Cardinal Mahony to Bless Mission School

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony will bless San Buenaventura Mission’s new Holy Cross School at a Dec. 19 ceremony coinciding with the second phase of the $7-million construction project.

Mahony, archbishop of Los Angeles, will lead Mass at 9 a.m. at the mission, at 211 E. Main St. Afterward, there will be a ceremony at the school, located behind the mission.

The new school “is a beautiful piece of architecture that fits in well with the downtown area,” said Msgr. Patrick O’Brien, pastor of Mission San Buenaventura. “It is amazing how well the new school blends with the old mission, even though there is two centuries of difference.”

Building the new school requires the gradual demolition of the old Holy Cross School facility. So far, $4.5 million has been raised for the project. An additional $2.5 million is needed to finish it. The school was designed by Main Street Architects of Ventura and built by Viola Inc. of Oxnard. When completed, the kindergarten through eighth grade institution will cover nearly 40,000 square feet.

“There has been a real effort to build a modern school that is aesthetically pleasing, and I think the community will be happy with the facility,” O’Brien said. “It’s a winner, and we’re preparing the next generation--building on the past and preparing for the future.”

The first phase of construction included five classrooms, a reception room, a computer room, office space on the first floor and a 750-seat auditorium and kitchen on the second floor, occupying the east end of the parcel. The second phase will include additional classrooms on the west end of the parcel.

O’Brien, who has served as pastor since 1981, said the school will be a community asset and an integral part of the downtown renaissance. Ventura Mayor Sandy Smith will lead a ribbon-cutting ceremony Dec. 17 at 4:30 p.m. at the school.