Our Lady of Angeles Church

Burlingame, CA

Also home of the Provincial Minister, Fr. Matthew Olshoff, Burlingame is the home of a very active Capuchin Parish near the San Francisco airport.

 

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History of the Friars in Burlingame

On April 25, 1927, the friary and parish of Our Lady of Angels in Burlingame were off to a propitious start. In only seventeen years the friars had established themselves in eleven locations and were known for their hard work and pastoral zeal. In the next years they would still be expanding, as well as strengthening the charges they already had.

In Burlingame, also, there was a large increase of population, and the friars moved to respond to new needs. The present church of Our Lady of Angels was built there in 1950, built by Bro. Cornelius Hyland, who was many-years pastor of the parish. Cornelius also built a new friary and convent, and started a new school. The newly developed Mills Estate area of Burlingame caused such a growth of the Catholic population there that Archbishop Maher asked the friars to build a double school to accommodate all the new children. This work was started under Cornelius Hyland and later completed by Fergus Lawless.

On April 18, 1979, only 69 years after they first came to Oregon, the Capuchin friars in the Western United States became an independent entity within the Order. The Province of Our Lady of Angels of the Portiuncula, the Western American Province, was established amid much thankfulness and joy. Present at the special ceremony in Burlingame were nearly all the friars of the jurisdiction as well as the Minister General, Paschal Rywalski, and other friars from Ireland and the United States and Canada.

The first regular chapter of the province was held in January, 1982, in Burlingame. It opened amid one of the wettest winters in California history. Enda Heffernan told the capitulars: "I do feel we have to face up to our shortcomings; however, Our Lady of Angels is a great province, it is young, it is spirited, it is full of hope and enthusiasm."

The parish of Our Lady of Angels in Burlingame has become very active. It is often said to be one of the model parishes for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.