History
Saint Joachim and Saint Anne have been venerated as the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary since the first century A.D. Hence, it is fitting that the first parish in Costa Mesa would be named after the husband of the saint whose name was given to the neighboring city, Santa Ana. The founding Pastor, Msgr. Thomas Nevin, had his first priestly assignment in Santa Ana. The new parish was founded on March 16, 1947. At its beginning, the parish territory included all the city of Costa Mesa and parts of Newport Beach.
Costa Mesa traces its history to a Spanish land grant in 1810 to Jose Antonio Yorba. By 1880, settlers had bought sections of the land grant from the Yorba heirs and had established the town of Fairview. A storm in 1889 destroyed the small town. A new small town, called Harper, named for a nearby rancher, was established and it gradually grew. In 1920, Harper officially changed its name to Costa Mesa, meaning "Coastal Table Land" in Spanish, and continued as an agricultural community. The city survived the Great Depression, in spite of the collapse of many businesses, and during the Second World War, it was the training site for thousands of people at the Santa Ana Army Air base. When Saint Joachim Parish was founded some of the old buildings of this Army base served as temporary quarters for parish activities.
The land for the parish was purchased in the summer of 1947. The old base chapel was moved to the property and remodeled in time to celebrate Christmas Masses that year. On June 13, 1948, Bishop Timothy Manning dedicated the new church building. On September 12, 1949, the new school was opened, under the leadership of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, using barracks also transferred from the base. In 1954, a new addition to the church building was completed, doubling its capacity. In 1965, the current church structure was built and dedicated.
As Southern California expanded over the decades, so has the parish, reaching its current membership of over 3,000 families and reflecting the ethnic mix of the changing times.
In 1960, one half of its territory was transferred to its daughter parish, St. John the Baptist.
The parish embarked on a major expansion of its facilities in 2004, building new classrooms, administration offices, a rectory and a parish hall. Many priests and religious have served the people of the parish under the leadership of its pastors, Monsignor Thomas Nevin, Father Kenneth Krause, and Father Joseph Robillard. The parish is led by the current pastor, Father Enrique Sera, two vicars, Fathers Gilberto Escobedo and Stephen Doktorczyk, a professional pastoral staff and the school principal, Sister Kathleen Marie Pughe, C.S.J. The community is also blessed with able volunteers who serve on lay boards and councils. The mission of the parish is to open its doors to all who with to follow Christ in the Roman Catholic tradition and to reach out in love to all of its neighbors, Catholic and non-Catholic alike.
