After more than 10 years of planning, St. Bede the Venerable Catholic Community in La Cañada Flintridge held its official groundbreaking ceremony for the long-awaited new parish hall and gymnasium on Dec. 11.
The construction of the new parish hall marks a milestone in the parish’s history and brings this long-anticipated dream to reality. The new building boasts multipurpose spaces for receptions, ministry gatherings, school activities and athletics, community outreach opportunities, and a multitude of religious and lay enrichment programs.
The proposed 15,000 square-foot parish hall includes a 5,000 square-foot multipurpose space, a music room, a Parent Education Center, a conference room, ample restrooms, storage and support spaces.
The multipurpose space is designed to also function as a regulation gymnasium. A new 1,200 square-foot state-of-the-art commercial kitchen, contiguous to the multipurpose space, will cater to the school lunch program, parish receptions, and service the Brothers Helpers and Skidettes outreach ministries. The new courtyard will unify the current and new buildings, providing outdoor gathering spaces for the entire community.
Many gathered for the event on Monday, which included newly named Bishop Albert Bahhuth, St. Bede pastor Father Jim Bevacqua, and previous pastor Monsignor Antonio Cacciapuoti, as well as LCF Mayor Rick Gunter, St. Bede School Principal Elizabeth Bozzo and student council members. Representatives from the Archdiocese of L.A., ANEW Committee co-chair and La Cañada Flintridge resident Mike Smith along with other ANEW Building & Grounds committee members, architects Pica + Sullivan and construction team members from TG Construction and Searock & Stafford also participated in the ceremony.
Although Bevacua joined the church only a year and a half ago, he jumped into the construction project as it was quickly moving along in the process, which started with tearing down the old building and getting permits for the new buildings.
“It has a lot of advantages, and I’m excited about it,” said Bevacqua. “It just took a long time coming, but it’s here.”
Bevacqua said that the new parish hall will not only benefit the St. Bede community, but the LCF community at large, with the addition of the gymnasium and more room in the hall itself.
“I think the whole courtyard, in between the church, the parish center and the new parish hall will be a great gathering space for many people,” said Bevacqua. “The hall itself, to my understanding, is going to be available for rentals at times.”
The new parish hall will include amenities that the church and school never had before, like a gymnasium, a music rehearsal room for both the school and church, and adequate kitchen and storage space.
Of course, Bevacqua has heard from members of the community that they are happy for the new hall, but others were sad to see the old building torn down.
“From my understanding and granted, I’ve been here a year and a half, is that a group [of people] were really sad about tearing down the old hall, which was essentially the original church,” he said. “There’s a lot of emotional attachment today, even among those who are in favor of this plan.”
“I love classical architecture,” he added. “I don’t subscribe to the tear down mentality. This is different. It wasn’t classic, old building, but it had cool features like the doors, which we’re going to incorporate in any way we can.”
Bevacqua also spoke about the delays in the project and the reality of constructing a new building.
“Anytime there’s construction involved, there are hoops that have to be jumped through,” said Bevacqua. “So yes, there were even some delays on my watch in terms of me making sure we had all of our ducks lined up in a row just to tear down the building. It’s just incredible what you have to do to tear down a building.
“Things took a little bit longer than we expected, but I was grateful we achieved the goal to get the old hall tore down the summer, and then we were able to start construction almost a month ago,” he added.
Gunter, a parishioner at St. Bede, spoke at the event to congratulate the church in its project.
“For 75 years, St. Bede has been a pillar of our community,” said Gunter. “It’s what one of the many things that makes us great. It’s about education. It’s about faith. It’s about community. It’s about service. And we are so happy and proud that St. Bede is part of our La Cañada Flintridge community.”
BACKGROUND
Established in 1952, the St. Bede campus began with a modest Mission-style church and classroom annex. By 1967, the growing congregation joined together to finance and construct a larger capacity sacred space. The late-1960s cathedral-like edifice is a classic example of the Mid-Century Modern design style.
With the advent of the new sacred space, the original church was repurposed as the parish hall. While the added area was welcome, the physical limitations hindered the expanding programs. Over time, life cycle issues and growing operating costs became a concern.
In 2013, under the leadership of previous pastor, Cacciapuoti, and with the encouragement of Bishop Gerald Wilkerson, St. Bede initiated a feasibility study to determine a direction forward for the Parish Hall and retained Los Angeles-based Pica + Sullivan Architects.
After considerable review and discussion, St. Bede, with the blessing of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, elected to construct a new facility. Project planning and fundraising began in 2019 but was delayed due to COVID.
But with ongoing support of the community, construction was approved and officially began at the end of last month.
The new parish hall and gymnasium project is slated for completion in early 2025.
First published in the December 14 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
