About Our Parish
Holy Family Church, Seal Beach
Holy Family Church began as a mission on property donated to the Archdiocese in 1963 by Ross W. Cortese, builder and developer of Leisure World. This Church serves a Senior Community 55 years and older. This is a very unique parish as the demographics are comprised of a senior age group who come from various parts of the country.
In November 1963 Father William Mullane was named the first administrator of the Leisure World Catholic mission parish. At this time, two parish societies were initiated; the Holy Name Society for men, and the Little Flower Guild for women. Father Mullane passed away on August 1.
In September of 1969 it was raised to a regular parish status and Father Patrick Kelly was appointed Pastor. He died suddenly on October 15th in Ireland. His successor was Father Anthony Kelly who later became the first Monsignor to grace the parish. Msgr. Anthony Kelly added the 5 p.m. Mass to the schedule of services. The use of Eucharistic Ministers to assist in the distribution of Holy Communion was also initiated. On September 1, 1977, Msgr. Kelly became Pastor Emeritus when Father James Pierse became Pastor of Holy Family Church. Many new parish activities, such as Parish Council, Holy Communion to the homebound, Christian Service, and expanded duties for the Lectors, were initiated. After Father George M. Breslin became Pastor, Msgr. James Pierse became Pastor Emeritus. He died in February 2011. Father Breslin died in 1994 and Msgr Brian P. Coghlan became the new Pastor. During Father Brian’s tenure an extensive building project was launched to remodel the rectory and church, and he personally donated the ambo. He retired in 2005 and became Pastor Emeritus. He died in September 24th, 2015. Father James Hartnett became Pastor in 2005 and retired in July 2015, becoming Pastor Emeritus. Fr. Juan Caboboy was assigned by the bishop starting July 1, 2015. Fr. Caboboy retired in 2021, becoming Pastor Emeritus. In July 2021, Bishop Kevin Vann appointed Fr. Joseph Son Nguyen as our actual pastor.
Holy Family Church with its distinctive A-frame design has a capacity of 500. The Church is rather unique as most of the 841 families consist of 1 to 2 adults.
Christian Service, a group of volunteers who welcome new parishioners, are a support group for those with spiritual needs, and visiting people unable to leave their homes.
There are various forms of spiritual enrichment offered in the parish, such as Holy Hour on the day of Adoration (first Friday of every Month); weekly novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help (every Wednesday at 8:15 a.m.); and a yearly Mission.
Because of the advanced age of our community, we have a very active group of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communiton to the homebound.
We strive to be a friendly welcoming community to all.
