Indian Wells and La Quinta comprise the major portion of the parish boundaries. Indian Wells was so named because the Cahuilla Indians roamed this area to draw water from the wells. La Quinta in English means “the fifth”, and referred to the fifth day stopover for travelers weary of horse, stagecoach and wagon. They would stop here for rest and recuperation.
For nearly 40 years, starting in 1962, Indian Wells was the Coachella Valley’s only established watering point and a pivotal stagecoach stop for intrepid gold prospectors seeking their fortunes on the Colorado River. The first settlers arrived around 1910 and were credited with pioneering the valley’s date industry. ************************************************************************************************************** |
The original church land was part of the Clarke Ranch at Point Happy, owned by Chauncey and Marie Clarke, and it was the showplace of the Coachella valley from 1912-1952. He raised Arabian horses on the property, but the main purpose of the ranch was the cultivation and sale of Deglet Noor dates. Other trees included grapefruit, lemon, orange, limes, tangerines, kumquat, loquat, fig, plum and peach, as well as a large garden producing vegetables and fruit.
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When St. Francis of Assisi Church was but a dream in the heads of the founding pastor, Fr. Raymond Bluett and his friend, Italian film director Franco Zeffirelli, this was the image they initially envisioned. However, reproducing the 13th century church would prove impractical, so instead they designed a basilica style church with a vaulted ceiling, reminiscent of the Romanesque architecture of the 12th century.
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As builders began the construction of St. Francis of Assisi Church in 1983, you can see that other than the Highland Palms subdivision to the north of the church property, there was virtually nothing across Washington Street except scrub brush. How times have changed!
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Before the church was finished, the founding members had rather unusual places to hold mass, such as “St. Crocker” (when mass was held at Crocker Bank) and “Our Lady of the Cars” (when mass was held at Simon Motors).
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The first mass at St. Francis was for Holy Thursday, on April 19, 1984, was attended by many stars and celebrities. The first two readers were actors Frank Sinatra and Gregory Peck. Here you can see that the new crucifix, murals and mosaics were not finished for the opening. Many Hollywood stars found much needed peace and quiet at the nearby La Quinta Resort, and came to St. Francis of Assisi for mass. In fact, film director and producer Frank Capra not only wrote the screenplay “It Happened One Night”, which won all five major Oscars in 1935, while staying at the resort, but he also had his funeral mass at St. Francis in 1985. It was through the generosity of stars like Frank Sinatra, Frank Capra, Bob Hope and entrepreneurs like the Annenberg’s that our church was possible, although it was the “regulars” who took the church from a building into a home.
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The murals that adorn St. Francis of Assisi Church were painted by Alexander Rosenfeld, a La Quinta artist who used faded copies of the Giotto frescoes from St. Francis of Assisi Basilica in Assisi, Italy as his inspiration. Mr. Rosenfeld, in his 90’s at the time, worked 9 hours a day, six days a week, for 2 ½ years to complete the 16 murals, 14 of which depict the life of St. Francis of Assisi.
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The crucifix on the altar was carved (except for Jesus’ extended left arm) out of a single 700 pound block of pepperwood. It was carved by the sculptor, Ivo Demetz, in northern Italy and shipped here by air. The model for this unique work of art was discovered by Fr. Peter Brennan during a chance stop at a gift shop in Ireland, entitled “The Vision of St. Francis”.
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By 1998, just fourteen years after St. Francis opened, the parish had doubled in size to 2,200 families and almost 5,000 parishioners, requiring an expansion that included enlarging the hall and building the pastoral center and chapel. By contrast, in 2016, St. Francis has 5,661 registered families, and a total of 16,327 registered parishioners. We continue to grow!