, some of their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren live in those family homes, work still on the docks or in town and worship still at Mary Star of the Sea. The town's population has remained steady for the last two decades, and there is a sense of continuity that is palpable in this town, an intimacy--among the people, and between the people and the place.