History of St. Francis

Over 100 years ago, Burien only had a few houses scattered throughout the wooded area, a general store, and a lumberyard. This early twentieth century arboreal locale was the perfect place for the beginnings of a Catholic community. In 1920, the 20+ Catholic families that filled in the Burien area decided the long dirt 1st Avenue road to Holy Family Parish in White Center was too long of a journey to make when the weather did not permit. Father John Francis Gibboney approach Bishop Edward J. O’Dea about the possibility of organizing a new parish from scratch to accommodate the growth of Burien’s population. On August 1, 1929, St. Francis of Assisi Parish was established, and Father Gibboney named its first pastor.

The first parish church (now the parish offices) began construction in October of 1929 and completed in April of 1930 for $26,000, a little over $400,000 in today’s money. During construction, the first Mass took place on Christmas Eve of 1929, accommodating 400 people. They raised the money throughout the year putting on community dinners, selling raffle tickets at the Puyallup Fair, putting on ham breakfasts, selling aprons, bake sales, and throwing regional dances! With the community’s hard work and dedication, they completed paying the costs for the construction of St. Francis in 1945—the Depression and World War II made it difficult.

Parishioners approached the Archdiocese to construct a school, build a rectory, hire more priests, and provide more services for the growing Catholic community of Burien. Between the years of 1947 and 1949, St. Francis purchased the lots where the school now is, where the rectory is, and where the homes are on the property for $32,000. After years of fundraising and construction, St. Francis of Assisi School opened its doors on January 31, 1954. 

Father Gibboney died in 1957 and was succeeded by Father William Quick as pastor. Known as a builder of churches, Father Quick oversaw the construction of St. Martin of Tours in Fife and Immaculate Conception in Mount Vernon. At St. Francis, he was stunned to see how many services provided from the parish church used. He would take photos of the church overflowing with congregants to convince the Archdiocese to build a new church. Father Quick wrote: “St. Francis is the most famous parish in the United States, having the only church with a quick Mass, a low Mass, and a daily Mass.” On September 18, 1966, St. Francis of Assisi Church was completed and its first Mass was celebrated in the new building seating 900. 

... we are working on our history beyond 1966, stay tuned.