Fr. Thomas Moloney was sent to Riverside to establish a parish in May 1955. Three years later ground was broken for a school and convent (now the Mission Center). Bishop Maher of the Diocese of San Diego dedicated the church in 1971.
In 1991 the growing Hispanic community prompted the addition of a Spanish Mass to the Sunday schedule and Deacon Ysidro Gurrola was placed in charge of the Hispanic Ministry. Among the parish’s many ministries, a Food Distribution Program for needy people was begun in 1993.
In 1998, with the approval of the Bishop of El Paso, the pastoral care of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was entrusted to the Diocesan Laborer Priests, a Secular Institute from Texas. Fr. Jose A. Sanz was appointed Administrator. The following year the Vietnamese Community registered as member of the parish. Bishop Gerald Barnes appointed Fr. Leo Huyen Dinh, CIVIC, parochial vicar.
In April 2001, a small Tongan community began to worship in the parish. They agreed to join the English Speaking community for the liturgy and religious education and become parishioners when it was agreed that Mass would be celebrated in Tongan once a month.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish was notified in June 2002 that it was chosen for a pilot project called “Welcoming the Stranger,” a program of the U.S. Catholic Bishops exploring multiculturalism in the parishes.
