Many Fight Oceanside Church Move

The possibility that a church in downtown Oceanside, one of the oldest Catholic churches in North County, may be moved has stirred opposition from parishioners, preservationists and politicians.

The San Diego Roman Catholic Diocese is studying whether to relocate St. Mary’s Star of the Sea church building, built in 1927, to the site of the parish school, a mile away.

Dan Pitre, director of communications for the diocese, said the diocese is interested in better coordination between the school and church because both serve the same Catholic community. He said the study is in the early stages and no date has been set for completion.

Still, parishioners are circulating petitions, the Oceanside Historical Society has sent a letter to Bishop Leo T. Maher opposing the move and the Oceanside City Council passed a unanimous resolution last week asking the diocese to leave St. Mary’s where it is.

‘Spirit of Hope’

“St. Mary’s represents the spirit of hope in downtown Oceanside,” parishioner Dolores Skolimowska said. “If it is moved, a lot of the older people and handicapped people won’t be able to attend. St. Mary’s will be lost forever.”

Historical Society President John Daley, who was baptized and received his first communion at St. Mary’s, said he suspects the diocese is eager to sell the property, a half-block of choice real estate across from where the city’s $20-million civic center is being built.

“I would hate to see St. Mary’s be replaced by an office building,” Daley said. “I think the talk about consolidation of church and school is bunk. I’m a good capitalist, but I’m a pretty good Catholic, too, and I’d hate to see St. Mary’s moved just for a profit motive.”

Marge Swallow, a broker with the Oceanside real estate firm of Swallow & Associates, estimated that the property would sell for “a minimum” of $1 million. The firm has its offices near St. Mary’s.

Asked whether the diocese is trying to make money by selling the St. Mary’s property, Pitre said he has been told by diocese officials that the diocese is only interested in strengthening ties between church and school.

“In most cases where a parish runs a school, the two are on the same site,” Pitre said. “That provides more centrality, more cohesiveness. Any move might also be part of a general upgrading of the school.”

Property Sale Undecided

Barry Crane, the diocese’s attorney and business manager, said the diocese has not “ruled out or ruled in” the possibility of selling the property if the St. Mary’s building is moved.

“We’re merely gathering data to see if the church could be moved and whether it would be advantageous to consolidate church and school,” he said. “We haven’t even begun to think whether selling the property would be a byproduct. Possibly we might decide to use the property for another church function.”

Crane said the diocese has hired an architect to see if the church building could physically withstand the move. “The last thing we want is to damage that beautiful church,” he said.

The original St. Mary’s, since relocated, was built in 1893. The existing church was built beside the older building in 1927, and in 1937 St. Mary’s was granted official status as a parish separate from the Mission San Luis Rey.

The church, which seats more than 400 persons, has many Latino and elderly people in its congregation. A Sunday Mass is celebrated in Spanish; confessionals are equipped with hearing aids.

Situated just a block from the city’s honky-tonk Hill Street, the church has suffered from a blight of crime in the area. Iron grates to thwart burglars and vandals cover the rectory, meeting-room windows and the church’s stained-glass windows.

Parish School Nearby

The parish school, which enrolls students from first to eighth grades, is eight blocks south, at Ditmar Street and Wisconsin Avenue, in a residential neighborhood. Homeowners have objected to the idea of increased traffic and parking problems.

Mayor Larry Bagley said the council wants St. Mary’s to remain at 3rd and Ditmar and is ready to help the diocese keep it there. He said the council also wants to dispel a rumor that the city and its redevelopment agency are angling to have St. Mary’s move.

The civic center across from St. Mary’s is scheduled for completion in winter 1989.

“We think St. Mary’s is a great architectural addition to our downtown and has added tone and quality,” Bagley said.

The diocese would need council approval to move the church.

A similar controversy in Carlsbad, when a Protestant church sought to relocate near a city park, provoked a lengthy debate over the issues of religious freedom and city authority for proper land use. The move was denied.