About St. Francis Xavier Chapel Japanese Catholic Center · Los Angeles, California
St. Francis Xavier Chapel (聖フランシスコ・ザビエル教会) is a Roman Catholic chapel in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, recognized as the first Catholic mission in the United States dedicated to Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans. Originally founded on Christmas Day 1912 by French-born Maryknoll-precursor priest Father Albert Breton, MEP, the chapel has been served for most of its history by the Maryknoll Fathers and Sisters and remains the only Japanese-language Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Today the chapel sits at 222 South Hewitt Street and operates as St. Francis Xavier Chapel – Japanese Catholic Center, offering Masses in both Japanese and English, the Sacraments, and a wide variety of parish ministries that serve the Nikkei (Japanese-descent) community and the wider downtown Los Angeles neighborhood.
- Established
- 1912
- Patron
- St. Francis Xavier
- Rector
- Rev. Doan Hoang, S.J.
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Why belong here
St. Francis Xavier is a parish where the full sacramental life of the Catholic Church is offered in both Japanese and English, making it a rare and welcoming home for Japanese-descent Catholics, English-speaking Catholics, and anyone drawn to the historic Japanese Catholic community of Little Tokyo. It carries more than a century of Nikkei Catholic heritage — from Father Albert Breton's first Christmas Mass in 1912 through the Maryknoll Fathers' wartime defense of Japanese Americans to today's Spirit of Aloha festival — while remaining a vibrant, living parish with a wide array of ministries: the Legion of Mary (Maria Kai), Boy Scout Troop 145, the Maryknoll Karate Club (Shotokan since the 1960s), the Maryknoll Ladies Guild, parish-led Bible study, a youth group, the parish Federal Credit Union (serving members for over 75 years), and ongoing Spirit of Aloha and St. Francis Xavier Festival community events.
Mass times at St. Francis Xavier Chapel Japanese Catholic Center
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday: 4:00 PM (also before 5:00 PM Mass; call the rectory to confirm)
Adoration times
- First Saturday of each month: First Saturday Devotion beginning at 9:00 AM
Sacraments & Devotions
The parish offers the full sacramental life of the Catholic Church. Baptisms and weddings can be registered online, with weddings arranged at least six months in advance. Anointing of the Sick is available by calling the parish office. Confessions are heard Saturday afternoons before the Vigil Mass.
- Baptism — register online via the parish office
- Wedding — register online at least six months in advance
- Anointing of the Sick — call the parish office
- Confession — Saturday afternoon (call rectory to confirm)
- First Saturday Devotion — 9:00 AM, every first Saturday of the month
- Confirmation and First Communion — parish-based preparation; Cardinal Roger Mahony celebrated a parish Confirmation of Sansei–Yonsei teens and adults in 2004
About the Parish (Mission Statement)
St. Francis Xavier Chapel – Japanese Catholic Center identifies as a Christian community proclaiming the Gospel of the Lord Jesus through word and deed, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and as a community devoted to mutual support and outreach to the Japanese and broader Nikkei community of Los Angeles. It is the only Japanese-language Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
- Mission: proclaiming the Gospel of the Lord Jesus through word and action, empowered by the Holy Spirit
- Mutual support within the parish community
- Outreach to Japanese-speakers, the Nikkei community, and the wider Little Tokyo/downtown Los Angeles neighborhood
History
The parish's full multi-generational history is told on the chapel's own history page and in Marian and ecclesiastical-press features. The Japanese Mission began in 1912, was taken over by the Maryknoll Fathers in 1920, built the present chapel in 1930–1939, defended Japanese Americans during WWII, lost the school in the 1990s, and was rededicated as Maryknoll Japanese Catholic Center in 1995. Under successive administrators from the Society of Atonement, the Franciscan Conventuals, Maryknoll, and now the Jesuits, the chapel has maintained its bilingual, Japanese-centered Catholic identity for more than a century. Full historical detail is available on the official history page and via the parish office.
