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In the 1950s, Orange County California was experiencing rapid growth and expansion. Along with this boom came a need for additional Catholic churches and Catholic schools. No less than 12 Catholic Elementary Schools opened in the 1950s. St. Mary was the established church and school in the Fullerton area at the time and two St. Mary Annex Schools were opened. St. Mary's First Annex School was built in 1957 and later became known as St. Philip Benizi School. (St. Mary's Second Annex School was built in 1959 and later became known as St. Juliana School.) In January 1958, the new parish of St. Philip Benizi was announced. St. Philip Benizi Church had not been built yet so daily mass was offered in a temporary chapel set up in one of the classrooms and Sunday mass was offered at the Merilark Roller Rink. St. Philip Benizi School opened for session in September 1958. There were two first-grade classes, two second-grade classes, one third-grade class, and one fourth-grade class. The plans for St. Philip Benizi Church were approved in August 1958 and construction started in October 1958. The first mass in St. Philip Benizi Church was offered on July 19, 1959 and the dedication was held on August 23, 1959.
St. Mary's First Annex was a single building and is the south building on the current campus.
On August 17, 2000, an arson fire destroyed St. Philip Benizi Church. A temporary church structure was erected on the west end of the sports field. A new church was built and dedicated on March 12, 2005. The only remaining visual evidence of the tragedy is the concrete foundation (the "Slab") where the temporary church once stood.
In 2002, declining enrollment in both St. Mary School and St. Philip Benizi School, forced a very difficult decision to merge the two schools. The merger hosted the Elementary School (grades pre-K & K-5) at the St. Philip Benizi campus and the Junior High School (grades 6-8) at the St. Mary campus. Soon after, the St. Mary School campus closed and the combined school (grades pre-K & K-8) resided entirely on the St. Philip Benizi campus. The combined school was renamed Annunciation Catholic School (ACS) in 2005.
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