Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1923 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
4 pp; printed
Context area
Name of creator
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Annual financial statement and pastoral letter issued by Fr. Joseph Fenelon OFM Cap. to the parishioners of St. Lawrence Church in Watts, California. In the introductory letter, the pastor expresses general satisfaction with the year’s results but notes that the overall number of financial contributors remains comparatively small given a substantial church debt of $40,000. He urges every family in the parish to utilize weekly envelopes to help meet these heavy obligations. The document includes a multi-column ledger that publicly itemizes financial contributions for the year. This includes categorized lists titled ‘Those Who Used Envelopes’ and ‘Easter and Christmas Amounts Contributed by Those Who Did Not Use the Envelopes’, tracking individual names alongside their specific monetary offerings. The final page features a complete financial ‘Recapitulation’ balance sheet, parish sacramental statistics (recording 70 baptisms, 129 marriages, and 19 funerals), and a concluding note detailing outstanding bank loans held with the Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Los Angeles and the First National Bank.