Valerie Mendoza and her husband of 11 years, Roberto Villatoro, moved into their two-bedroom, two-bathroom Altadena home on Valentine’s Day 2020. It was built in 1951 by a Jet Propulsion Lab engineer who decorated it with inlaid rocks he polished as a hobby. It had a patio angled for spectacular views of downtown Los Angeles that took their breath away.
The couple loved how they lived just three minutes uphill from their parish, St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Altadena.
But the Eaton Fire took that away last January.
Both their home and church share an address on North Lake Street, a busy thoroughfare starting in Pasadena that narrows as it reaches the base of the San Gabriel Mountains.
But the structures met different fates.
St. Elizabeth was damaged, but spared in an area where six other houses of worship were destroyed. A blue tarp on the roof, supported by sandbags, protects against further harm.
St. Elizabeth’s school across the street will stay closed until this fall as it awaits roof and HVAC repair, its street-view marquee displaying “DENA STRONG.”
Mendoza drove 30 minutes from her parents’ house and temporary living quarters in Glendora to attend, along with some 400 others, a special 10 a.m. Easter Mass at St. Elizabeth that was purposeful.
Having Archbishop José H. Gomez celebrate the Mass made it even more meaningful.
“I think at one point around Communion it all just hit me,” said Mendoza. “Normally, I’d be up the hill at my house cooking after church for Easter dinner with my husband on the patio smoking meat. This year we’re just doing it in a different place.
“It was so admirable the archbishop was here. It’s exactly what this community needed. Whether you are religious or not, it’s a season of renewal and he emphasized that today, and how we all need to turn a fresh page.”
In his homily, Archbishop Gomez reminded the parishioners at the 100-year-old church — many still dealing with the devastating reverberations caused by the wildfires — about how Easter relates to their plight.
“It has been a challenging time for us,” Archbishop Gomez said. “You have been close to my heart and in my prayers since the wildfires. We know there will be rising from these ashes around you. So on this beautiful Easter morning, let us ask the Lord to increase our hope in his resurrection.
“This is the day the Lord has made to be the day of our hope. Brothers and sisters, as Catholics, we are called to be people of hope. Let’s stay strong and let’s stay close to Jesus.”
As weekly announcements came near the end of Mass — including a reminder about a May 3 Relief for Fire Victims Community Day of Service job fair at the church — the lector said, “And remember, a family that prays together …”
“Stays together!” the congregation replied in unison.
St. Elizabeth Church Deacon Doug Cremer said that refrain carries extra meaning, even as it has become a tradition for years at both Spanish and English-language Masses.
He and his wife, Phyllis, principal of St. Elizabeth’s School, live three miles west of the church, and a half-mile from where the fire line stopped. They were displaced for six weeks as smoke and ash were cleaned. Principal Cremer has seen most of the school’s students temporarily attend nearby Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Pasadena.
“Some people have said privately they can’t bring themselves to come back yet [to St. Elizabeth’s] because the pain is still raw and getting near the fire zone is just too heavy for them,” said Deacon Cremer. “Life goes on — we still have births and funerals and baptisms and weddings, and all that deepens all the challenges. But it also deepens our faith.”
He added the parish’s resiliency will continue to be tested: Father Modesto Lewis Perez, the pastor who concelebrated the Easter Mass with Archbishop Gomez, is retiring in June. The 77-year-old has been with St. Elizabeth’s for the last 15 years.
After Mass, Mendoza received a blessing from Archbishop Gomez. Tears ran down her cheeks as she told him, “God challenges those he loves.”
Mendoza said the Easter Mass at St. Elizabeth’s “felt like a homecoming. I love how this parish comes together in harmony. Everyone has the same purpose — we’re all just trying to be better people.
“This beautiful parish can’t lose its familiarity. I’m so glad I came to see friends. Here, everything feels the same. It’s once you start driving around when you realize it isn’t.”
She later checked on their property. Signs show it has been cleared of hazardous material, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers removed debris. Mendoza and Villatoro plan to rebuild.
Mendoza’s father-in-law, Deacon Roberto Villatoro Sr., from St. Anthony Church in Upland, blessed the couple’s home when they moved in five years ago.
“He blessed everything from the crawl space to the closets, and I remember telling myself, ‘We are protected now,’ ” said Mendoza, a human resources executive in Pasadena. “I think even though the house is gone, our land is still so blessed because there was so much good that came in and out of that house.
“When I received the blessing from the archbishop [on Easter], I felt protected again. I have never given up on my faith because it has never given up on me.”
