800 Beacon St. Avalon, CA. Santa Catalina Island
Recent Improvement Projects
Courtyard Furniture Replacement
Funds from the St. Patrick's Day dinners funded the replacement of all our courtyard/patio furniture. Before, we had a unique mixture of different tables, chairs, and Coca-Cola umbrellas that served their purpose, but didn't necessarily match with the overall look and feel of the courtyard and church overall. The new tables, chairs, and LED-lit umbrellas are a welcome addition. Many thanks to the volunteers who helped put these together and install them, including Grant Amthor, one of our most dedicated volunteers. Also thanks to Avalon Freight Services for their help in shipping these to the island.
Internet and Wifi Network Upgrade, June 2025
Through a generous donation from Fr. Dave Heney, we were able to upgrade our WiFi network on church property and greatly expand our coverage with a more cohesive, flexible, and secure network. This will help tremendously for special events, religious education, and everyday business. Thanks also to Mike McGovern and his associate, Jorge, who did most of the installation and setup.
Parish Hall remodel - Paint, flooring, audio
The remodel of the year was the Parish Hall! Through funds raised during the last SPD dinner, we were able to repaint the parish hall and liven it up, install new Lifeproof flooring, and get the audio system working! The parish hall had built-in speakers when it was built, or sometime thereafter, but were largely unused during the early 2000's until we recently discovered that they still work!! We were able to use them successfully during the Saint Patty's dinner with our Spanish music coordinator's mobile mixer/amplifier.
The real heroes behind this project were the 9 men who came over from one of Father Dario's previous parishes and volunteered their time to repaint and place the flooring. Major thanks to them! MUCHISIMAS GRACIAS!
Parish hall (emptied) BEFORE
Parish Hall AFTER
SANCTUARY FLOOR REMODEL - NOVEMBER 2023
A two-week long improvement project came to a close in November where our 20+ year old carpet in the sanctuary was replaced with beautiful marble-themed tile. This incredible work was completed by Hernandez Tile Contractors (Lorenzo Hernendez) and we cannot thank him enough for the outstanding job. ALSO, many thank-yous to our parishioners who volunteered to help move the altar, ambo, chairs, tabernacle, statues, and the 400-lb organ console off the sanctuary step before the project, and back onto it after the project was completed.
This project was made possible by a single donor who wished to remain anonymous. To them, we give our utmost appreciation and gratitude for your generosity.
Completed sanctuary area, furniture moved back into place, decorative flowers, and a special display of St. Catherine of Alexandria in honor of her feast day on Novermber 25.
Original carpet (before)
First step, carpet removed and tabernacle steps removed.
New tabernacle steps placed.
Raised sanctuary floor extended to the edge of the sacristy door.
Tile floor placed down and fixed into place.
Completed tile work, minus a few furniture items needing to be moved from the temporary church location back to the sanctuary.
Finished tile work with statues, altar, ambo, organ, piano, and presider chair put back into place. In addition to the organ weighing 500+ lbs, there are many speaker wires that need to be carefully documented and removed prior to moving. Once back in place, those wires need to be placed back into the correct order and the cover board screwed back into place. Our tech-savvy music director took on this task to ensure its proper execution.
We made clever use of the Hall during the church floor renovation. It cleaned up nice!
-- Parish Hall kitchen renovation --
Our parish hall kitchen was renovated in early 2023 through the hard work of some of our knights of columbus and church volunteers. New plumbing, electical outlets, sinks, commercial appliances, and repainting were just some of the projects. Special thanks to Grant Amthor and Phil Hernandez for spearheading this project.
Sacristy/hall ceiling and roof repairs are complete!
Make sure to send your prayers to the men who completed this work FREE of CHARGE and donated their time and talent. These men came from a previous parish of Father Dario's and we greatly appreciate their hard work over a weekend in late 2023. Our parish provided the funding for the materials and our parishioners provided food for these men during their stay. Thank-you to those parishioners! Muchisimas gracias!
New sacristy ceiling.
Repaired hall ceiling.
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