Parish History

Early History of Parish:

In 1889, worshiping Catholics in Novato were a mission of St. Vincent de Paul Church, in Petaluma.  One year later the first Church in Novato was erected on land donated by Connell Estate, located on Nave Drive, and now called South Novato Blvd.

            In 1935, the Church on South Novato Blvd. caught fire and was razed to the ground. In September 1937, the erection of the second Church of Our Lady of Loretto on Grant Avenue was completed. Dedication ceremonies took place on September 19, 1937 with Archbishop Mitty officiating.

Post War History:
The Parish continued to grow and during the pastorate of Father Ryan, (1944-1950) the Parish purchased acreage from the Azevedo Family, which now occupies the present Parish complex, including the Hall, School, Convent, Church and Rectory.  The postwar population boom rocked Marin County, Novato and Our Lady of Loretto parish.  By the end of the 1950’s, it became evident to pastor Rev. Charles Farrell, that the Grant Avenue church could no longer accommodate Mass attendance for his burgeoning flock.   It was necessary then for the new parish hall to be used for Masses.  The parish had grown from 500 Catholic families in 1956 to 1,100 in 1960.  And so, the culmination of 5 years of prayer, planning and effort by many people brought to realization the present church, formally dedicated, on Sunday, April 21, 1963 by the Most Rev. Joseph T. McGucken, Archbishop of San Francisco.

Msgr. James P. Keane would become pastor in 1977.  Our Lady of Loretto continued to grow and build upon the foundation established by its forefathers and foremothers, never seeming to completely lose its rural roots from which it came.  In the late 1970’s and 1980’s Our Lady of Loretto Parish, school and religious education reflected the growth of Novato.

Quietly, growing during this time was the ministerial outreach and growth of the Hispanic Community in Marin county.  To this end, in the mid to late 1970’s, Our Lady of Loretto joined with Saint Raphael’s Parish to provide a Spanish Mass on Sunday evenings.  Masses were well attended and served those living in lower Marin and West Marin and increasingly those living in Novato.  This continued well into the 1990’s when a regular Spanish Noon Mass was added at the parish.
The installation of new pastors, Fr. Jack O’Neil in 1996, Fr. Wm. McCain in 1999 and Fr. Honesto Gile Jr in 2012, Fr. Brian Costello in 2014 highlighted a new period of change and catapulted the parish into a new era of growth.

Within the last 5 years, expressed grief and dependence on the Providence of God has strengthened the Parish.  In this short span, school and parish communities have experienced the loss of 4 staff members and most recently we have journeyed with our pastor, Fr. Brian during is brave battle with cancer.  Our Lady of Loretto continues to be a community of faith, taking up the daily challenges of parish living, embracing faithful prayer, gospel living and service of others, a consistent tripod of the parish through its 128-year history. 

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