Parish History
The parish of Our Lady of Tahoe was officially established by a decree of the Most Reverend Robert J. Dwyer, Bishop of the Diocese of Reno, on September 1, 1966; but, the true beginnings of the parish went back many years before.
The parish of Our Lady of Tahoe began in 1948 as a mission of St. Gall's Catholic Church in Gardnerville, Nevada. Fr. John Ryan, pastor, felt that there was a special need to serve the few Catholic families who lived at the lake permanently, and who made the long trek over the mountain to St. Gall's. Out of his commitment to these people, Fr. Ryan began the regular outdoor masses at the lake.
The first chapel was built on the Rabe estate about one mile from Stateline. In those days, the parish was known as St. Mary's in the Pines. Mr. & Mrs. D. Wallace Park generously made available to the church approximately two acres. An area was cleared within the towering pines and a chapel was installed. Hewn logs served as pews for the faithful. In those pioneer days, only one mass was celebrated each Sunday; but soon the worshiping community grew.
In 1951, Father Lawrence O. Burrie succeeded Father Ryan as pastor of St. Gall's. The number of Sunday masses at the lake was increased to three. Held only during the summer seasons, the masses brought together an average of 1,000 people each Sunday.
Then, in 1960, Father Bernard J. Sheerin came to St. Gall's. He was the first Jesuit priest to serve in Douglas County. Father Sheerin decided that a name should be selected for the mission, that was growing towards becoming a parish. A contest was conducted by the people of St. Gall's. To encourage entries, a purse totaling $800.00 was offered as a prize. The money was donated by St. Gall's, Harrah's Club, Harvey's Wagon Wheel, and Oliver's Club. All the parishioners of St. Gall's, including those at the lake, and all those who attended the summer masses, voted on a number of names submitted. This was the beginning of an effort to arouse community spirit into a unified religious and economic development endeavor. In 1961, the name Our Lady of Tahoe was declared the winner. It was suggested by Bishop Robert Dwyer of Reno. The mission became an independent parish church.
The outdoor Sunday masses grew to five with an average attendance of 1,500 people in the sixties. The worshipers came from every one of the fifty states and from many foreign lands. The thousands who knelt on the pine needles never failed to comment on the beauty of the chapel and its setting.
In 1963, the Del Webb Corporation took over the land where the masses were held. By the next summer, the High Sierra Hotel (today, the Horizon Casino) stood upon the chapel's site. The generous Park family again came to the rescue and made available to the church an even more majestic and beautiful location. On land where today now stands Monte Bleu, an amphitheater was created that was large enough to hold 500 worshipers. From June until the first snow flew, this inspiring temple of nature was the seat of worship for more than 1,500 people every Sunday.
During the winter months of the late 1960's, the people of Our Lady of Tahoe held their own Sunday masses. One provider of facilities for the mass was Harrah's Club. Our "church" was the children's theater in the youth recreation building of the casino.
Another provider of winter church facilities was the S & K Market and Gift Shop. The S & K was owned by Louie Stefani and Andy Kalin. The store room in the back of the market was completely closed off and set up like a regular church. There was seating for 85 of the faithful before a rustic altar in truly devotional surroundings. Today, the site is the location of Sam's Bar and Grill.
In the spring of 1966, Bishop Dwyer asked the Jesuit Provincial, Father John F. X. Connolly, if he would send a priest to the Lake Tahoe area to establish a permanent parish. Father Connolly, being a priest who cared very deeply for the spiritual well being of God's people, sent one of his best men. This was Father Donald J. O'Gara, S.J. With the assignment of Fr. O'Gara, on September 1, 1966 by decree of Bishop Dwyer, Our Lady of Tahoe Church became Our Lady of Tahoe Parish.
While he was pastor, Father O'Gara purchased a house on Don Drive in Zephyr Heights. This home was used for a parish office, children's religion classes, parish meetings and functions, weekday masses, and as living quarters for the priest. Father O'Gara was a dedicated priest, a man of prayer, and well-loved by the people.
In 1969, Father Robert Anderson was appointed pastor of Our Lady of Tahoe. During his tenure, the parishioners began to dream of a building of their very own. In the winter of 1970, Sunday masses were moved to the Zephyr Cove Lodge. It was here that the Women's Guild began their famous "pine cone workshop." The ladies learned how to make wreaths, crosses, kissing balls, and candle holders from the many varieties of Lake Tahoe pine cones. Visitors from all over the country who came to mass could now take a little bit of Tahoe home with them.
