History of St. Rose of Lima Parish

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Was it in 1913 or 1921? Some would like to know the official date of the beginning of St. Rose of Lima parish in Chula Vista.

Why was the date for the dedication of our parish in 1913 held in question? One member of our parish, Gretchen Peters Schaar, the granddaughter of a founding member had been told that the date was inaccurate and that the parish was not really established until 1921. Schaar set out to find the accurate date.

According to Schaar’s findings, an historical error was made “official” in the diocesan directory. Based on this inaccurate information, the parish of St. Rose of Lima even celebrated a 75th anniversary in 1988.

How did the 1913 date come to be recorded? Here is what happened:

At the request of the Diocese of San Diego back in 1970, records were sent to the diocesan archivist from all parishes in order to secure accurate dates and records of each parish. A priest or staff member at St. Rose of Lima complied with the request and sent data based on a written version of the history of St. Rose of Lima Parish and on baptism records obtained from St. Anthony's parish in National City. It is worth reading a 1950 anecdotal version of the beginnings of our parish before reading Schaar's findings.

1950 History Edition

Gretchen Schaar has spent a great deal of time and energy to provide the parishioners of St. Rose with a more accurate account of when and how the parish was established and why the 1913 date was innocently but inaccurately marked as the “official” date of the dedication.

Schaar’s findings

This information is presented to the parishioners of St. Rose of Lima, as Gretchen Schaar would write in her letter to Father John Dolan in 2003, “in order to give honor to the Catholic families and their non-Catholic supporters who worked so hard and gave of their time, talent, and treasure to found this parish.”

Parishioners are encouraged to offer any testimonials or records regarding the history of our parish. Pictures, letters and documents would be very helpful. Please call the parish office at 619-427-0230 in order to share your stories.

For more historical documents and stories of important places in Chula Vista, visit these sites:

- History of Chula Vista
- History of the Rainmaker and the Otay Flood
- History of the first church in the Diocese of San Diego, Mission San Diego de Alcala
- The story of St. Rose of Lima, the Saint for Peru
- The story of San Diego (also known as Saint Didacus)