Ground-breaking for Holy Family church, with a school on the second floor, was begun in early May of 1908, and the first Mass was said by the first pastor, Fr. Füngerling, on November 18. Although the church could accommodate 450 people, only a few devout souls attended that first Mass. Two years later First Holy Communion was celebrated for the first time with a total of fifty-nine persons attending the Mass. From the very beginning, following the European custom, the men sat on the right side of the main aisle and the women, always with their heads covered, took their places on the left side. The pastor always wore a cassock and biretta (a small, stiff, black square cap) on the church grounds. These practices continued until sometime after World War II.

                 The hardships encountered in the first two years of the existence of the parish caused the first pastor to request an early transfer, and in 1913 the Archbishop was ready to put the entire property on the auction block. With the arrival of Fr. Geifenberg as pastor in December, 1913, the Archbishop was willing to give Holy Family parish a second chance. Contributing to the support of the church was difficult at that time when heads of families were earning 10¢ an hour. Fr. Greifenberg formed several societies, such as the Holy Name Society and the Altar and Rosary Society, to solidify support for the church and to provide a pool of willing workers to carry out the many improvements in and around the church.

                 Although the parish consisted of immigrants from Austria-Hungary, Germany, Croatia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Italy, the hymns sung in church were the German hymns that Fr. Greifenberg (1908-1923) had introduced from Germany. From its beginning until the departure of Fr. Frenzkowski in 1939, prayers were said in German, hymns were sung in German, and sermons were delivered from a high pulpit in German. Even after English was introduced in place of German at the earlier Masses, the High Mass, often followed by Benediction, continued in German. 

                 Many of the devotional traditions were transplanted from Europe to Holy Family Parish. One of these edifying traditions was the annual Corpus Christi procession, led by the school children, arranged according to classes, followed by the adults. The various societies marched in groups, proudly displaying their badges, with the Standard Bearer carrying the colorful banner. Last of all came the pastor wearing a gold-brocaded cope and carrying the golden monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament. Near him walked four altar boys swinging censors, which filled the air with the fragrance of the burning incense. Four men of the parish carried the poles that supported a large gold-brocaded baldachin (canopy) over the pastor. A German band provided music for the singing along the way. Flower-bedecked altars were set up at the great crucifix in the cemetery, on the porches of the Beck, Marosits, and Innhof homes, where short Benedictions were held. The procession then proceeded to the church for the final Benediction. 

                 There was also the beautiful May procession, in which children sprinkled flower petals along the way. Members of the Sodality carried the statue of the Blessed Virgin in procession and then crowned her at her altar in the church. The deep devotion of Holy family parish to the blessed Virgin was manifested in the devotions to Mary in May and October.  There was a Benediction every Sunday afternoon at 2:00 o'clock.  

                There was also the beautiful custom of saying the Angelus. When the bell in the church steeple rang the Angelus (three short rings three times, followed by a sustained ringing), it was not unusual to see people, elders and children alike, stop in their tracks, whether walking or walking, and saying the prayer, which began with the words, "The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, and she conceived by the Holy ghost, followed by the "Hail Mary." At the end of the prayer, they continued on their way.

                 The eighty-seven MSC Sisters, almost all of them from Germany, noted for their strict discipline, had a significant impact on the religious life of the young of the parish from 1910 onward until they were gradually replaced by all lay teachers by 1991. Initially the Sisters lived in two rooms next to the classrooms on the second floor over the church. Twenty years would pass before Fr. Frenzkowski had the convent constructed on Convent Avenue in 1928.

                  On the departure of Fr. Frenzkowski in October of 1939, the tenure of the succeeding pastorates was comparatively brief. Fr. Struchholz (1939-1946) made improvements in the church, adding new altars and pews and remodeling the convent, which had been built. Upon the death of Fr. Struchholz following a heart attack in 1946, Fr. Zaun (1947-52) became pastor, followed by Fr. Walsh (1947-52), who instituted a building drive for a new church and school. Through his efforts  and the generosity of the parishioners, who participated in the post-war financial boom, $90,000 were raised. Under Fr. Wortmann (1952-65) the parish launched yet another ambitious building fund; the goal was $300,000. In November of 1954 the new school was completed on Convent Avenue, and soon thereafter the new gymnasium. 

