Ramona Bravo was born in Simi Valley, but the 79-year-old woman "from day one" grew up in Moorpark and her life was touched by the faith community her family embraced through Holy Cross Catholic Church.

Her memories are of the tiny chapel at the corner of Magnolia and Charles streets, predecessor to the current hilltop church overlooking the city, where she had her first communion, confirmation and was married. The church family, she said, "reaches out to everyone."

Saturday is the 25th anniversary of the decision to establish Holy Cross Catholic Church as its own parish. The occasion will be marked by a 5 p.m. Mass officiated by Cardinal Roger Mahony, followed by a reception in the parish hall.

Priests who have served at the church in the past will be on hand, as will clergy from nearby parishes and former members of the congregation from as far away as Texas.

The event is a "celebration of the people of God," said Monsignor Paul Albee, Holy Cross pastor since 2005.

A parish is not a building, parking lots and programs, "but the people," and that's what makes Holy Cross special, Albee said. He has been impressed with the church's cross-generational events — from supporting mission projects to offering bereavement support, to feeding the hungry and being a major supporter of Catholic Charities and the Moorpark Food Pantry.

The silver anniversary is also a time to reflect on the church's long-established roots in Ventura County.

Bravo is particularly looking forward to Saturday's celebration because founding pastor, Monsignor Joseph Cosgrove, now retired and living in Las Vegas, will be there.

"We had him so many years. It was sad to see him go," Bravo said. "Father Joe, oh, he's something else. It's bound to be one big party."

Looking back

Before the early 1920s, the small Catholic community in Moorpark was served by priests from Santa Clara Parish in Oxnard, who would travel by horseback and later by automobile to celebrate Mass, hear confessions, baptize children and marry couples.

When Santa Rosa of Lima (now St. Rose of Lima) Parish was built in Simi Valley in 1921, pastoral care of the Moorpark area was transferred there. In 1925, after years of meeting in parishioners' homes and encouraged by the growing number of Catholics in the tiny town, the downtown chapel was built. It seated 100 and cost $3,635.

Priests from St. Rose celebrated the Masses until 1979, when the Rev. John Cunningham was appointed the first resident priest. In January 1982, Cosgrove was appointed administrator of Holy Cross Mission.

When the late Cardinal Timothy Manning paid a pastoral visit in September that year, he recognized the tremendous growth in the area. He told Cosgrove of his intent to separate Holy Cross from St. Rose and Cosgrove was named pastor of the new parish in October.

What followed were two more church-building campaigns. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles had purchased five acres at the corner of Spring and Peach Hill roads and on June 13, 1984, the parishioners moved from the chapel to the new church. It could seat 500 and was expected to meet the needs of the 400 Catholic families in the community.

By 1991, however, there were 2,000 families to be served. That led to the expansion of the existing church and the addition of a combination parish hall and religious education center and a new church office. The new facilities were dedicated by Mahony in 1993 and cost more than $1 million.

A welcoming place

In 1995 the late Pope John Paul II named Cosgrove reverend monsignor. A decade later, after being at the Holy Cross helm for 23 years, the founding pastor retired to the Diocese of Las Vegas. He continues to make periodic visits to the parish he still considers home.

Longtime parishioner Maria Hinojosa, 71, who first arrived in Moorpark from Mexico in 1955, feels the same way. She and her husband, Joe, 71, have raised five children in the church. The couple's 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren also attend Holy Cross.

On Sundays, Maria Hinojosa attends 10:30 a.m. Mass with her family and then sticks around for the 12:15 p.m. Spanish service where she serves as a lector and Eucharistic minister. On Saturday, she will share in the 25th anniversary by serving as lector in Spanish for the bilingual celebration.

In recognition of Holy Cross's history, several items from the old chapel have been resurrected for use in Saturday's celebration, including a thurible which holds incense, which was recently restored by Deacon Trino Andrade. Also, earlier this week, a large wooden crucifix that hung over the chapel altar was hung in the current church, where it will remain until Easter.

But the anniversary observance is not about the building or even the church's long-standing place in the community, Albee stressed. It's "in gratitude for the people who, looking back, have gone before us and the hope and promise for the future."