Saint Brigid Catholic Church - Hanford, CA

We have a very active parish where love of God and love of neighbor are shown. The 18th century Spanish missionaries regarded the San Joaquin Valley as uninhabitable swampland, so they established no missions here. After citizens of the United States came to the gold country in 1849 and the years following, they began migrating and soon inhabited the south valley. Fr. Samuel Dade was the first priest to serve the new settlers in this region, establishing the parish of the Nativity of Mary in Visalia. In 1886 the first parish was founded in what would later become Kings County. First serving mostly Irish and Portuguese settlers, this church was named after an Irish saint who exemplified Ireland's second Christian generation.

St. Brigid, who was born a few years before Patrick died, founded convents and emphasized holiness of life. Her generation completed the evangelization of Ireland and prepared the way for the great missionaries who would later leave Ireland, bringing the message of salvation to other parts of Europe.

More than 120 years later, our mission at St. Brigid's is to be a beacon to the people around us, a refuge in these trying times.