Church of the Good Shepherd (Beverly Hills, California)

Church of the Good Shepherd
Location 504 North Roxbury Drive, Beverly Hills, California
Country  USA
Denomination Roman Catholic
Website goodshepherdbh.org
History
Dedicated February 01, 1925
Relics held Felicitas and Perpetua
Saint Vibiana
Architecture
Architect(s) James J. Donnellan
Architectural type Mission Revival Style architecture
Administration
Diocese Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Division Our Lady of the Angels Pastoral Region
Clergy
Archbishop José Horacio Gómez
Bishop(s) Edward W. Clark
Honorary priest(s) Fr. Colm O'Ryan
Assistant Fr. George O'Brien
Pastor(s) Fr. Ed Benioff
Deacon(s) Eric Stoltz
Laity
Organist(s) Terry Hicks

The Church of the Good Shepherd, located at 505 North Bedford Drive is a Roman Catholic church in Beverly Hills, California.

History

On December 12 1923, the parish was founded and in 1924, it was designed by architect James J. Donnellan.[1][2][3] It is Mission Revival Style architecture.[2] On February 1, 1925, Bishop John Joseph Cantwell presided the dedication to the church building.[1] It is the oldest church in Beverly Hills.[4]

In 1959, it was renovated, and a new marble main altar and two side altars were added.[1][3] Sealed in each altar were the relics of Saints Felicitas and Perpetua and Saint Vibiana, patroness of the Los Angeles Archdiocese.[1]

On Ash Wednesday in 2015, the deacon from Good Shepherd offered ashes to passers-by on the streets of Beverly Hills together with the deacon of All Saints' Episcopal Church.[5]

Stained glass

The original stained glass was shipped from France, Germany, the British Isles and the US.[6] It was renovated by the Paul Phillips Studio in 1959.[6] It depicts the following saints:

Parishioners

Over the years, this small house of worship has been the local parish church for most of the Catholic movie stars who live in Beverly Hills, from Rudolph Valentino to Bing Crosby (who both attended Sunday Mass here).[4] It has seen numerous celebrity weddings and funerals. Celebrity weddings have included Elizabeth Taylor and Conrad "Nicky" Hilton, Loretta Young and Tom Lewis, Rod Stewart and Rachel Hunter, and Mark Wahlberg and Rhea Durham, Carmen Miranda and David Sebastian.[4][7][8] Celebrity funerals have included Rudolph Valentino (1926), Carmen Miranda (1955), Gary Cooper (1961), William Frawley (1966), Pier Angeli (1971), Jack Haley (1979), Alfred Hitchcock (1980), Vincente Minnelli (1986), Rita Hayworth (1987), Danny Thomas (1991), Eva Gabor (1995), Mary Frann (1998), Frank Sinatra (1998), Don Adams (2005), and Merv Griffin (2007).[3][4]

A Rosary was said at the church for the singer and actress Rosemary Clooney. In attendance were George Clooney, Kathryn Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Brian Wilson, Natalie Cole, Diahann Carroll, and Rose Marie. Her actual funeral service was held at St. Patrick's, in her hometown of Maysville, Kentucky. Actor Gary Cooper had converted to Roman Catholicism at this parish a few years before his death. His funeral service was held at the church on the same day as the 13th Primetime Emmy Awards.

It was the location for the funeral scene in the film A Star Is Born (1954), which starred Judy Garland and James Mason.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Official website, History
  2. 1 2 Thomas Owen, Los Angeles and the Mission Revival, Sacred Architecture, Vol. 2, Summer 1999
  3. 1 2 3 Marc Wanamaker, Early Beverly Hills, Arcadia Publishing, 2005, p. 118
  4. 1 2 3 4 Yahoo! Local
  5. Nita Lelyveld, On Ash Wednesday, two deacons deliver on the streets of Beverly Hills, The Los Angeles Times, February 18, 2015
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 'A Guide to the Stained Glass', leaflet, Church of the Good Shepherd, Beverly Hills, CA
  7. "Carmen Miranda Honeymooning With David Sebastian". Lewiston Evening Journal. March 17, 1947. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  8. Marc Wanamaker, Beverly Hills, 1930-2005, Arcadia Publishing, 2006, p. 83

Coordinates: 34°4′10″N 118°24′27″W / 34.06944°N 118.40750°W / 34.06944; -118.40750

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