 Ground was broken in 1964 for the new church, designed to accommodate about 900 parishioners. The final cost was $500,000. It was with a heavy heart that many of the older parishioners said goodbye to the old church in which they and their children had worshiped for half a century. The burden of paying off the new church fell on the shoulders of the next two pastors, Fr. Sirak (1965-1971) and Fr. Camilli (1971-82). It was at this time, too, that the whole series of liturgical innovations introduced by the Vatican had their impact on the services at Holy Family. Fr. Camilli did away with the hymnal that had been in use since the beginning of the parish and introduced new music into the liturgy. The Latin mass was dropped. Communion could be received under both species. New Eucharistic prayers were included in the Mass. The laity began to take an active role in the sanctuary as lectors, cantors, and Eucharistic ministers. 

AN EXTERIOR DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW CHURCH

Holy Family Church is situated at the top of W. Center Street at the south end of Forest Drive.  The shape, contour of the site, and the needs of the parish dictated the unusual design.  In order to provide a building which could seat 900 people, the church was placed in a diagonal position and measures 163 feet from front to rear and 100 feet across.  The exterior is contemporary in design.  The main walls are made of buff colored brick with limestone trim and the windows have aluminum frames and colored metal panels interspersed with colored glass.  Crowing the intersection of the nave and transept roofs, a height of 85 feet, is a shining cross on top of a 50 foot high stainless steel spire.

AN INTERIOR DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH

 The commanding feature of the narthex, just inside the main entrance, is the baptistery.  A wrought iron door serves as the entrance and in the center is the baptismal font, an original design by the world renowned Spanish sculptor, Enrique Monjo.  The base of the font is alabaster and the four sides are carved with cherubs holding various symbols of Baptism in their hands.  The cover is repousse bronze in a stylized floral design.  Directly above the font, hanging from the ridge beam, a specially designed light fixture creates a solid tube of light.  The entire are is wrapped in colored glass windows running the entire story length. 

A row of 8 swinging doors, containing colored glass windows, separates the narthex from the nave or main body of the church.  Located in the rear of the nave are two shrines and three confessionals.

The main feature of the nave is the "colored" glass windows.  The windows were manufactured by John Armiento of New Brumswick, N.J. and are unique as compared to the usual "stained" glass windows. Stained glass is made by painting the color on the glass and then baking the window, while colored glass windows are made of solid colored panes, each piece of glass being carefully elected to fit the design.  The advantage of this new type window is the fact that it gives the same appearance from either side when light passes through it.

In the mezzanine at the rear of the church is the choir loft which houses an Allen electric organ and the "Mother's Room" which is sound proof, air conditioned and equipped with loud speakers.

There are 14 Stations of the Cross on the walls of the nave, depicting scenes from the "Way of the Cross".  The stations, imported from Italy, are hand carved from Linden wood and poly=chromed.  On either side of the crucifix are glazed terra cotta figures depicting scenes form the life of Christ.   

In 1977 Fr. Camilli initiated the construction of the commodious new rectory on Forest Drive, which had accommodations for three residents priests and visiting priests, as well as a suite of offices for conducting the business affairs of the parish. When Fr. Cipar became the pastor (1982-1990), he undertook the task of expanding the new school in 1985. By the time he left and Fr. Weber (l991-l999) became the pastor, the parish had grown to approximately 1,700 families. The arrival of Fr. John Kavcak in 1999 marked the first time that someone born and raised in the parish became pastor of Holy Family parish, which has now grown to 2,600 families. He was one of the vocations that the parish produced.

 As the hundredth anniversary of the founding of the parish approaches, one can look back over the vast changes that have occurred and can imagine comparable changes to come in the next hundred years.