Parish History: 2004 Centennial Edition
Blessed Sacrament Parish History Book
The Jesuits Arrive
Father Murphy's next intended task was to have a school built but those plans were delayed as his health began to fail, forcing him to take frequent leaves of absence in an effort to regain his strength. But while visiting a friend in Joliet, Illinois in 1913, Fr. Murphy fell ill and died. The close-knit parish mourned the passing of their pastor and when his body was brought back for funeral services, presided over by Bishop Conaty, the Hollywood community turned out en masse to pay tribute.
Murphy was succeeded by Father William Forde but his tenure would be short-lived. In 1914 Bishop Conaty transferred the care of the growing parish away from the diocesan clergy and into the hands of the Jesuits, who years earlier had quite literally been run out of the area.
Although the Jesuits had aggressively participated in the exploration of Baja California during the early 18th century and were instrumental in founding the majority of the missions, their influence came to an abrupt end when they were banished from the Spanish Empire in 1767 by a royal edict. Their fall from New World grace happened because Spain's King Charles III was worried that the Society of Jesus was gaining too much wealth and power.
This was especially true in New Spain because the order had maintained absolute control of the missions and their holdings. So the Jesuits were sent into political and practical exile, replaced by the Franciscans, who continued the task of establishing missions but with greatly reduced authority and autonomy. Not only was control of the mission military taken away, Spanish soldiers were also put in charge of mission administration.
The Jesuits did not return to California until 1849, whereupon they quickly reestablished the order's influence though pastoral work and commitment to education.
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