Welcome to St. Cecilia School and Parish! Just a few years after St. Cecilia Church was opened in 1910, a school also opened up to serve the families of the parish. The school has always brought new life to the parish and the parish has always supported the school in its ministry to open the minds and hearts of God’s children.
The Gospel message is at the heart of our mission as Catholic educators, and it makes me very happy to know that our students are not only receiving a quality education, but every day they are also learning about their Catholic faith and growing in their love of God and neighbor.
We are grateful to all of the families who choose to make significant sacrifices in order to send their children to St. Cecilia. We are equally thankful for the support from charitable organizations and generous individuals that have helped up keep our doors open to students who have limited means.
With the grace of God, we will continue in our mission through the next century.
In Christ,
St. Cecilia Parish Pastor
Parish History
In 1910, six new parishes were established by Bishop Thomas Conaty to meet the needs of a burgeoning Catholic population. In South Los Angeles, one of the new parishes was named for the the virgin martyr St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music. Six years later, a parish school was opened alongside the church.
St. Cecilia’s impressive Lombard Romanesque church was built in the 1920’s under the direction of the parish’s longest serving pastor, Father Edward Brady. Despite the Depression, he effectively paid off the debt of a quarter of a million dollars in 15 years.
After decades of parishioners of primarily European descent, demographics had shifted in the latter half of the century as many African American and later, Latino, families moved to the area.
Since the late nineties, priests from the community of Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus have served St. Cecilia parish.
