About Our Lady of the Sacred Heart · San Diego, California
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic parish in the City Heights / East San Diego neighborhood, belonging to the Diocese of San Diego and serving one of the most multilingual Catholic communities in the region. Founded in 1911, the parish celebrates Sunday Mass in three languages — English, Spanish, and Vietnamese — along with a robust weekday schedule and weekly confessions. Its current church, dedicated in 1948, sits on the corner of Marlborough and Orange Avenues, and it continues to be a spiritual home for Anglo, Latino, Vietnamese, African, and African-American Catholics living along the Marlborough Avenue corridor.
- Established
- 1911
- Patron
- Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
- Rector
- Father Benjamin Le, SVD
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego
Why belong here
OLSH is one of the most multilingual parishes in the Diocese of San Diego, with Sunday Mass in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese and weekday Masses every day — making it a true spiritual home for the diverse families of the Marlborough Avenue corridor. The parish carries over a century of history (founded 1911) and a present-day identity shaped by Vietnamese, Latino, Anglo, African, and African-American Catholics worshiping side by side. With weekday and Sunday Masses, Saturday confessions, ongoing devotions to Our Lady of Guadalupe and the 117 Vietnamese Martyrs, the legacy Hannon Hall, and the parish school community (now part of St. Katharine Drexel Academy), it offers both deep tradition and active, multicultural parish life.
Mass times at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:30 PM – 4:00 PM (per directory listings); call parish office for current schedule
Adoration times
- Friday 7:30 AM – 12:00 PM (per directory listing)
About Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic parish in San Diego's City Heights / East San Diego neighborhood, part of the Diocese of San Diego. It is one of the most multilingual parishes in the diocese, celebrating Sunday Mass in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Founded in 1911, the parish has long served the families along the Marlborough Avenue corridor and today draws worshippers from many different national, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds.
- Roman Catholic parish in the Diocese of San Diego
- Located at 4177 Marlborough Avenue, San Diego, CA 92105
- Sunday Mass in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese
Parish History
The parish was born on August 15, 1911, when its first members gathered in a partially completed church at 42nd and Polk Avenues for Father Patrick McLaughlin's first Mass. Growth through the 1920s led to the opening of the parish school in 1927 under Father Joseph Lynn, and the long pastorate of Monsignor Owen Hannon (from 1930) saw the building of the present church, dedicated in November 1948, and the parish hall with its 1962 mosaic. Twentieth-century waves of Hispanic and Vietnamese Catholic immigration transformed OLSH into a multilingual community; shrines to Our Lady of Guadalupe and the 117 Vietnamese Martyrs were dedicated in 1991. Successive pastors — Fathers Perozich, Duong Nguyen SVD, Jose Goopio SVD, Dominic Asare SVD, and now Benjamin Le SVD — have continued to maintain the parish's physical plant, welcome new Catholic communities, and renew parish life.
- 1911 – First Mass celebrated by Father Patrick McLaughlin
- 1920 – Original little church doubled in size
- Sept 6, 1927 – Parish school opens under Father Joseph Lynn
- Oct 30, 1930 – Msgr. Owen Hannon installed as pastor
- May 31, 1947 – Groundbreaking for the present church (Feast of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart)
- Nov 1948 – Current church dedicated on Thanksgiving Day
- 1959 – Parish hall planned; mosaic 'Christ Blessing the Little Ones' completed on its east wall in 1962
- July 1977 – Msgr. Raymond Kirk becomes pastor
- 1982 – Guadalupe Plaza senior high-rise replaces old school and convent
- Dec 7, 1991 – Shrines to Our Lady of Guadalupe and the 117 Vietnamese Martyrs dedicated
- July 1995 – Father Richard Perozich becomes pastor
- Sept 20, 2009 – Father Duong Nguyen, SVD, installed by Bishop Robert Brom
- July 1, 2016 – Father Jose Goopio, SVD, appointed pastor
- July 1, 2018 – Father Dominic Kwaku Asare, SVD, appointed pastor
- Effective June 4 – Father Benjamin Le, SVD, appointed pastor
Faith Formation & Parish School
Religious education for parish children has been a hallmark of OLSH since Msgr. Hannon began weekly catechetical instruction in the 1930s. The parish grade school, which operated in East San Diego for generations, has been merged into St. Katharine Drexel Academy (4106 42nd Street, San Diego), continuing Catholic K-8 education rooted in OLSH's tradition.
