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The
History of St. Robert's Parish
From
the very beginning, it was clear that St.
Robert’s Parish would be a “People
Parish” – of and for the people whether
they were hill-dwellers and
flat-landers.
Situated
thirteen miles south of San Francisco, San Bruno
was an area of Spanish/Mexican land grants followed
in the late 1800’s by flower gardens, truck
farms and thousands and thousands of cows. However,
with the 1906 earthquake, refugees from The City
came to settle the land. St. Bruno’s Church
was built on San Bruno Avenue, at first as a
Mission, and then established as a Parish in
1912.
During
World War II, Father Peter E. Doyle, long time
pastor, realized that there would be another period
of great growth following the war. He had the
foresight to purchase vacant lots along Oak Avenue
and Crystal Springs Rd. On this property a school
and convent were built with the school opening in
1949 staffed by the Sisters of St. Francis of
Milwaukee. The population continued to grow, with
neighborhoods called Mills Park, Crestmoor, and
Rollingwood, displacing crops and cows. In 1955, an
ailing Father Doyle welcomed Father Robert J.
Hennessy as Administrator of the Parish. He
promptly began Sunday Masses in the school
auditorium on Oak Avenue to relieve the over crowed
St. Bruno’s Church and he began planning for a
new church on the corner of Oak and Crystal Springs
Road.
On
July 14, 1957, ground was broken and on June 8,
1958, the first Mass was celebrated. Only a few
months later, on November 5, Archbishop John J.
Mitty announced that St. Bruno’s Parish would
be split and the school and the new Church would be
named St. Robert’s Parish, after St. Robert of
the House of God. St. Robert was born in the year
of 1000 in France became a priest noted for service
to the poor and for establishing monasteries
dedicated to the glory of God. His feast is
observed on April 17th.
In
1969, Father Hennessy was told that the Sisters of
St. Francis, were returning to Milwaukee and it
would be necessary to find a new order of Sisters
to teach in the school and serve the Parish.. After
a trip to Ireland, Father Hennessy was able to
announce that the Irish Sisters of the Presentation
would arrive the following year. Four decades
later, one of the original Sisters, Sister Ita
Cleary, is still active in the Parish along with
Sister Antonio Heaphy, Provencial, Sister Patricia
O’Sullivan, Pastoral Associate, and Sister
Vianney Buckley, who is in active retirement. Their
ministry to the sick, the homebound, the grieving
as well as their ministry of prayer is appreciated
by all in the Parish. In 2009, the Sisters moved
from the old convent on Oak to a home around the
corner from the Church. The convent is used by the
school for its library and by the Parish for
meetings and small events.
The
Parish continued to grow in numbers and in
ministries under the pastorates of Father Hennessy
and his successors, Father Daniel Lynch, Father
Martin Greenlaw, Father Vincent Ring, Monsignor
Bruce Dreier and now Father Roberto Andrey. Fr.
Obet, as Father Andrey prefers to be called, was
ordained for the Diocese of Lucena in the
Philippines in 1983 and was incardinated in the
Archdiocese of San Francisco in 2003. He comes to
us from St. Peter’s Parish in Pacifica, where
he was pastor since 2005. We are very happy to have
him join us.
In
recent years the Church itself was renovated as a
result of the liturgical changes called for by the
Second Vatican Council. The major changes came in
the late 1980’s with the stained glass
windows, depicting the life of Christ, being
installed. In the 1990’s, Father Ring
commissioned the remodeling of the interior. The
sanctuary, the Chapel of Mary and, at the
suggestion of Sister Ita, the addition of stained
glass windows in the wall behind the
altar.
In
2001, an ambitious fund raising campaign of 1.3
million dollars was undertaken to build an addition
to the school. This provided a computer room, a
kindergarten room, as well as a science and art
classroom. In 2003, the Presentation Education
Center was dedicated. At the same time, rooms of
the school were remodeled to provide a Religious
Education Center, a faculty lunch room as well as a
counseling center.
In
2008, the Parish celebrated the 50th Anniversary of
the Church. A special Mass was held on Sunday, June
8th with Archbishop George Niederauer. Many of the
original parishioners and many more 2nd and 3rd
generation families were in attendance. Special
badges that read, “I Built This Church”
were handed out to all.
We,
who call St. Robert’s our Parish, are most
grateful to all parishioners, parish leaders and
volunteers who have preceded us in ministry.
Together we have made St. Robert’s Parish a
community where all are welcome as we help each
other to follow the example of
Christ.
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