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March
6, 2006
VOL.
44, NO. 5Oakland,
CA
Father Edmund Hayburn dies at 90
Father Edmund
Hayburn, who constructed St. Agnes Parish in the midst of Concord walnut
orchards 40 years ago, died Feb. 24, days after reaching his 90th birthday.
The San Francisco native and 1933 graduate of St. Ignatius High School
was devoted to Latin American culture and served Spanish-speaking Catholics
on both sides of the Bay.
He started a Spanish Mass at St. Leonard Parish in Fremont (now Our Lady
of Guadalupe Parish) and helped found a Guadalupano group there to honor
the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Father Hayburn acquired his love for Latin America when he attended a
course in the history and geography of the region at San Francisco State
College. He later entered St. Patrick’s Seminary and after ordination
made more than a dozen trips to Mexico and other countries in Latin America.
He was ordained to the priesthood in June 1945 by San Francisco Archbishop
John J. Mitty along with his brother, Robert. In a memoir written on his
50th anniversary to the priesthood, Father Hayburn said his mother told
him that she never prayed that he and his brother would be priests, only
that they “would do God’s will.”
His first assignment was as assistant pastor at St. Margaret Mary in Oakland,
and he later served in a number of San Francisco parishes before returning
to the East Bay in 1958 as assistant pastor at Sacred Heart in Oakland.
In 1964 he was appointed pastor of the newly established St. Agnes Parish
in Concord.
“I inherited an orchard and we had a walnut drying shed which we
converted into a chapel for daily Mass,” he said in a 1986 Voice
interview. “We had to go to the Elk’s Club on Sundays until
the church was built. The kids used to call it ‘St. Elk’s.’”
The parish embarked on a building program that included a grade school,
rectory, convent and church (since rebuilt.) “It is wonderful when
you build up a church from scratch; the people rally around you. It creates
community all by itself,” he said.
In 1978 Father Hayburn became pastor at St. Leonard Parish in Fremont
and was known for creating an atmosphere that encouraged participation
in the Mass.
He retired from active ministry in 1986, and nine years later, when he
marked his golden anniversary, he wrote that the priesthood is “the
greatest gift that can be given to a human being” and that he was
thankful for “the many years of serving the Lord.”
The funeral Mass was held March 2 at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Oakland.
Burial followed at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma.
Father Edmund Hayburn
