Several Franciscan missions were established in north central California in the 1770s. Blessed Junipero Serra is buried in the mission at Carmel.

With the rapid influx of people after the discovery of gold in California, parishes and dioceses were quickly established. The Archdiocese of San Francisco was founded in 1853, with Joseph Sadoc Alemany, a Dominican who had been bishop of Monterey, as the first bishop.

There weren't any Catholic churches in Alameda until the Archbishop of San Francisco established St. Joseph Parish in 1885. The nearest Catholic church was St. Mary, Immaculate Conception in Oakland, which dates back to 1858.

Alameda grew rapidly in the first quarter of the 20th century. To adequately serve Alameda's many Catholic families, the Archdiocese of San Francisco established two new parishes in Alameda on July 1, 1925, St. Barnabas and St. Philip Neri.

St. Barnabas Parish was created from the west end of St. Joseph Parish. The original boundaries were from Webster Street west to the Alameda Pier, but the parish was extended in 1929 from Webster Street to the west side of Ninth Street.

When St. Barnabas Parish was established, there were approximately 950 families. The majority were of Italian heritage; there were also a fairly large number of families of Austrian origin or descent.

The first pastor was Father Patrick McGrattan, a priest of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Mass was first celebrated in the temporary rectory, a five room cottage located at 1446 Sixth Street. In 1926, Easter Mass was celebrated in a tent in the garden of the Rich family at 1822 Fourth Street.

Father McGrattan and the first parishioners went to work with great enthusiasm and energy. Our parish church was finished a year and a half after the parish was founded!

Archbishop Edward Hanna came from San Francisco for the formal dedication on December 13, 1926.

In 1955, Archbishop John Mitty entrusted St. Barnabas Parish to the Society of the Precious Blood. Archbishop Mitty wanted the parish to have a school. This was a ministry the Precious Blood Missionaries knew how to carry out, since they had worked side by side with the Sisters of the Precious Blood since they came to the United States in 1844.

Father Raymond Guillozet, the first Precious Blood pastor, was installed in September 1955. Illness in the first year of his ministry forced Father Guillozet's retirement, and the work was carried on by Father Aloys Selhorst.

Under Father Selhorst's guidance and the ministry of the Sisters of the Precious Blood, the school was completed in 1958. The hall was completed in 1961. During the school's 40th anniversary year, the hall was renamed in honor of Father Selhorst.

Along with the rest of the Bay Area, Alameda and St. Barnabas Parish experienced a number of demographic shifts throughout the mid decades of this century. A steady stream of new families came to the parish from the Naval Air Station. Many military retirees made their homes in our area. Families of Chinese, Japanese, and Hawai'ian ancestery were joined by people from the Philippines, Guam and other Pacific islands, Korea, Viet Nam, and Thailand. People from South Asia, the Middle East, and from Africa have all come to Alameda seeking places for their families to live in safety and dignity. Our parish has been enriched by the contributions and faith of people from all continents.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the church was renovated under the leadership of Father John Bosch, so that the renewed liturgy could be more fully celebrated.

When the school was built, it did not have a kindergarten. After several years of being housed in a temporary building, the kindergarten moved into a more permanent space in 1996.

The parish undertook another major project in 1996 and 1997. We replaced our failing electronic organ with a pipe organ. The California Province of the Society of Jesus gave us the pipe organ from their chapel in Los Altos, which was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The organ was restored and rebuilt by the Schoenstein Company of San Francisco, who had built it in 1941. Parishioners and volunteers moved the organ and prepared the loft and the electrical supply. Our new pipe organ first supported our worship at the Gloria of the Easter Vigil in 1997.

The people of St. Barnabas Parish have participated in the renewal of ministries that has characterized the Church since the Second Vatican Council. Living the gospel message to its fullest in our homes, at work, and in the community is a hallmark of our parish on the threshold of the New Millennium.