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Description
Key Words: Churches in Claremont, Our Lady of the Assumption Church William Barry grew up in Pasadena and attended UC Berkeley. He served in several positions within the Catholic Church in the Los Angeles area before coming to Our Lady of the Assumption (OLA) in Claremont in 1963. He describes the relationship between OLA and the Claremont Colleges: “It could not have been a better community to be inviting and enabling ecumenical things to happen, so it was terribly exciting.” Barry describes the building projects that happened for the church and school as the congregation size grew over the years. When he first came to Claremont, there were about 1,000 families who were members of OLA; by 1992 there were about 3,600. For many years, Catholic families in Claremont attended Sacred Heart, a small church in the East Barrio. When that church building became too small, they decided to build a new church facility on the corner of Bonita and Berkeley. The transition from Sacred Heart to OLA was difficult for many families. “When we closed [Sacred Heart Church] and had the procession from there over here, the little statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was over the main altar in the church, and that was the one we brought over in the procession and placed in the patio here in a permanent place, a shrine of the Sacred Heart.” OLA stands out from other Catholic parishes because of its dedication to programs that advocated for social justice. “During the civil rights struggles during the 60’s there were a lot of good people who were out front helping to really bring about a peaceful change.” Barry added that there have been many members of OLA who were “very diligent and interested in bringing about peaceful change and not letting things stay as they are if they are not right yet. And they are not, so let’s keep plugging.” Barry mentions some individuals and families who are important to the history of OLA: the Frampton family, Dick and Marge Young, the Bartley family, the Obaso family, the Gomez family, and Natalie and Rigoberto Gomez. Barry describes the process of decentralization from the priests to the members of the congregation that happened at OLA and throughout the Catholic Church. “We have to have a united voice. We believe that our sister and brother are our responsibility and we have to tell that loud and clear.”
Type
sound
Format
Master Audio cassette
Form/Genre
Oral histories
Extent
1 Tape of 1
Identifier
caclah_000037
Language
English
Subject
Catholic churches Churches Local history
Time Period
1963/1992
Place
Claremont (Calif.)
Provenance
Claremont Heritage California Revealed is supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.
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