With the growth of Los Angeles to the west from downtown along Wilshire Boulevard, Bishop John Cantwell announced the creation of a new parish to be named after St.

[1] The new church parish was dedicated on 29 June 1969 in a ceremony presided over by Cardinal James Francis McIntyre and Archbishop Timothy Manning.

Protesters complained over the extravagance of the archdiocese in spending nearly $3 million on land and improvements to erect the large concrete church.

[3] At the dedication ceremony on 29 June 1969, more than 30 picketers paraded in front of the parish carrying placards and signs which included such phrases as "$1,000,000 for glass and stone, but ?

[3] During the fall of 1969, Católicos Por La Raza formed to protest both the extravagance, as well as the social neglect of the archdiocese.

Such discrimination was made apparent through the racial slur-filled homilies of then, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Cardinal McIntyre.

Católicos Por La Raza believed the archdiocese practiced hypocrisy in regards to Jesus Christ's mission to serve the poor.

Three hundred brown-eyed children of the sun have come to drive the money-changers out of the richest temple in Los Angeles...From the mansions of Beverly Hills, the Faithful have come in black shawls, in dead furs of beasts out of foreign jungles.

Now they and Cardinal James Francis McIntyre sit patiently on wooden benches inside, crossing themselves and waiting for the bell to strike twelve, while out in the night, three hundred greasers from across town march and sing tribal songs in an ancient language.

He recently built it for five million bucks: a harsh structure for puritanical worship, a simple solid excess of concrete, white marble, and black steel.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the mass was preceded by a parade of more than 60 placard-carrying picketers from the Coalition of Concerned Catholics and was attended by "100 Chicano militants and sympathizers".

[7] In his homily, Bishop Parrilla spoke against the Vietnam War, referring to young men who were imprisoned as conscientious objectors as "political prisoners".

A spokesman from the archdiocese addressed the parishioners before the mass and referred to the protesters as an "articulate, professionally organized minority" and as "militant revolutionaries".

[7] In early January 1970, the protesters described by the Los Angeles Times as "50 Chicanos and sympathizers," began a fast outside St.

Ricardo Cruz, one of the protest leaders, told the Times, "We, Catolicos por la Raza, have chosen to begin the year 1970 by a public fast at St.

Basil's to demonstrate our convictions to our people, the Chicano and to our Catholic brothers whose support we seek in our struggle with the hierarchy of the Church.

"[9] Cruz added that the protesters would "not allow the hierarchy or their army, under the guise of law enforcement officers, to disrupt our demonstrations of faith.

Archbishop Timothy Manning led the conversation between the archdiocese and Católicos Por La Raza, moreover, their representative and key leader, Ricardo Cruz.

Manning and Cruz were able to usher in the organization of funds for educational and social programs concerning local residents of East Los Angeles.

The progress seen in the work between Manning and La Raza extended beyond the Los Angeles setting, particularly when Chicanos started to emerge as bishops in other dioceses and archdioceses around the United States.

Basil is a combination of 12 angular, adjacent concrete towers, each 80 feet (24 m) high, separated by full-length, irregular shafts of stained glass.

[16] Albert C. Martin told the Los Angeles Times in 1967 that "the fortress-like composition of towers was suggested by 3rd and 4th century Christian church design and features of early monastic buildings".

[14] Martin's firm described the design concept as "a marriage of early Christian with contemporary to recall the time when the church often served as a place of refuge.

"[15] Los Angeles Times religion editor, Dan L. Thrapp, described the concept in June 1969 as follows:"The church is patterned after a third century Roman basilica with massive concrete towers in a seemingly random placement, but well organized so that the sanctuary, lighted through the shafts of three-dimensional colored glass windows, can seat 900 in stylish comfort.

"[3]The construction of the church parish required more than 9,000 cubic yards of concrete, and the walls were "bush‐hammered to create a rough texture and expose the color of the aggregate".