The winter of 1971 saw the church move again. This time to a trailer on the parking lot of the High Sierra Resort Casino (the Horizon Casino). The worshiping community was so large that several young men of the parish were needed to direct traffic on Highway 50 before and after the Sunday masses.
A small group of retired and dedicated parishioners began to work in earnest to have a permanent church built for the parish. Many hours were devoted by Al Allegretti, George Connell, Francis Finnegan, Peter Finnegan, Joseph E. Francoeur, and Jack Ledyard. Their Herculean effort bore great fruit. On July 15, 1971, the groundbreaking for the church took place. Bishop Joseph Green came from Reno to officiate at the 5:30 p.m. mass in the Grove. A buffet followed at the Round Hill Pines Resort.
Many people contributed so much to build the church: the land was a gift from the Elizabeth L. Rabe Estate; the architectural design for the church was contributed by the students from the University of Nevada at Reno; the contractor was Bob Williams; the heating system was installed by Len Campbell; plumbing was installed by the Michaelsens, and the legal work and water rights acquisition were provided by Ron Alling.
After so many years of struggling to have a church of their own, the people of Our Lady of Tahoe fulfilled their dreams. On May 14, 1972, the first mass was celebrated in the new church. Monsignor Anderson led the congregation in singing "The Impossible Dream." The dedication of Our Lady of Tahoe took place on June 25, 1972. Bishop Green came from Reno once again to officiate.
From its humble beginnings of celebrating mass outdoors among the pines, the parish now had a permanent new home. So that mass would always be celebrated among the pines and keep the future generations of the parish connected to those who came before, the wall behind the altar was built with glass so that the worshiping body can look out onto God's creation and the beautiful replica of Michangelo's "Pieta."
After Monsignor Anderson's death in June 1978, Bishop Thomas McFarland appointed Father John Kenny as pastor. Father Kenny was well loved by the parishioners. With the dedicated help of some of the parishioners, Father Kenny did much to build up the C.C.D. program. He also taught the congregation about the changes made by the second Vatican Council. In March of 1979, Father Kenny had to resign because of medical reasons.
Father Robert Connolly, a priest of the Sacramento Diocese, was named the temproary administrator of the parish. By July of 1979, Bishop McFarland appointed Father John K. Bain pastor of the parish. In that same year, the Men's Club was organized and a weekly prayer group was started.
In 1980, seasonal parish missions began. Many wonderful priests visited and inspired the parishioners. Weekly summer outings were organized for the youth of the parish and for visiting children. In the fall of 1980, Our Lady of Tahoe held the first Parish Renewal Weekend. Four more weekends followed. Many of those who participated in the renewals became quite active in the parish. As the parish grew so did its activities and needs. The beautiful church was being used for everything, including the Christmas dinner for 125 people. The people soon began to dream of a parish center.
In May of 1981, Our Lady of Tahoe received a generous gift from the Wiegand Estate. Plans were started for the center. In September of 1982, construction began on the parish center. The project was supervised by Len Campbell with the assistance of Pat Atherton and Steve Elder. In April 1983, the dream of a parish center was reached; and Bishop McFarland dedicated the new center in July.
Plans were made in 1987 to place stained glass windows in the church. This project was done under the direction of John Matus. In July of 1991, the final stained glass window was placed over the front entrance of the church. This is the beautiful window of Our Lady of Tahoe, the parish patroness.
The grounds around the church and the parish center were developed into a natural park-like setting. Through the vision and efforts of Willy Elder and her many volunteers, Our Lady of Tahoe has become a scenic place of worship. In 2003, more than 125 evergreens and deciduos trees were planted in the area arround the Pieta. A rose garden was begun in the summer of 2004.
The few families which made up the Mission of St. Gall's in 1948 grew to the 220 families which make up the Our Lady of Tahoe today. By working together for the glory of God, the parish has been blessed many times over.
In November of 2002, Fr. Richard DeMolen was appointed administrator of Our Lady of Tahoe by Bp. Phillip Straling. He succeeded Fr. Bain as pastor in July of 2003. Almost immediately Fr. Richard began to make plans to build a new rectory on the parish grounds and to sell the old rectory. It is anticipated that the new rectory will be in place by September of 2006, the fortieth anniversary of the parish's founding.
