History of the Parish
The parish of St. Gregory the Great was founded in August of 1985. Our first Mass was celebrated September 3, 1985, the feast of St. Gregory the Great, at Miramar Ranch Elementary School. For the first two years our faith community held weekend liturgies in a variety of locations. The Parish Office was in the Scripps Ranch residence of our founding Pastor, Fr. Jim Poulson. Weekday Masses were in the living room and Holy Day Masses in the backyard until December of 1987, when office space was leased as our parish center for the next twelve years. In that time our parish grew from 200 families to over 1,300. We longed for a permanent home.
Finally, after three capital campaigns, years of meetings and a multitude of prayers, the parish of Saint Gregory the Great broke ground for our permanent church home on October 12, 1997. February 7, 1999 was a historic moment, not only for our parish but also for the entire Scripps Ranch community, as it was the day the first permanent cross was raised and placed on the first permanent church in Scripps Ranch. Our first Mass in the new church was celebrated on October 2, 1999 where 1,100 parishioners gathered in our plaza and were invited in as our front doors opened to our faith community.
A year later another historic moment occurred. Our campus, the church, the grounds, the parish offices and hall were each considered for San Diego County’s top architectural awards. The media heralded St. Gregory the Great with a ‘Grand’ Orchid Award. Our Catholic community won top honors in all three categories! We frequently have visitors from parishes who are planning to build their own new Catholic church, tour our campus for inspiration and they marvel at the sacramental symbolism and environmental components that are woven into the fabric of our campus.
‘Building Community’ beyond St. Gregory’s evolved from two defining historic tragedies. It was October 2003 when 300 homes were destroyed in Scripps Ranch by the ‘Cedar Fires’. Our church building and parish hall became the refuge and outreach center for hundreds of families and civic leaders in the days and weeks that followed. Our parishioners reached out to the local community with open doors for town hall meetings and open arms to establish a distribution center for clothing, food and furniture in our parish hall. Then two years later our grateful and generous stewards reached across the aisle to support the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Our parish hall again was the ‘Community Center’ for collecting truckloads of clothing and other necessities destined for those in need in Louisiana. It was a time for supporting communities beyond our church home. Additionally, we continue to provide assistance to our sister parish, Our Lady of Angels, with a food bank, clothing and our Adopt a Family Ministry at Christmas.
Growing
After 19 years of dedicated service, we said farewell to our founding pastor Fr. Jim Poulson and welcomed our new leader, Fr. Nicholas Clavin to meet the increasing challenges of our growing parish.
Father Nick embraced his new home with warmth and a caring heart. His passion is ‘Catholic Stewardship’. Stewardship is accepting God’s gifts gratefully, cultivating and using them wisely by serving others and returning those gifts with increase back to the Lord. In the four years following Father Nick’s arrival, our Catholic faith community has grown, has evolved, has reached out and created new beginnings. Catholic education of our youth is a priority. Currently our Faith Formation program welcomes over 1,000 of our elementary and middle school children weekly. The High School Youth Ministry has significantly increased in size with 120 candidates in the first year Confirmation program. Our fabulous annual vacation bible school is always oversubscribed due to limited space.
Extraordinary liturgies at St. Gregory the Great have always been incredibly important to our community development. The Triduum and Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving and Healing Masses are truly unique blessings that enhance and deepen our spirituality. Celebrations like Father Nick’s 35th Anniversary of Ordination in June 2008 was one of many joyful social events held on our campus. Unfortunately these celebrations are limited by space constraints.
It was time to build and expand. Through the outstanding and grateful efforts of parish families we were able to raise the funds necessary to launch a new Catholic Community Center four miles from our current campus. On September 7, 2008 we broke ground for our new St. Gregory the Great Catholic School on a 9-acre parcel in Stonebridge Estates. Concurrently, construction began on our church campus with a major expansion and remodel of our kitchen and the addition of much needed storage space.
The year 2009 is upon us as we carve out the future of our young parish. It is a time for Building Community.
