Photo of the main entrance of St. Benedict Catholic Church, located at 1022 Cleveland Ave. in the city of Montebello, taken from 10th Street. Red tiles lead to the main doors, six in all and each displaying a small cross; above the entrance is a beautiful crucifix (a cross with a representation of Jesus' body, or corpus). In 1906 pioneering Benedictines from Oklahoma built a small cottage-chapel at a cost of $200, which seated 40 people. The first Mass was celebrated on September 30th in the simple chapel, but sadly in 1910 it was destroyed by fire, along with other buildings. A new church was built that same year at a cost of $300, and seated 500 people. By 1929, a new brick church had been built to replace the smaller one. Between 1936 and 1953 the parish was enlarged, a school was added and expanded, and the hall and convent were erected. In 1959, Cardinal James Francis McIntyre blessed the fourth and newest church, now built on Cleveland Avenue. The brick cruciform designed church was built at a cost of $315,000 and seated 1,000 people; an 85-foot tall bell tower with a 10-foot cross was added to the new building. By 1998 the parish had grown so much that weekend Masses were attended by approximately 4,500 persons. And in 2006, Cardinal Roger Mahony helped St. Benedict celebrate its 100th anniversary. Photo dated: 2006.
St. Benedict Catholic Church (Montebello, Calif.) Catholic churches--California--Montebello Church buildings--California--Montebello Bell towers--California--Montebello Parishes--California--Montebello Holy Cross Montebello (Calif.) Los Angeles Photographers Collection photographs Jeff Allen Houses of Worship Collection photographs
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