IN JULY OF 2005, Annette Blais was a young mom. She had heard that a new Catholic Church was coming to Ladera Ranch, so she and her husband were excited to join the other young families at the first Mass at Holy Trinity. Twenty years later, Annette is a grandmother of nine, and still a part of Holy Trinity parish.
“I love it because this parish is where our family grew up, we have so many memories here,” said Blais.
Candace and Gregory Metcalfe are relatively new parishioners but share the same enthusiasm for Holy Trinity.
HOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC PARISH IN LADERA RANCH WILL CELEBRATE ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY IN 2025. PHOTOS BY IAN TRAN/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
“We came here because of the vibrancy of the parish and the many friendships we have made,” recalled Candace Metcalfe. “People here introduce themselves. We felt like we belonged from the very beginning.”
The pastor of Holy Trinity, Fr. Michael St. Paul, came to the parish in July 2020, just as churches everywhere were shutting down live services due to COVID-19 quarantines. Coming to a new parish, as everyone was told to stay home, was exceptionally challenging for the priest as well as the parish family who had a new spiritual father.
“Despite the challenges, our parish is phenomenal at service, we have incredible volunteers, and I have great trust in the staff,” he said. “We are a hospitable parish, and we work together as a family. With all the parish has been through in the last few years, I thought the 20th anniversary was a good opportunity to celebrate and initiate a year of spiritual renewal while recognizing that without God, we are nothing. All He has given us needs to be embraced.”
In true Holy Trinity style, the parish threw a 20th anniversary jubilee party on Nov. 9 to kick off a year of celebration. Festivities began with a special Mass celebrated by Fr. Michael and concelebrated by Parochial Vicar Fr. Bala Udumala with Deacon Anthony Palazzollo.
The offertory gifts included special objects representing the milestones from the past two decades. The first gift was a block of turf symbolizing the early “Mass on the grass” in the Ladera Ranch Town Green. The second gift was a bit of soil from the groundbreaking of the church in 2007. Next was a rendering of the Holy Trinity overlay that will accompany the memory tiles to be placed in front of the church. Finally, two candles were placed on the altar representing all the sacraments — from baptisms to the anointing of the sick that have taken place at the church.
THE PARISH GIFTED FR. MICHAEL ST. PAUL, PASTOR OF HOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC CHURCH IN LADERA RANCH, WITH HIS DAILY MASS CHALICE REPLATED IN STERLING SILVER AND GOLD.
After Mass, more than 220 parishioners gathered in the parish hall for a buffet dinner and a chance to celebrate 20 years of community fellowship. The parish gifted a very surprised Fr. Michael with his daily Mass chalice replated in sterling silver and gold.
“Although I won’t be here to see it, my vision for the next 20 years is a lot of Baptisms, as well as moms and dads raising children here at Holy Trinity,” shared Fr. Michael. “This church will be thriving with all the facilities the community has built. More importantly, this church will continue to be a blessing to the larger community through our incredible outreach and support of many charitable causes.”