Our Lady Queen of Angels Breaks Ground on New $15-Million Church

After 20 years of preparation and prayer, Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church broke ground Sunday on a new $15-million sanctuary.

Parishioners, church officials and local dignitaries turned the first shovelfuls of dirt for the building, which will sit at the corner of Jamboree and Eastbluff.

The incoming structure will bring more parking and seating than the current sanctuary, and will be more resistant to earthquakes, according to church staff.

It will also "embrace natural light, promoting serenity and reflection," said Fr. Kerry Beaulieu, OLQA's pastor.

Construction should begin by the end of June and finish by Christmas 2012, officials said. 

OLQA celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and the new church is part of an extensive renovation program.

Among those attending Sunday's 1 p.m. ceremony: Mayor Mike Henn, city council members Keith Curry and Leslie Daegle, and Tod Brown, bishop of the Diocese of Orange.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled,” parishioner Ruby Delfin said as her 7-year-old son, Aidan, dug into the dirt with his friends.

(Parishioners were invited to join in with shovels after the main ceremony ended.)

“We feel so blessed to be a part of this parish, and so this is another milestone for us,” said Delfin, who has attended the church with her family for seven years.

Sunday's groundbreaking, which followed a Mass of thanksgiving, was the latest chapter in a 20-year process that included buying property from St. Mark Presbyterian Church, winning city approval and raising money in a roller-coaster economy.

Fundraising began about 13 years ago, Beaulieu said.

The current church, built in 1964 at 2046 Mar Vista Drive, is in “drastic need” of earthquake renovations, he said. “Rather than retrofit the existing church, the idea was to build a brand new church, (which) would be a better use of funds."

Eventually, the old church will be dismantled, and the space configured to make more parking. 

“It’s sad to let the church we’re familiar with go, but it’s for the sake of the future and for the safety of the community,” Beaulieu said.

The new sanctuary will seat nearly 1,200–about 30 percent more than the current 850–and add 203 parking spaces.

The project is part of a broader improvement program at OLQA. The parish recently finished building 10 new classrooms at its school and plans to contruct a new gym after the church is finished.

Also in the works once the $15-million church is ready: a $5-million Phase 2 that will add a community room, childcare facility, pipe organ, courtyard and landscaping, according to OLQA's website.

For many parishioners, the groundbreaking fulfills a longtime dream.

“It feels very rewarding to be a part of it,” said Mary Cesario, a 40-year parishioner whose adult daughter, son-in-law and three granddaughters also attend the church.

Cesario said she hopes everyone at the church will “pray that our parish will continue to grow and do good works and nourish the people that come here.”

Lifelong parishioner Katelynn Kelly, age 12, also seemed excited about the new building.  “I can’t wait to find out what it’s going to be like because the only church I’ve ever known is the one right now,” she said.