Chapter 5

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In determining the year of parish formation, it may be best to acknowledge the account of one of the founding parishioners. Mr. and Mrs. Roy S. Peters moved with their three young daughters, all under the age of three, from Mill Valley to Chula Vista during the summer of 1918. The nearest Catholic Church was St. Anthony’s in National City, four miles distant. Mrs. Peters often told of the difficulty not only of preparing her infant daughters for the one Sunday Mass said at St. Anthony’s, but also in traveling to National City. She, as almost all women of that era, did not drive an automobile. Alternatively, the route and Sunday schedule of the only public transportation available made traveling extremely difficult. It was prohibitive to attend daily Mass – something Mrs. Peters wanted to do with all of her heart. In 1921, when Fr. Michael Egan, pastor of St. Anthony’s, met with the Catholic families of Chula Vista and proposed establishing a parish there the idea was most favorably received by all. Mrs. Peters related that Mr. Eugene Adrian had to purchase a parcel of land for Church use under his own name, for Catholics were not an accepted group of people in Chula Vista at that time. Mr. Adrian then deeded this property to the Bishop of Monterey and Los Angeles. During the spring and summer of 1921 numerous card parties, bake sales and other fundraisers were held in order to move the Mission church from Palm City to Chula Vista. Mr. L. C. Stelzer, a parishioner, stuccoed the building, a façade was created and two large standards placed on the front corners of the building. The Catholic families were filled with joy when Fr. Egan moved into the rectory and celebrated Mass in the refurbished church. Hard work, building materials, furnishings and financial support from Catholics and non-Catholics alike had brought a dream to reality. The Peters family lived less than one-quarter mile from St. Rose of Lima Church. Mrs. Peters, a founding parishioner and member of the Altar Society was able to attend daily Mass for 70 years. Her funeral was held at St. Rose of Lima Church in 1991. At that time, the pastor recounted a fitting story. It seems when a name for the new parish was needed Fr. Egan approached the women of the parish. He either asked them their name or asked them to put their suggestions for a parish name in “a hat”. Mrs. Peters name was Rose Sexton Peters.

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