A Brief History of St. James the Apostle Roman Catholic Church

“Its style is not fashioned by elegance, its interior is without pretension and beneath its worn cracks and arches lies its real history. It has vigor, love and enthusiasm which runs out the door and encompasses everyone who passes through them.  A modest structure which has grown like Topsy, helter skelter.  St. James the Apostle, like a good mother, has taught by its own life an appreciation for all.  Regardless of nationality, color or finances, it greets all.  Our church has encouraged dignity and respect for human rights.

St. James has spread fertile seeds from which grew many other churches and schools and was responsible for social and legislative changes.”

The preceding paragraphs contain quotes from an article in “The Nevadan”, a supplement to the Review Journal, Sunday, May 11, 1975, written by Bill Vincent.

St. James Parish clearly has its roots in an active concern for the residents of the Historic Westside Las Vegas community. Its beginnings can be traced to an interest in the religious education of children from what was then a small neighborhood with no Catholic church.

St. James was not the first church in Las Vegas, but it was the first Mission serving the religious needs of everyone west of the Union Pacific Tracks. St. Joan of Arc, which was started thirty-two years earlier, furnished St. James with its original altar, pews and vestments.  All have long since been donated to other churches.

There are many different opinions as to when the building was built.  Some say 1937, 1940, or 1942.  The original site was donated by Susan and Mary Mankiewicz, two sisters, who were members of a well-known pioneer family. 

In 1933 Fr. Theodore Van Skee, assistant pastor at St. Joan of Arc, began to bring youngsters from Vegas Heights to the downtown church for catechism classes.  The years from 1933 to 1940 witnessed continued growth on the Westside and St. Joan responded by sending a priest to homes for an occasional Mass.

By 1940 the presence of the Church became more evident with the construction of a small concrete block structure which still stands as the core of the old St. James building. Money was given by the Extension Society.  The lumber was donated by Von Tobel and the work done by men from St. Joan.  When the church was completed Fr. Flahive regularly came from St. Joan for Sunday Mass.  In 1942 Fr. Van Skee came to St. James and started his first term as pastor of the mission church.

During the years of World War II and those following, the Westside greatly expanded.  Fr. Van Skee doubled his efforts at this time in order to minister to the growing populace in what is presently North Las Vegas.  He established Holy Family Mission at the east end of Lake Mead Blvd which later grew to become St. Christopher Parish.  It was during this time, the mid -40’s that the Union Pacific Railroad gave Fr. Van Skee two section-gang houses that were added on to the little church of St. James for a parish hall and kitchen.

For a short time, Fr. Van Skee was away from St. James, and Fr. Fisher, his replacement, directed most of his time and efforts to the ever-growing Holy Family Mission.  This temporary lull ended with Fr. Van Skee’s return in 1948. 
In 1952, St. James was officially established as a parish, and Fr. John Kenny was assigned its pastor. Such official recognition apparently had an energizing effect on the community at St. James.  Through creative leadership, the parishioners grew from 27 to 900. The church was accordingly expanded by the addition of an annex which gave the church an awkward L-shape.  Activities, as well, multiplied and the quaint little church at “H” and Morgan became known all over town for its fiestas, spaghetti dinners, and even outdoor movies.

During the fifties, St. James played a crucial role in the establishment of at least two prominent Las Vegas parishes.  In 1955, the Diocese traded a parcel of land from St. James at Highland and Washington for a site across town, at St. Louis and Eastern, where the first St. Viators church was built.  With the funds raised by the energetic St. James parishioners, there were hopes to build a parish school on the remaining property of that parcel.  But in response to the growing number of Catholics in the area, the Diocese used those funds to establish Our Lady of Las Vegas parish and school in 1957.

Father Kenny left St. James in 1958, and was followed by two temporary administrators from the Viatorian Fathers, and then by Monsignor John Lamb until 1960 when Monsignor Devlin began a six-year term as pastor.  This was a quiet time at St. James.  The Monsignor’s daily walks while saying his rosary were fondly remembered by many parishioners.  An Altar Society was organized during these years and was involved in activities throughout the state.  Monsignor Devlin became critically ill while at St. James and in 1966 returned to his homeland, Ireland, passing away shortly thereafter.

During the 60’s, St. James, like the rest of Las Vegas, grew by leaps and bounds.  The Westside during these years was a predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood, and St. James, as a look at the baptismal records will show, was a strong Latino community.

From 1966 to 1968 the community at St. James was pastored by Father Buel and then Father Shallow.  In 1968 Fr. Ben Franzinelli came to a St. James that had lost many of its parishioners to new parishes; had undergone a significant racial shift from Latino to African-American; and, like all true communities of Christians, was faced with the challenge of responding to the social problems of the day.  As older parishioners moved away from the Westside neighborhood, the folks who were now making the area their home came to the parish looking to the Catholic faith to give a deeper meaning to their lives.