- Founded Christmas Day 1912, Father Albert Breton, MEP
- Maryknoll Fathers assume responsibility, 1920
- Two-story school dedicated at 226 S. Hewitt, 1921
- Chapel on the corner lot dedicated, 1939
- WWII internment ministry (Manzanar, Tule Lake)
- Father Hugh Lavery honored by the Japanese government, 1966
- Maryknoll School closes; property transferred to the Archdiocese, 1993–1994
- Maryknoll Japanese Catholic Center dedicated, September 24, 1995
- Centennial Mass celebrated by Archbishop José H. Gomez, November 25, 2012
- Reopening after COVID-19 closure, June 6, 2021
Parish Ministries and Groups
A wide range of parish ministries — both faith-based and community-oriented — is active at St. Francis Xavier. The Auxiliary organizes parish social and fundraising activity. The Legion of Mary (Maria Kai) meets in Japanese and English to perform works of mercy. The Maryknoll Ladies Guild is among the parish's oldest service organizations. Boy Scout Troop 145 meets Friday evenings. The Maryknoll Karate Club has offered Shotokan karate since the early 1960s. The Maryknoll of Los Angeles Federal Credit Union has served members for more than 75 years.
- St. Francis Xavier Auxiliary — [email protected]
- Maria Kai (Japanese Legion of Mary) — bilingual, performs spiritual works of mercy
- Maryknoll Ladies Guild — welcomes women of all ages
- Boy Scout Troop #145 — Friday evenings at 7:30 PM, upstairs clubroom (info: Norm Kokawa, 213-626-2279)
- Maryknoll Karate Club — Shotokan in the tradition of Sensei Tsutomu Ohshima; Tuesdays/Thursdays 7:15–9:00 PM, Saturdays 8:30–10:00 AM in the Auditorium; phone (213) 489-6873; www.MaryknollKarate.com
- Maryknoll of Los Angeles Federal Credit Union — Sundays 9:30–11:30 AM, Activity Center Credit Union Office; phone (323) 708-3693; [email protected]
- Parish Youth Group (ages 13–25, est. April 2009)
- Bible study and spiritual formation classes
Clergy & Staff
The parish is currently led by Father Doan Hoang, S.J., a Jesuit of the California Province and director of the Apostleship of Prayer for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, with Father Chu Ngo, S.J., serving as Associate Pastor. Both priests are bilingual in Japanese and English, in keeping with the parish's founding mission to serve Japanese-speaking Catholics and the broader Nikkei community.
- Rev. Doan Hoang, S.J. — Pastor (assigned July 1, 2015)
- Rev. Chu Ngo, S.J. — Associate Pastor (joined November 2015); continues his ministry with the homeless
Community Events & Festivals
Under Father Doan Hoang's leadership the parish has added several recurring community events that have become hallmarks of parish life in Little Tokyo. The Spirit of Aloha and the St. Francis Xavier Festival bring together parishioners, neighbors, and friends of the parish from across the region. Bible study and spiritual formation classes supplement the parish's liturgical schedule.
- Spirit of Aloha — annual community event
- St. Francis Xavier Festival — annual festival/fundraiser
- Bible study classes
- Spiritual formation classes
Visit, Address & Contact
The chapel, parish offices, Maryknoll Auditorium, Maryknoll Activity Center, and adjacent school buildings are all located at 222 South Hewitt Street in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles, within the Little Tokyo Historic District (National Historic Landmark, designated 1995).
- Address: 222 South Hewitt Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012-4389
- Phone: (213) 626-2279
- Email: [email protected]
- Office Hours: Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM
- Diocese: Archdiocese of Los Angeles (lacatholics.org)
- Languages: Japanese and English
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Albert Breton, M.E.P.1912–1920
French-born Paris Foreign Missions Society priest; arrived October 1912 via London; celebrated the first Japanese-homily Mass in California on Christmas Day 1912 at the Brownson Settlement House (711 Jackson St.); founded the Japanese Mission, named it for St. Francis Xavier; recruited eight Nagasaki women in 1915, opened a school and Visitation Sisters convent, founded a TB sanatorium in Monrovia; returned to Japan in 1920/21.
