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Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Church and Temecula
Valley Moose Lodge 261 became co-tenants at the
former site of the French Valley Winery on Winchester Road
in French Valley, an unincorporated area of Riverside
County. The Moose relocated there approximately in
the year 2001 and
Blessed Teresa began celebrating Masses there, its
temporary home, in September 2006.
Blessed Teresa was established in July 2006, by the
Diocese of San Bernardino in response to rapid population
growth in the French Valley area. The church building
will be located further north on Winchester Road on a site
the Diocese bought several years ago and will ultimately
seat 2,000. According to the Diocese, the French Valley
parish is the fourth U.S. Catholic church to bear the
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta name.
Rev. Tom Burdick is the founding pastor for the current
congregation of approximately 500 families. Burdick is a Naval Academy graduate who went to the
seminary after being released from active duty. The plan for the parish is to be
located in a temporary facility on the property, while
additional funds are raised for the permanent church.
In September 2006, two masses were held on Sunday mornings at 9:00
and 11:00. Due to growth and
parishioner request, new masses were added, one on
Saturdays at 5:00 pm, one on Sundays at 5:00 pm, one on
Sundays at 7:30 am, and a Vietnamese language mass at 1:30
pm on Sundays which draws parishioners from the
surrounding areas. |