- Parish-grade-school legacy dating to 1927
- Current Catholic K-8 education through St. Katharine Drexel Academy
- Daily and weekly prayer and celebration of liturgy at the school
Parish Facilities
The campus includes the 1948 church at Marlborough and Orange Avenues, Hannon Hall (built in the early 1960s with kitchen, stage, and library), the parish school building (formerly Rosary High), and the Guadalupe Plaza senior residence (1982). Hannon Hall's restrooms were renovated by 2011 and the kitchen underwent complete renovation, completed under Father Goopio in 2016. Major roofing, painting, and electrical work was completed in 2007–2008.
- 1948 church at Marlborough and Orange Avenues
- Hannon Hall with kitchen and library
- Guadalupe Plaza senior residence
Shrines & Devotions
On December 7, 1991 the parish dedicated shrines to Our Lady of Guadalupe and to the 117 Vietnamese Martyrs — an event so popular that attendance had to be capped at 600 with reservations required. The shrines remain an important focus of devotion for the parish's Latino and Vietnamese communities.
- Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
- Shrine of the 117 Vietnamese Martyrs
Multicultural Community
OLSH is repeatedly described as one of the most multilingual parishes in the Diocese of San Diego. Father Khing Vano's 1989 reflection — describing a typical Sunday where Lucy is Anglo, Mary is from London, Phan Nguyen arrived by boat from Vietnam, Lupita is Mexican, and Monique is African-American — remains a touchstone for the parish's sense of itself: 'One in faith, we come together to worship one Lord.'
- Sunday liturgy in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese
- Catholic Christian social action as a long parish tradition
- Distinct Vietnamese and Latino communities alongside the wider parish family
Visit & Contact
Parishioners and visitors can find the church at 4177 Marlborough Avenue in San Diego's City Heights neighborhood (ZIP 92105). The parish office can be reached at (619) 280-0515, and directions via I-15 (University Avenue exit, then north on Marlborough) are simple.
- Address: 4177 Marlborough Avenue, San Diego, CA 92105
- Phone: (619) 280-0515
- Website: http://olshsandiego.weconnect.com/
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Patrick McLaughlin1911–
Said the first Mass in the partially completed church at 42nd and Polk Avenues, August 15, 1911.
- Father Joseph Lynnthrough 1927
Opened Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School on September 6, 1927.
- Monsignor Owen Hannon1930–
Installed October 30, 1930; instituted weekly religious instruction; guided the building and furnishing of the current church (dedicated Nov 1948) and the parish hall (mosaic 1962).
- Monsignor Raymond Kirkfrom July 1977
Took over after Rosary High School closed; the former Rosary High building became the parish grade school; Guadalupe Plaza senior high-rise replaced the old school and convent in 1982.
- Father Khing Vanolate 1980s
Vietnamese priest whose 1989 reflection on OLSH's diversity is widely quoted by the parish.
- Father Richard Perozichfrom July 1995
Re-emphasized Catholic basics and full parish participation; led major refurbishment of church and facilities.
- Father Duong Nguyen, SVDSeptember 20, 2009 – 2016
Installed by Bishop Robert Brom; supported the parish school through the 2009–2011 economic downturn; oversaw Hannon Hall restroom renovation (2011) and the kitchen renovation that began in 2016.
- Father Jose Goopio, SVDJuly 1, 2016 – 2018
Saw the Hannon Hall kitchen renovation through to completion.
- Father Dominic Kwaku Asare, SVDJuly 1, 2018 – April 30 (death)
Born in Kwahu Praso, Ghana; ordained Aug. 17, 1991 in Kukurantumi; served 19+ years in Paraguay; previously pastor of St. Bernard Parish in Oakland; died in office; funeral Mass celebrated May 9 at OLSH.
- Father Benjamin Le, SVDeffective June 4 (present)
Appointed pastor by the Diocese of San Diego, with permission from his provincial.