- Rev. George Staub, M.M.1920–
First Maryknoll priest assigned to the Japanese Mission after Maryknoll was authorized by the Vatican in 1920; oversaw dedication of the 226 S. Hewitt St. school in 1921.
- Rev. Hugh Lavery, M.M.1927–c.1957
From Connecticut; arrived 1927, named superior 1935; built the present chapel (dedicated 1939), rectory, auditorium and expanded the school with a third floor in 1930; legendary advocate for Japanese Americans during WWII internment, traveling between Manzanar and Tule Lake; left for New Orleans 1957; received the Order of the Sacred Treasure from the Japanese government (1966); died 1970. The parish auditorium is named for him.
- Rev. Michael McKillop, M.M.c.1957–c.1968
Succeeded Father Lavery; served about 10 years; oversaw construction of the new Maryknoll School building dedicated in 1964 with 413 students; also honored by the Japanese government for postwar relief work.
- Rev. Clarence Witte, M.M.c.1968–c.1986
From Indiana; one of the first Maryknoll missioners in Latin America; served approximately eight years as pastor.
- Rev. James Habenicht, M.M.1986–
From St. Louis; took up duties in 1986; presided over the 75th anniversary in 1987, celebrated by Cardinal Timothy Manning.
- Rev. Joseph Klecha, M.M.late 1980s/early 1990s
From Michigan; the last Maryknoll pastor; oversaw the 1993 transfer of property to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the closing of Maryknoll School, with the building rededicated as Maryknoll Japanese Catholic Center in 1995; Maryknoll Fathers departed in June 1996.
- Rev. Henry Mair, S.A.1997–2000
Society of Atonement friar; arrived August 1997 with Father Doerner.
- Rev. David Doerner, S.A.1997–2004
Society of Atonement friar from New York; fluent in Japanese; associate and administrator for five years; retired 2004.
- Rev. Abraham Takayuki Tabata, O.F.M. Conv.1998–2000
Nagasaki-born Franciscan; fourth-generation Catholic; ministered to the Japanese-speaking community, installed Japanese software on MJCC computers, and taught computer classes; departed 2000.
- Rev. Ignatius Hideaki Takii2000–
From the Diocese of Hiroshima; joined MJCC in 2000.
- Rev. Jim Colligan, M.M.2004–
Maryknoll priest who served 40 years in Japan as a missioner and as a foreign correspondent for Catholic News Service; bilingual; helped celebrate the Masses after Father Doerner retired.
- Rev. Jim Frederick2004–
Faculty member in theology at Loyola Marymount University; bilingual; served with Father Colligan 2004–2005.
- Rev. Peter Jun'ichi Iwahashi2005
From Nagasaki; on sabbatical from his post as pastor of the Tokyo Cathedral; served as administrator in 2005.
- Rev. John Koji Mitsudome2006–2007
Arrived from Tokyo in May 2006; named administrator and Episcopal Vicar for Japanese in the Archdiocese; under his administration the center's name was changed back to St. Francis Xavier; departed 2007.
- Rev. Richard Hoynes2007–August 2016
Born in the Philippines; ordained with the St. John's Seminary class of 1988; previously six-year pastor of St. Albert the Great, Rancho Dominguez; fluent in Japanese; named administrator by the Archdiocese December 2007; guided the parish through its centennial in 2012; died in August 2016.
- Rev. Doan Hoang, S.J.2015–present
Vietnamese-born priest of the California Province of the Society of Jesus; director of the Apostleship of Prayer for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and for the Jesuits' California Province since 2003; assigned July 1, 2015; served as associate pastor while Father Hoynes was hospitalized, then became current Pastor after Father Hoynes's death in 2016; oversaw parish's reopening after COVID-19 closure.
- Rev. Chu Ngo, S.J.November 2015–present
Associate Pastor, working part-time with the parish while continuing his ministry with the homeless.