Mary Help of Christians Church

What is their story?

Mary Help of Christians is a Catholic church in Oakland’s Jingletown neighborhood that became a central hub for community organizing during the Chicano Movement of the late 1960’s and 1970’s. Located on the other side of the tracks from the Fruitvale neighborhood, Jingletown became a place where dynamic community organizing happened, and at the center of this movement was Mary Help of Christians Church.

The Church offered Spanish-English masses, the first Dia del Barrio was held there in 1971, the Brown Berets had their headquarters at Mary Help of Christians and the Chicano Revolutionary Party established a breakfast program there that served children and families in Jingletown. Although no longer a center for the Chicano movement, Mary Help of Christians Church continues to be a center of community life in Jingletown.