St. Elisabeth of Hungary Church and School, originally known as St. Elizabeth Church and School, is a Catholic church and elementary school located in

Van Nuys Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1 ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The church and school are named in honor of

Elizabeth of Hungary Elizabeth of Hungary (, , ; 7 July 120717 November 1231), also known as Elisabeth of Thuringia, was a princess of the Kingdom of Hungary and the landgravine of Thuringia. Elizabeth was married at the age of 14, and widowed at 20. After her hus ...

. Founded in 1919, it is the oldest Roman Catholic parish in the central

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

. The current church building was dedicated in 1950. The church gained some notoriety as part of the

sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Los Angeles The sexual abuse scandal in Los Angeles archdiocese covered events that were documented beginning in the 1930s, but most publicity was related to events of the 1970s through 1990s. Priests accused of molesting children or adults in the parish were ...

after Father Michael Baker was reassigned to the parish from 1987 to 1991. Since 2023, the church has been led by its eleventh pastor, Rogationist priest Father Shinto Sebastian.

History

Early history

The parish of St. Elisabeth was founded in 1918 as a mission of the Holy Trinity Church (now known as

St. Robert Bellarmine Robert Bellarmine (; ; 4 October 1542 – 17 September 1621) was an Italian Jesuit and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was canonized a saint in 1930 and named Doctor of the Church, one of only 37. He was one of the most important figure ...

) in

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

. Rev. Victor M. Egas was the first pastor. When he arrived in 1919, the central San Fernando Valley had no Catholic church and no priest's residence. He organized the parish which began with 103 families. He also supervised the construction of a church building. The new church building was designed by D. Piepenstock. A ceremony of benediction was held for the laying of the cornerstone in November 1919. The church was dedicated on March 14, 1920. Bishop

John Joseph Cantwell John Joseph Cantwell (December 1, 1874 – October 30, 1947) was an Irish-born American prelate of the Catholic Church. He led the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 1917 until his death in 1947, becoming its first archbishop in 1936. Cantwell w ...

officiated at the ceremony and consecrated the new church. Rev. C.A. Kimmons took over as pastor at the end of 1920. Kimmons was reassigned in March 1924. Rev. Edmond Keohan, a native of County Waterford, Ireland, was the pastor from 1924 until his death in April 1947.

Construction of new church

In May 1947, the Rev. Patrick Francis O'Dwyer, a native of County Tipperary, Ireland, was appointed as the pastor at St. Elizabeth. O'Dwyer was credited with overseeing a dramatic expansion of the parish, including construction of a new church building, convent, and social hall, and the expansion of the school. Construction of the new church began in early 1949. The building was constructed with reinforced concrete, structural steel roof framing, and a tile roof. The design was described as "a restrained modern style." The church was designed by architect George J. Adams with assistance from Armet and Davis. Services were first held in the new church prior to Christmas 1949, though the formal dedication did not occur until November 1950. Archbishop

James Francis McIntyre James Francis Aloysius McIntyre (June 25, 1886 – July 16, 1979) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Los Angeles from 1948 to 1970, and was created a cardinal in 1953. He was a highly successful builder ...

and Bishop

Timothy Manning Timothy Manning (Irish: ''Tadhg Ó Mongáin'') (November 15, 1909 – June 23, 1989) was an Irish Catholics, Irish Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Archbishop of Los Angeles from 1970 to 1985. He was elev ...

officiated at the dedication. At the time of its dedication, St. Elizabeth's was the largest church in the San Fernando Valley. Father O'Dwyer, later elevated to monsignor, remained as the pastor at St. Elizabeth's for nearly 25 years until his death in January 1971.

Child sexual abuse scandal

In 2002, the ''Los Angeles Times'' published a front-page story revealing Father Michael Baker's serial sexual abuse of boys. Baker met with Archbishop

Roger Mahony Roger Michael Mahony (born February 27, 1936) is an American Catholic retired prelate who served as Archbishop of Los Angeles from 1985 to 2011. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Fresno from 1975 to 1980 and Bis ...

in December 1986 and confessed to having had sexual contact with children. After his confession, Baker was temporarily assigned to St. Elisabeth, a parish with a school serving children from kindergarten to the eighth grade, in the summer of 1987 and then on a full-time basis from 1988 to 1991. The reassignment was conditioned on a Baker having no contact with minors. The archdiocese learned in February 1989 that Baker was counseling a young boy in violation of the restriction. A St. Elisabeth's student later came forward stating that he was repeatedly molested by Father Baker from 1989 to 1992. In addition, a former St. Elisabeth altar boy filed suit against the archdiocese in 2002 alleging that he was sexually abused by Father Baker beginning in 1990 when he was 12 years old. Mahony later apologized and assumed full responsibility for allowing Baker to remain in the ministry.

Recent history

In 2001, the Rogationist Fathers began the direction of St. Elisabeth Parish. On February 22, 2019, the heart of St.

John Vianney John Vianney (born Jean-Marie Vianney and later Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney; 8 May 1786 – 4 August 1859) was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic priest often referred to as the ''Curé d'Ars'' ("the parish priest of Ars"). He is known ...

visited St. Elisabeth's as part of the "Heart of a Priest" relic tour.

School

St. Elisabeth Catholic School was founded by the

Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are an Consecrated life (Catholic Church), apostolic congregation of Roman Catholic Church, Catholic women founded by Saint Theodore Guerin, Theodora Guerin (known colloquially as Saint Mo ...

, Indiana. The school opened on September 11, 1928. The original school was a two-story building with four classes and an auditorium. The school, serving students from kindergarten through the eighth grade, celebrated its 90th anniversary in September 2018.

Alumni

Actress/comedian

Julie Brown Julie Ann Brown (born August 31, 1958) is an American actress, comedian, musician, writer, and director. Early life Brown was born in Van Nuys, California, the daughter of Celia Jane (née McCann) and Leonard Francis Brown. Her father worked ...

is an alumna of St. Elisabeth.

Pastors

* Rev. Victor M. Egas, 1919–1920 * Rev. C.A. Kimmons, 1920–1924 * Rev. Edmond Keohan, 1924–1947 * Msgr. Patrick Francis O'Dwyer, 1947–1971 * Msgr. William Duggan, 1971–1987 * Msgr. Timothy Dyer, 1987–1991 (administrator 1987–1989, pastor 1990–1991) * Rev. Paul J. Hruby, 1991–1997 * Rev. Kevin Dolan, 1997–2001 * Rev. John Bruno, 2001–2015 * Rev. Vito DiMarzio, 2015–2023 * Rev. Shinto Sebastian, 2023-present

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Elizabeth Church And School (Van Nuys) 1919 establishments in California Roman Catholic churches in Los Angeles Elementary schools in California Catholic elementary schools in California Schools in Los Angeles Educational institutions established in 1928