Parish History

The history of St. Louis de Montfort Catholic Church officially began on March 22, 1963. The Archbishop of Los Angeles, Francis Cardinal McIntyre, seeing the ever-increasing growth in the Orcutt-Santa Maria area, divided St. Mary's parish into two parts. St. Louis de Montfort was the name given to the southern part, extending north to Betteravia Rd., and south to Los Alamos; from Black Rd., and Highway 1 on the west across the valley to the Cuyama Hills in the east. Fr Vincent McCabe, Associate Pastor at St. Mary's was named the first pastor of St. Louis.

Until the planned facilities on Clark and Harp could be built, Fr McCabe conducted services in an old airport mess hall at Goodwin and Industrial Roads. In January of 1964, an 8-classroom grammar school was constructed. Services were then move d over to the School, using the present 6th, 7th and 8th grade classrooms for a Church. In September of 1964, the school opened for grades 1-4 and gradually built up to an eight-grade curriculum. The school was staffed then and now by the Daughters of Mary and Joseph.

A 10-acre site on the corner of Clark and Harp was purchased and groundbreaking ceremonies for the actual church were held in March, 1964. The first Mass in the new Church was conducted January 30, 1966 by Rev McCabe. The Church and school were simultaneously dedicated by Cardinal J. M. McIntyre on- February 4, 1968. The first Associate Pastor, Rev Edmond Renehan came in 1966 and remained until 1969. Between 1965 and 1975 St. Louis de Montfort was built into a functioning, thriving parish. In 1975, Fr. McCabe was transferred to San Roque. Fr McGovern, an archdiocesan priest, was sent to replace Fr McCabe; however, he resigned due to :ill health in 1975.

Fr Anthony Runtz, a Josephite Father, was made-Pastor in 1975. The Josephite Order then petitioned the Archdiocese for permission to take over the parish duties. It was granted, and the Josephites have staffed St. Louis parish ever since.

Many changes and improvements took place at St. Louis under Fr Anthony's administration. In 1977, a parish hall was built and named after Mildred Jeffers, longtime parish housekeeper. In 1980, the Rectory was built and the school playground was finished. The Parish Council was reformed and the Eucharistic Ministry was established. Parish renewal and Pre-Cana programs were also formed.

In 1980 St. Louis was given the special privilege of celebrating the ordination of Fr. Michael Biewend, the-first ever to take place in the Santa Maria-Orcutt area. Since then, we have been honored with two more Josephite ordinations, Fr. Tom Elewaut in August 1986, and Fr. Ed Jalbert in August 1987.

In 1985, Fr. Guillermo Garcia was named pastor. With Archbishop (now Cardinal) Mahoney's arrival in the Archdiocese, the idea of convocation has grown. St. Louis held its lst Convocation Fair in 1987. This was the beginning of many on-going pastoral projects. Fr. Garcia left in 1990 to serve as Superior General of the Josephite Order. Fr. Mark Newman, former principal of St. Joseph High School, succeeded as pastor in the fall of 1990. In the fall of 2001, Fr. Charles Hofschulte, former Principal at St. Joseph High School succeeded Fr. Mark and is currently pastor at St. Louis de Montfort..

As the Orcutt area continues to grow, St. Louis will, as "One Family in Christ," grow with the area and strive to meet the many needs of our community.