In the 1960s Sister Marie McHugh began a series of meetings with the Precious Blood priests and the parishioners of St. Francis of Assisi. She wanted to hear from the people—what they wanted and needed. It was clear that education, CCD, home visits and adult bible study were top priorities. They worked closely with Richard Griever, Provincial, Anthony Gamble, Pastor and two seminarians, Bill Finn and Chris Sandholdt to design programs for the parish. At this time the parish was predominately African American with a growing population of Hispanics, majority from Mexico—“Chicanos” in California. The parishioners of St. Francis also included a few Italian families and older Irish widows that remained after the early sixties “white flight”, as well as a few Japanese families. There was a clear message & need: EPA was being ignored and there was a great need for education, resources and spiritual boosting. (To read more about Marie's work in East Palo Alto click on the link under her picture.)
