Fr. Joseph Dadiri
Ordained in Congo to the Society of African Missions, Fr. Joseph came to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2016. He currently serves the Parish of St. Anne Church and Shrine and offers weekly mass and pastoral services to the Saint Anne School community.
Parish History
The original church was just a small chapel constructed by the parishioners themselves, primarily of materials donated by the parishioners. Fr. Patrick Hawe, who was the pastor of St. Monica Church at the time, brought the community together to build the chapel and it was completed in only one week. Bishop Thomas Conaty then dedicated the chapel on April 12, 1908. The Sisters of the Holy Name inaugurated the opening of the school in 1908. Once the stone platform for the statue of St. Anne and the Virgin Mary was completed in 1916, the St. Anne Shrine was officially dedicated.
In 1935, an altar was built so that the annual novena services could be celebrated in the Shrine. In the year 1952, a more elaborate enclosure was built for the Shrine. The small chapel, the Shrine and the school continued to be a mission of the Parish of St. Monica until 1951 when Monsignor Cyril J. Wood was named the first pastor of St. Anne Church. Upon arriving to the parish, Msgr. Wood rallied the community to raise funds for a new church to replace the small chapel. By 1955, the new church was finished. Msgr. Wood was pastor of St. Anne Church for thirty-six years until his passing in 1987 at the age of seventy-four. Despite the challenges to the parish presented by the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the parish continues to thrive and nourish a vibrant community.