Located on a hill overlooking the Port of Los Angeles, Mary Star of the Sea has sometimes been known as the "Fishermen’s Parish" because of its close ties with the fishing and cannery community in San Pedro.

Father Maximus Benso, a native of Italy, purchased the land in 1919 that eventually accommodated the church and school.

[4] Father James McLaughlin, the parish's eighth pastor and a native of Ireland, established the "Apostleship of the Sea,"[4] a Catholic organization for the merchant marine.

Scott arrived, the parish community included 10,000 Croatians and 5,000 Italians, mostly fishermen, cannery workers, and their families.

Gallagher celebrated the opening of the new Mary Star of the Sea High School after overseeing the development and construction for 13 years.

"[2] Mary Star of the Sea's renown comes principally from its relationship with the port and San Pedro's fishing community.

In a July 2001, the Los Angeles Times published a feature article on San Pedro, noting the central and longstanding role played by Mary Star of the Sea in the community: Croatian, Portuguese and Italian fishing families, many of them Catholic, founded San Pedro.

Content with the beauty of the hills rising from the harbor, they built their homes, their church, their businesses and dutifully produced large families to do the same.

More than 100 years later, some of their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren live in those family homes, work still on the docks or in town and worship still at Mary Star of the Sea.

[7]The San Pedro fishing industry reached its peak in the 1940s,[8] and fell into decline by the 1980s with the closure of canneries and increased foreign competition.

[9] In 1985, Mary Star of the Sea began to offer a special fishermen's Mass on the same day as the blessing of the fleet.

The article noted that the fishermen and cannery workers of San Pedro had provided most of the funding to build the new Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church in the 1950s.

Gallagher, interviewed by the Times, noted that the church, too, had benefited from the fishermen's good fortune: "Our collections the last couple of months are noticeably higher than usual.

Scott encouraged the fishermen in his parish to build altars on fishing ships and asked fleet skippers to pass along their religious beliefs to their crews.

Gallagher, noted the importance of the bronze statue: "Our parish gets its name from the fishermen - the Virgin Mary guiding and protecting them when they are at sea.

Prominent among those elements is the large statue of Mary standing over the altar, cradling a tuna clipper in her arms.

[11] After the action drew protests from students and criticism in the press, Archbishop Roger Mahony overruled the school's decision.

[12] When the Archbishop's statement was read at a special assembly held in the church, students applauded, screamed and jumped out of their seats.

[12] Mahony emphasized that he was not condoning premarital sex, but recognizing that "wounded human nature is vulnerable to failure and to sinfulness.