St. Finbar Catholic Church and School (Burbank, California)

St. Finbar gained notoriety for its innovations in adapting to its multiethnic community, offering Vietnamese-language Masses to a wave of immigrants from Vietnam in 1975.

Located one mile from The Walt Disney Company's corporate headquarters and the former NBC Studios, St. Finbar served an overwhelmingly Anglo community for many years.

Father Bich heard confessions in Vietnamese preceding Masses in that language at the St. Finbar Parish Hall and at St. Barbara's in Santa Ana.

[3] The census-takers carried questionnaires across the community during Holy Week, asking residents a series of questions about their religion, including whether they had been baptized and confirmed.

[3] In July 1993, the Los Angeles Times published a 2,200-word profile of St. Finbar's titled, "Parish Mirrors Burbank's New Ethnic Makeup.

Father Howard described the backlash to the Spanish Mass: "It was a long time in coming, and it was painful because we knew that we would hurt some of the good, solid families that have been here.

Haber noted that some of the remaining Anglo members felt that "Latinos are taking over the church," and that the parish "caters more to them.

[4] Since 1993, numerous parishes with large Latino communities in Southern California (and across the United States) have followed St. Finbar's example, and are now offering Spanish-language Masses.