History:

San Carlos became an incorporated city in 1925, and three years later, the Archbishop of San Francisco, Edward Hanna, established St. Charles Parish and appointed Fr. Harold Crampton as the first pastor. The first Mass was celebrated on Sept. 28, 1928 in the garage at the rear of the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. Liddy at 775 Elm St.

Less than a year later, on June 23, 1929, the first Mass was offered in the new church on Walnut St., which is now the well-known Casa de Flores. The parish boundaries also included Belmont and the Sisters of Notre Dame donated land at the front part of their property on Ralston Ave., and a satellite ‘mission’ church was built, with the first Mass being celebrated at midnight, Christmas 1929. It was named Immaculate Heart of Mary, and became a separate parish in Sept., 1947.

Fr. Crampton, served as pastor of St. Charles for 15 years until his transfer in 1943, and was succeeded by Fr. James Doyle. In December, 1948, the Archdiocese purchased the 25 lots comprising the present seven acre property along Tamarack Ave. between Elizabeth and Belle Avenues. Plans were immediately drawn up for a temporary church (now our gymnasium), a school, and a rectory. The buildings were ready and St. Charles School opened on Oct. 2, 1950. Three weeks later, Fr. Doyle passed away, and Fr. James O’Donnell became our third pastor.

The school was staffed by the Sisters of Notre Dame, and, as promised, Fr. O’Donnell and the community of St. Charles built the nuns a convent (now the Parish Center) in 1959. As the parish grew dramatically in the early sixties, we needed a much larger church to accommodate a ‘flock’ of 2000 families. Our present church was built on the corner of Tamarack and Belle Avenues in 1966. Tragically, Fr. O’Donnell did not live to see the new church finished. On June 26 of that year, 3 1/2 months before he would have celebrated the first Mass there, he suffered a fatal heart attack.

Monsignor Joseph Fitzpatrick became our fourth pastor on Sept. 4, 1966, and celebrated the first Mass on Oct. 8th. Under his leadership, our parish retired all the debt by the time we celebrated our golden anniversary in 1978. In July, 1982, Msgr. Fitzpatrick retired and moved back to Ireland.