MESSAGE FROM FR. COGHLAN
On the feast of St. John the Baptist, twenty-six years
ago, the Archbishop of San Francisco sent me to Hughson-Ceres
to succeed Fr. Hugh McKenna as pastor of St. Anthony's and its
mission, St. Jude's, which became a parish the next year.
"Jesus pointed to the fields ready for harvest and told
His apostles: 'In this is the saying true: that it is one man
that soweth and it is another man that reapeath. I have sent you
to reap that in which you did not labor.' (John IV 35-3 8)
When St. Paul found his Corinthians taking sides for one apostle
over another, he chided them: 'What is Apollo. what is Paul? The
ministers of Him you have believed ... I have planted,
Apollo watered, but God gave the increase. There fore neither
he that planteth is anything, nor he that watereth; but God that
giveth the increase."' ([Corinthians III 3-11)
These words in my first sermon expressed my mind and Fr.
John A. Coghlan
heart. Having sowed and reaped in turn in five parishes as
an ___________________________
assistant for seventeen years; conditioned and formed by the people
and the pastors I had served and from whom I had learned so much;
I came now as a pastor, once again into a labor begun by others,
to reap and in my turn to plant again.
What did I enter into? A parish of simple, solid faith, of people
who cared for and worked for their parish, devoted people who
gave themselves in labor and material to serve their church, whether
in its social life or in spiritual service - especially in passing
on the Faith to their children in doctrine classes.
Carrying on in my turn meant watering the ground, continuing to
plant the seed of the Word of God; trying to prevent the cockle
during the dangerous years since Vatican II; holding to orthodoxy
in dogmatic and moral doctrine, to maintaining fidelity in worship.
Today we celebrate twenty-five years of labor and a harvest. For
our labor, melding with the labor of those who have died and those
who have moved, God has given us: a beautiful church, a functional
Center; active loyal groups of women - the Ladies' Guild - and
of men - the Holy Name Society; a zealous Confranternity of Christian
Doctrine; and strong faith shown in weekly devotions and perpetual
Eucharistic Adoration. In the years to come, others will come,
others will enter into our labor and reap in turn. Deus Providebit.
"That he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together."
"Your young men shall see visions and your old men dream
dreams," (Acts 11-17) As one of the latter, I look back on
the material growth and the deepening spiritual life of the parish:
the annual Forty Hours and Corpus Christi processions; the devotions
to Mary our Mother; the statistics of Baptisms, First Communions,
Confirmations, Marriages and Deaths given elsewhere herein; and
to the stream of children grown and gone - but formed by St. Jude's.
I remember them all in my prayers and Masses.
As they, in their turn, enter into our labors, today's young,
I pray, are visioning a future of firm orthodox Faith and spiritual
life as our parish continues to grow, in spite of the difficult
times, under the patronage of St. Jude.
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 Fr. Coghian with Bishop Donohue, who was bishop when St. Jude become a parish. |
In the days before 1921, Catholics of the |
Sisters who lived in Modesto conducted the religion classes. Ceres "parishioners" were soon very active in their new Mission Church. The Altar Society ladies began a tradition of turkey dinners, held in the large meeting room of the church. In those days the turkeys were plucked and cleaned by hand. They were stuffed by a group working in the church kitchen and then other women would take a turkey or two home to be roasted in their own ovens. One memory is of making 93 apple pies to serve as dessert. The Altar Society was the first Ceres parish organization and remained of vital importance in the history of the parish. Fr. John J. Hayes continued as pastor of St. Anthony's and of the Ceres Mission from 1953 to 1956. In 1956 Fr. Hugh J. McKenna became the pastor and served until 1961. From 1961 to 1962, Fr. John A. Coghlan was pastor of St. Anthony's. The year 1962 was significant for the Ceres Catholics. |
In 1958, a friend of Flora's suggested that Flora might be interested in becoming the housekeeper for Father McKenna at St. Anthony's in Hughson. Flora wasn't sure; she "hadn't ever thought about that kind of work." Then Fr. McKenna went to see Flora about the job and she agreed. She says now that she had planned to work there for a couple of years. And so - in 1958 - Flora began to serve the priests of Hughson. When the St. Jude Mission became a parish, Flora accompanied Fr. Coghlan as his housekeeper. The house purchased on Whitmore Avenue as the rectory was modified so that Flora could have living quarters. The new parish property on Mitchell Road included a home and once again Flora moved into a new apartment in the parish rectory. As anyone who knows Flora Bianchi might guess, her genuine modesty made it a real challenge to get her to talk about herself. "Why do you need anything about me?" was her constant response to requests for in formation. Truly, this gentle but determined lady is one in a million. Born and educated in Modesto, Flora has strong roots in and extensive memories of the Westside and of the parish. She attended the Sixth Street School in Modesto for her first two years of schooling. Now the free way runs over that property. Next she went to the 14th Street School, where the Modesto Bee now stands, and then to the 17th Street School, later named Lincoln School. That school is also gone. She completed her eighth year at Washington School Flora attended Modesto High School and can remember the school being closed during the flu epidemic. And finally she attended Modesto Business College on 18th Street, and then went to work at the old China Emporium Department Store. In 1929, Flora and Siro Bianchi were married and their son, Martin was born in 1933. Siro, a rancher, died in 1949. Flora lived on their ranch until she took over as |
