The history of St. John of the Cross Catholic Church in Lemon Grove began in 1868 when 4,283 acres of land composed Lemon Grove, Encanto and La Mesa. Several parcels of land were later sold and the first lemon and orange trees were planted. 

    The raising of the new Church in Lemon Grove forms a fitting and notable milestone in the path of progress of Catholic growth in California.  there are many among us who can trace the development of Lemon Grove from a mere hamlet into the flourishing township we know it is today.

    A parish family operated at one time the sole store in the neighborhood which served the few families which until then had settled in these parts.  From that time on, the growth on the Catholic congregation proceeded hand-in-hand with the shepherd of the Lemon Grove community.  The Sunday morning group of faithful who attended the first humble Church of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus on Lemon Avenue grew into the well-organized parish of St. John of the Cross which we know today.

   The first Pastor of Lemon Grove was known as the much beloved shepherd of the old and the new San Diego.  He was the Reverend Father Joseph C. Mesny who came over from La Mesa to celebrate Sunday Mass in the lowly chapel.  It was his consolation and delight to be able to minister to the needs of his esteemed Mexican families - the descendants of the neophytes to who the pioneer missionary of the Baja and Alta California, our own Father Junipero Serra, preached.

    Many are the memories of the tender acts of charity carried out by Father Mesny.  He would delegate some of his helpers to go out furnished with food and alms to visit the poor and impoverished.  He would carry bedding and clothing in his own car to distribute to the needy.

   Such are the sentiments held regarding the first pastor of Lemon Grove who attended the early stirrings of community spirit in the 1920's and 1930's.

   And so the lowly beginnings of the little chapel on Lemon Avenue found a bountiful increase in 1939 in a Church with a seating capacity of 140.  The edifice was dedicated by His Excellency, the Bishop of San Diego, on May 5th, 1940, on the Feast of San Angelo.