Our Lady of Angels Church
Burlingame, CA 

As well as southern California, the Capuchin Friars were also invited to minister to God’s people in the north. They came to the archdiocese of San Francisco in the 1920s, working first in the Visitacion Valley, then were asked to move down the peninsula to the community of Burlingame. In 1924 they met with a group of the area’s Catholics and planned out a new parish, to be named Our Lady of Angels, after the patroness of the Franciscan Order. The first friars lived in a small house, and despite cramped conditions began a joyful ministry among the growing population of the area.

The parish and school of Our Lady of Angels were built with the generosity and energy of the friars and parishioners. Both kept growing and the present church was built in 1954, along with the friary. Besides the sacramental ministry, the friars in Burlingame have been involved in many local ministries, including hospital ministry and care of the retired Sisters of Mercy. From time to time they also minister to the needs of visiting football teams, who stay at hotels in the parish when they come to play the Forty-niners!

It is also the home of the St. Francis of Assisi Friary. This friary serves as the headquarters for the Province of Our Lady of Angels as well as a home for friars in hospital ministry and other outreach. It is also a plac e of hospitality for many friars and others who pass through Northern California.

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.