The parish of St. Gregory the Great was founded in August of 1985. Our first Mass was celebrated September 3, 1985, the feast of St. Gregory the Great, at Miramar Ranch Elementary School. For the first two years our faith community held weekend liturgies in a variety of locations. The Parish Office was in the Scripps Ranch residence of our founding Pastor, Fr. Jim Poulson. Weekday Masses were in the living room and Holy Day Masses in the backyard until December of 1987, when office space was leased as our parish center for the next twelve years. In that time our parish grew from 200 families to over 1,300. We longed for a permanent home.
Finally, after three capital campaigns, years of meetings and a multitude of prayers, the parish of Saint Gregory the Great broke ground for our permanent church home on October 12, 1997. February 7, 1999 was a historic moment, not only for our parish but also for the entire Scripps Ranch community, as it was the day the first permanent cross was raised and placed on the first permanent church in Scripps Ranch. Our first Mass in the new church was celebrated on October 2, 1999 where 1,100 parishioners gathered in our plaza and were invited in as our front doors opened to our faith community.
A year later another historic moment occurred. Our campus, the church, the grounds, the parish offices and hall were each considered for San Diego County’s top architectural awards. The media heralded St. Gregory the Great with a ‘Grand’ Orchid Award. Our Catholic community won top honors in all three categories! We frequently have visitors from parishes who are planning to build their own new Catholic church, tour our campus for inspiration and they marvel at the sacramental symbolism and environmental components that are woven into the fabric of our campus.
‘Building Community’ beyond St. Gregory’s evolved from two defining historic tragedies. It was October 2003 when 300 homes were destroyed in Scripps Ranch by the ‘Cedar Fires’. Our church building and parish hall became the refuge and outreach center for hundreds of families and civic leaders in the days and weeks that followed. Our parishioners reached out to the local community with open doors for town hall meetings and open arms to establish a distribution center for clothing, food and furniture in our parish hall. Then two years later our grateful and generous stewards reached across the aisle to support the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Our parish hall again was the ‘Community Center’ for collecting truckloads of clothing and other necessities destined for those in need in Louisiana. It was a time for supporting communities beyond our church home. Additionally, we continue to provide assistance to our sister parish, Our Lady of Angels, with a food bank, clothing and our Adopt a Family Ministry at Christmas.
Growing
After 19 years of dedicated service, we said farewell to our founding pastor Fr. Jim Poulson and welcomed our new leader, Fr. Nicholas Clavin to meet the increasing challenges of our growing parish.
Father Nick embraced his new home with warmth and a caring heart. His passion is ‘Catholic Stewardship’. Stewardship is accepting God’s gifts gratefully, cultivating and using them wisely by serving others and returning those gifts with increase back to the Lord. In the four years following Father Nick’s arrival, our Catholic faith community has grown, has evolved, has reached out and created new beginnings. Catholic education of our youth is a priority. Currently our Faith Formation program welcomes over 1,000 of our elementary and middle school children weekly. The High School Youth Ministry has significantly increased in size with 120 candidates in the first year Confirmation program. Our fabulous annual vacation bible school is always oversubscribed due to limited space.
Extraordinary liturgies at St. Gregory the Great have always been incredibly important to our community development. The Triduum and Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving and Healing Masses are truly unique blessings that enhance and deepen our spirituality. Celebrations like Father Nick’s 35th Anniversary of Ordination in June 2008 was one of many joyful social events held on our campus. Unfortunately these celebrations are limited by space constraints.
It was time to build and expand. Through the outstanding and grateful efforts of parish families we were able to raise the funds necessary to launch a new Catholic Community Center four miles from our current campus. On September 7, 2008 we broke ground for our new St. Gregory the Great Catholic School on a 9-acre parcel in Stonebridge Estates. Concurrently, construction began on our church campus with a major expansion and remodel of our kitchen and the addition of much needed storage space.
The year 2009 is upon us as we carve out the future of our young parish. It is a time for Building Community.