History of Saint Philomene

Believe it or not, St. Philomene Parish celebrated its first Mass in the Bungalow Club. The Bungalow Club was a dance hall, and twenty-nine people attended. Fr. Daniel Twomey founded the parish in 1948 as the first Sacramento suburban church of the post-war era. The parish was named after the legendary virgin and martyr St. Philomena.

After a year of planning and building, St. Philomene said good-by to the Bungalow Club and moved into a new two-wing building constructed on seven acres at El Camino and Bell Street. St. Phiomene School was launched in 1949, and the six grades were staffed by six Loretto sisters.

Fr. Twomey had worked with the architectural firm of Dean & Dean to design the sanctuary, school and auditorium. Frescoes by John De Rosen, a noted artist, were commissioned and added to the sanctuary along with stained-glass windows, a hammered copper baptismal font by Hans Crag, and a custom-built organ.

An area was set aside for a bell tower, and in 1961, the work was competed. Today, the tower holds well over two tons of bronze bells forty-nine feet above the earth.

The Church grew rapidly, thanks to burgeoning house construction in the Arden-Arcade Area. From its humble beginnings in the Bungalow Club, St. Phiomene has grown not only into its own parish, but three other parishes, which spun off from it – Our Lady of Assumption, St. Ignatius, and Presentation parishes.

Today, St. Philomene serves 1,400 families with lay people participation - and leading – over thirty ministries. St. Philomene is also the home of Our Sharing God’s Bounty Program, which has been feeding thousands of people annually for over twenty years.

Spanish and Filipino communities have grown, and the church is now a melting pot.

Reprinted from: Avella, S (2006) The Diocese of Sacramento- A Journey of Faith. Booklink, Ireland. p 241.