Under the leadership of Fr. Ben from 1968-1975, St. James became a vital force in confronting the social problems of the Westside community.  Summer programs at the parish attempted to meet the educational and recreational needs of the young in the community.  St. James first offered a home to the Franciscan friars when they came to minister in the Las Vegas minority community in the late 1960’s.

In 1975, Fr. Ben was asked to become pastor of the new Holy family Parish.  Bishop McFarland knew of the Franciscan Center’s long-standing involvement in the Westside community and for this reason asked the Friars to pastor St. James.  At first, Fr. Larry Dunphy, O.F.M., took this responsibility with Fr. Louis Vitale, O.F.M., as assistant.  Fr. Larry worked to continue the social involvement of the parish – he himself was head of the State Ethics Commission – and made great efforts to draw the parishioners together through extensive home visiting. Fr. Louis Vitale headed the Lenten Desert Experience, which protested against nuclear testing and proliferation.  In the fall of 1976, Fr. Larry was needed by the Franciscans in Colorado; Fr. Louis took over as pastor, and initiated at that time a team ministry involving three other Friars: Fr. Frank Buismato, Brother Robert Brady, and Brother Barry Stenger.

Our renowned parish choir was organized in 1979, under the direction of Anthony Thomas who was later joined by Susan Braire, and has continued to add zest and spirit to our worship.  A radical remodeling of that once-upon-a-time small brick structure gave the parish a place of worship conducive both to the quiet prayer of devout parishioners as well as to the lively Sunday liturgies attended by an ever-growing number of people.

In 1979 Fr. Barry Stenger became Administrator as Fr. Louis was elected the Franciscan Provincial for the West Coast.  He invigorated the faith life of the community by instituting the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults), the New Members process, and the yearly Revival.  Sr. Deborah Lockwood also joined the staff in 1979 and developed a unique and successful C.C.D. Program.  As director of Religious Education, Sr. Deborah’s program emphasized a liturgical-based artistic, creative, and theatrical expression of the gospel as well as community involvement in developing the hearts and minds of young Catholics.

In 1982 Fr. Barry was assigned for higher studies and Fr. Brian Flynn O.F.M. became pastor and brought with him integration and an appreciation of Irish culture. Under the direction of Fr. Brian and Sr. Deborah, the monthly food distribution program and the tutorial program known as “Homework Helper” for children in the neighborhood began. The following two years saw Fr. Gus Krumm O.F.M. and David Johnson O.F.M. begin their ministry at St. James.

From 1991 to 2004, St. James was blessed with Father Michael G. Blackburn, whose humor was matched only by his dedication and diligence to God and St. James. During his leadership, St. James experienced significant growth and participation among its members, a heightened level of commitment to spirituality, evangelization, retreats, charismatic renewal, and the development of the annual Gospel Jazz Brunch.  In 1998, St James began a fundraising drive to build a new larger church, and in 2001, St. James moved from its original location on H Street to the present worship center on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. 

From 2002 to mid-2012 past administrators of St. James the Apostle Roman Catholic Church included: Fr Bob Puhlman, Fr. John McShane, and Fr. Henry Salditos (August 2006—June 2012) who added a Filipino Mass on Sundays at 2:00 p.m.  In September 2007, Ms. Arsenia Eagan became the Director of Religious Education. After Fr. Henry was reassigned, Fr. Tony Hughes became pastor until his retirement in 2014, then Fr. Ron Zanoni was assigned to St. James. He encouraged the parish to further our involvement by participating in Nevadans for the Common Good.  In 2016 Fr. Paul Oye and Fr. James Jankowski came and shared as pastors of St. James and St. John Neumann.  Fr. Paul left after a few months and Fr. Lijo Abraham joined Fr. Jim.  This experience of shared pastors has strengthened our ties to our sister parish, Saint John Neumann Church. In 2019, both Fr. Jim and Fr. Lijo were reassigned and Fr. Binoy Akkalayil Lucka, O.SS.T. became Administrator of St. James.

We continue to keep a strong Black identity and are becoming increasingly a welcoming, integrating and caring community.  All of our art work and vestiture, the Kwanzaa celebrations and our music proclaim the “gift of blackness to the Church,” as Pope Paul VI urged us to do.  Hopefully, if we are consistent with our history, we will continue to be a vital presence in the future.

True to its patron saint, St. James the Apostle Roman Catholic Church has a rich history rooted in Catholic Faith, building up the reign of God, living out the message of Jesus Christ while working collaboratively in knowing, loving, and serving God by knowing, loving, and serving each other.

                                                                         
 

This brief history is the culmination of various essays written about St. James over the past 35 years.