| The parish was founded in 1946 to serve the needs of a
small group of black families. In February, 1946, Fr. Joseph Murphy of the Holy Ghost
Fathers received a permit from the city of Riverside for a church. Originally called the
Church of the Holy Spirit, the parish had a nucleus of 20 black families. On Sunday
morning, June 9, 1946, in an old stable along a dirt road known as Arlington Avenue, the
first solemn High Mass was sung to dedicate the parish.
In 1948, Fr. Paul Lippert, the third pastor, made an "Appeal for Assistance in
Building a New Church." Funding came from the Extension Society who required him to
change the name of the church to St. Catherine of Alexandria as one of the conditions of
their agreement.
In 1953, Fr. Sylvester Dellert arrived and immediately began a campaign to build a
school. The next year Fr. Daniel Bradley arrived to organize the early parishioners into
building crews. The school was built entirely by men and women from the parish who spent
several weekends constructing and painting the school and the convent.
The first nuns were Franciscans from Clinton, Iowa, who opened the school with 425
students in grades one through eight. There was no glass panes in the windows, but the was
no debt.
Over the years, additional buildings were constructed, were purchased or were
renovated. The facilities that are a part of the parish now are:
 | The church. Built in 1957, it holds about 800 people. |
| The rectory. Also built in 1957, it serves as the headquarters of the parish and the
home of the priests. |
| The school. It has about 360 students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
|
| The school's computer lab/library/extended care building was constructed in 1990.
|
| The Spiritual Development Center, at 6956 Nixon St., had been the home of the longtime
housekeeper at the rectory, who left it to the parish
after her death. |
| The parish hall. As part of a capital campaign, Building for the Family of Christ, the
hall was completely renovated in 1998. |
| The Ministry and Youth Center came into being in 1998 as well as part of the capital
campaign. When the few remaining sisters decided to relocate to apartments, a prime asset
became available. The two-story building contains a youth center, a religious education
room, two meeting rooms, a kitchen and several offices. |
| The Student Services Center, another facet of the capital campaign, was completed also
in 1998. On the site of the original church, the building had housed the school's
kindergarten, the principal's office and a meeting room. The building was torn down and
replaced with a modern kindergarten, a nurse's station, three small classrooms and space
for the principal and the school secretary. |
| Science Room. Another part of the capital campaign, this facility will convert one of
the existing classrooms into a modern science lab. Work has not begun yet on the project.
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