St. Raymond's Jubilee Year Festivities Come to a Close

More than 350 parishioners and their families gathered in Moran Hall to celebrate the closing of the jubilee year marking the 50th anniversary of  The year-long theme was "A year of favor, 50 years of blessings." 

"Let us pray that God may bless our toil in His vineyard and that our service in Christ may bear much fruit in the next 50 years and beyond," said parochial administrator Father Lawrence D'Anjou, who lived in Dublin before he became a priest and said he was called to his vocation in St. Raymond's chapel more than a decade ago. 

During the June 10 festivities, jubilee chair Ron Fedore also unveiled an inspiring, canvas print of Jesus Christ, comprised of the faces of over 1,600 parishioners and their families, measuring 20 by 30 inches, framed, and preserved under museum glass to protect the colors. A group of young people from the parish shot more than 650 digital photos in April for the project and the digital photos now make up the mosaic.

"There is a spirit at St. Raymond's that one does not experience anywhere else," said parishioner Reina Whitney, who recalled that long before the church was built services were held at a chapel on the Camp Parks military base, which they had to share with a Baptist congregration that was also in need of a place to worship. She said she'd cherish the memory of Thanksgiving Day 1966 when the first mass was said in the new church. 

Here's a little bit of history on St. Raymond's, shared from the parish website:

The original St. Raymond Church, now located on Donlon Way off Dublin Boulevard in Dublin, is the oldest Catholic church building in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. The four-acre plot for the church and Catholic cemetery was donated by Michael Murray and Jeremiah Fallon, brothers-in-law and natives of Ireland, who settled in Dublin in the early 1850's. The church was dedicated on April 22, 1860.  The church was originally a mission church served by a priest who rode out from Oakland on horseback.  The first wedding was performed in the pioneer church in 1865.  The original belfry was added to the building in 1880.  The original building was maintained and renovated through the years, including extensive repairs in 1922, and was in constant use until just prior to World War II. 

1960 brought tremendous growth to the valley with the opening of San Ramon Village housing development. Catholics attended Mass at St. Augustine's or St. Isidore's until St. Raymond was established in 1961. The new pastor's first quest was to find a place to celebrate Sunday Mass. Old St. Raymond was in disrepair, not to mention too small, for a fast-growing young parish. He chose to use the chapel at Camp Parks until the all purpose church/hall was ready at the current site. On Thanksgiving Day 1966, the first Mass was offered in the parish hall building.

In 1975, the community began to outgrow its existing facilities and the need was felt for a permanent church building, with modifications to be done to the hall. After much discussion and planning, construction on our new church was begun in October 1976. The first Mass to be offered in the new church was on July 16, 1977, with formal dedication ceremonies on Sept. 18, 1977, by the newly-appointed Bishop of Oakland, John S. Cummins.

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And please share your jubilee year and jubilee party photos with us!