housekeeper at St. Anthony's. Martin and his wife Barbara now live on the ranch. Flora is proud of her family, now including two granddaughters, one grandson and two great-granddaughters. Flora is an amazing historian of memories. She can recall names of people, specific events, causes and effects, births and deaths and the chronological order of all kinds of activities. But, probably one of her outstanding qualities is her refusal to talk - particularly about the pastor or parish business. When questioned about matters, even by innocent but interested people, Flora's quiet reply is "You'll have to ask Father about that." Occasionally in recent years, Flora has given some thought to retirement, but she maintains she's not quite ready and laughingly says Father Coghlan won't let her retire unless he can. Her sense of humor is delightful and her store of memories unique. In her reserved, dignified, hard-working commitment to her priest and her house, Flora is a wonderful example of a vanishing type of dedicated parish housekeeper. At this time of celebration for the parish, we honor Flora Bianchi, whose years of service exceed the life of the parish and who has been St. Jude's one and only house keeper. |
On September 30, 1962, when John XXIII was Pope, and the Most Reverend Hugh A. Donohue was the first Bishop of the new Stockton Diocese, the Parish of St. Jude, Ceres, California, was delivered into the possession of Father John A. Coghlan, pastor. Because there were no living quarters on the Central Avenue property, a home was purchased on Whitmore Avenue to serve as a rectory for Father. With the addition of an office area and an area for a housekeeper, the house served for the next five years. Fr. Coghlan soon developed a strong Confraternity of Christian Doctrine Program which has functioned effectively for the first twenty-five years. Volunteers came forward each year to teach the classes from grade two through high school. The Altar Society modified its constitution and became St. Jude's Ladies Guild and Blessed Sacrament Confraternity. This group of dedicated women is the oldest parish organization and has been the main provider of parish dinners, bake sales, dances, care of the altars and hundreds of special events. In the early '60s, the liturgical changes instituted by the Second Vatican Council were disseminated. Fr. Coghlan and St. Jude's complied and the most obvious and dramatic difference appeared when the altar position was changed and Father began offering Mass facing the congregation and speaking the sacred words in English. As other official changes occurred, the parishioners of St. Jude were instructed in and followed the official guidelines from Rome. As the city of Ceres grew, it became apparent to Fr. Coghlan and the Diocese of Stockton that St. Jude's parish needed a new and larger location. The diocese purchased |
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The original rectory, purchased when St. Jude became a parish, was located an Whitmore Avenue. 10 acres including a house on Mitchell Road for $38,000 and plans were made to finance and build a parish center and church at the new location. By 1967, the new center was completed. Once again, the building was to serve temporarily as church and hall until a church could be built. The new center proved to be a functional and versatile building. Built on an octagonal plan, it had classrooms around the perimeter of the central hall. Mass was celebrated in the center portion with the altar and sacristy occupying one of the peripheral rooms. On February 25, 1968, the last Mass was celebrated at the church on Central Avenue. A long motorcade of some 125 cars was formed, and the Blessed Sacrament was carried in a parish procession to the new center. Benediction was held and an Open House followed. The first Sunday Mass in the new building was offered March 3, 1968. A significant need of the parish was immediately met by the new classrooms for religious instruction. Now there were six double classrooms available as opposed to two classrooms and the church at the old place on Central. As the religion classes expanded, so did the need for more teachers and teacher aides. And again, volunteers continued to come forward. |
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Spiritual Activities Throughout its history, St. Jude's Parish has had continual devotions, to its patron saint, to the Blessed Sacrament, and to Mary. Every year the Parish holds traditional Forty Hours Devotion. Families and individuals take their turns in perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. There has always been a procession to celebrate the beautiful feast of Corpus Christi. Also, through the years, Fr. Coghlan has held a special Holy Hour every Friday evening. In 1986, Father called on the parish to take part in perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Assisted by a committee of Ladies Guild women and Holy Name men, a schedule of adoration was developed for those parishioners who signed up. Adorers now spend an hour each, throughout the day before the Blessed Sacrament, in the Mary Chapel. On the Sundays of October and May, the congregation recites the Rosary before each of the Masses. In May the traditional crowning of the Blessed Mother takes place at her shrine. Also, once each week, all through the year, a perpetual novena is offered to St. Jude by the parish. Novena prayers to the patron saint of impossible cases are recited after the daily Mass on Thursday afternoon. A new cycle of the novena is begun after each nine consecutive Thursdays. Lay Involvement Lay people have always participated actively in St. Jude's. Even before there was a Mission or a Parish, the laymen and women worked for their church. For twenty-five years, lay people have taught religion. The men's and women's organizations have worked hard to help Fr. Coghlan reach parish goals. In recent years, there have been the Parish Council and Parish Finance Commit- |
tee, who meet as needed to assist Father. The parish has also had lay lectors, men and women, and Communion ministers. In countless ways, whether teaching, planting, building, repairing, advising, ushering or cooking, the parishioners of St. Jude's have been involved directly in the growth and development of the parish.  A dependable twosome deliver a freezer for use during the annual Spaghetti Dinner and Bazaar. Silver Jubilee As the only Catholic Church and parish in a city whose early history was marked by an anti-Catholic era, St. Jude's has grown from a group of determined west-siders of St. Anthony's Parish to an active solid parish. Its members have distinguished them selves in a vast array of civic, educational and cultural fields in the community. Blessed by the 25-year leadership of Fr. Coghlan, the parish has maintained a strong orthodox faith in a time span which has produced many unorthodox and extreme teachings and practices. Fr. Coghlan has never wavered in his mission and responsibility to lead his flock to Christ through the channels established by Christ and guarded by the Holy Father. As the parish looks ahead to new challenges it can hope and pray for the "mercy, peace and love," offered by its patron St.Jude in the greeting from his letter. |