Welcome to the 60th Anniversary Newsletter!
Hello parishioners, friends, families and all members of the Holy Cross community,
We hope you all enjoyed the first edition of the newsletter last month. Our committee is enjoying sharing with you some history of the parish and school as well as interviewing members of our community. Thank you all for sharing your time and talents with us.
Would you like to get involved in the Holy Cross 60th anniversary events? Come join us! The 60th anniversary committee welcomes you! Please email hc60anniversary@gmail.com with your interest and we will connect back with you.
Thank you for being a part of this wonderful faith-filled community,
Father Robert Buchmeier, Pastor
Mrs. Lisa Kane, Principal
Mrs. Megan Harbold, 60th Anniversary Chair
Upcoming Event: Digital Art Show!
In honor of our 60th Anniversary, we will be publishing a digital show with your creative submissions! Thank you to everyone who has submitted. We have received some amazing works of art!
Molly H., student at Holy Cross
Lyndon K., student at Holy Cross
Create a work of art, write a poem, or a short paragraph or submit a photo that expresses "What Holy Cross Means To Me." Every parishioner and student of any age is called, and you can submit your work as an individual or as a family.
Take a picture of your work and send it in png or jpg format (maximum file size 512mb) to hc60anniversary@gmail.com by March 15!.
Submissions will be subject to review for content and appropriateness prior to publication. A submission indicates permission for Holy Cross Church to publish the content on the parish website.
All entries will be placed into a random drawing for a winner to receive a special item of Holy Cross spirit wear!
History of Holy Cross:
History collected by MaryAnn and Karen Crespy. Special thanks to Sr. Grace Shonk who helped to find these wonderful letters about our roots from the Sisters of the Holy Cross archives at St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, In.
Some of the earlier photos in this history piece came from the 25th Anniversary Holy Cross Directory.
In the Beginning....
As Deacon Bob Hubbard said in 2018… “Bear with me as we go back in time. Around the year 1900, there was a very successful bakery on Georgia Avenue in Washington, D.C. owned by the Corby brothers—an area that is now part of Howard University. They even made two deliveries a day to their customers. Their claim to fame was that they established processes and machinery for handing the making of bread.
In 1908, Charles Corby purchased the mansion from the Oyster family who had it built in 1899. Several years later, the Corby family deeded the Corby Hall property to the Sisters of the Holy Cross, and it became their Provincial House, Saint Angela Hall (currently Strathmore Hall) with property that included the mansion and the land all the way to the end of our parking lot.”
Fast forward to the 1950s when a group of families living on Euclid Drive, who were attending Mass at Holy Redeemer Church, had the idea for creating a neighborhood parish. Representing the families, Mary Francis Hilton wrote a letter to Bishop (later Archbishop) Patrick Aloysius O’Boyle of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. requesting a parish for the extended Garrett Park community.
On June 19, 1951, during a meeting of the Sisters of the Holy Cross General Council at the Motherhouse at Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, Mother M. Rose Elizabeth and the Council made the decision to give approximately 12 acres of land to the Archdiocese of Washington for the creation of what would eventually become Holy Cross Church and School. Mother M. Rose Elizabeth wrote to the Archbishop O'Boyle on June 29, 1951 to share the good news.
Bishop O’Boyle agreed and assigned Father W. Louis Quinn, PA (later Monsignor Quinn), then Assistant Pastor of Saint Matthew’s Cathedral in D.C., to Garrett Park to build Holy Cross school and school hall, with the original plan that Mass would be offered in the school hall. In late 1960, Fr. Quinn took up residence in a temporary Rectory at 10812 Clermont Ave, Garrett Park.
From the very beginning, he met with and involved the 300 parish families that came from Garrett Park, Parkside Apartments, Garrett Park Estates, White Flint Park, Wickford, and Luxmanor in organizing and planning their new parish, and quickly put the question of adding a church to the school construction project to the parishioners. They voted overwhelmingly to expand the project to include both school and church.
Fr. Quinn gathered parishioners from various professions to form an “advisory council” to draw up a plan on how the construction project could be financed. This group was likely the first Parish Council in the United States, and it is known that this group’s By Laws were distributed to Bishops across the country to encourage and assist other parishes in forming similar councils.
Parishioner input was vital to planning and a Euclid Drive committee was created to visit Catholic churches in the area taking notes that they would bring back to discuss at Sunday dinners at the home of Rosalia Murray.
An architect, Mr. Anthony Campetelli, was hired and produced plans for the original buildings which stand today—school, church, rectory, and convent—for just over $750,000. The oval drive in front of the church was meant to provide a transition from the busy world to the peacefulness of the church.
George C. Martin Builders, owned by members of Holy Redeemer Parish, were contracted to construct the church and school with sons, Francis and George, Garrett Park residents and Holy Cross parishioners running the project. Francis worked as the estimator and contract manager and George was the assistant project manager. George noted that “Msgr. Quinn was very active in building the church and school, even the placement of the Tabernacle and choosing the statues for church.”
Francis (now deceased) and his wife Pat and George and his wife Anne built their homes and raised their families in Garrett Park and are still members of Holy Cross Parish.
The first Mass for the parish was held at the Academy of the Holy Cross on November 27, 1960. Parishioners aided the pastor in paneling the basement of the temporary rectory to create an office and chapel where subsequent Masses were held until the permanent buildings were complete. A laundry room in the rectory doubled as a confessional.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the school and church was held on Easter Sunday, 1961. Holy Cross School was blessed and opened on September 7, 1961 with three Holy Cross sisters on staff. And on November 26, 1961—one day before the first anniversary of the parish—Archbishop O’Boyle offered Mass in the new Church. Over 700 trees and plants were put in place by volunteers. The convent for the sisters currently living at Saint Angela Hall and using a parish car to travel to and from the school, and a Rectory that included parish offices and meeting rooms soon followed.
Even after the initial buildings were completed, fundraising continued for the convent and then the rectory. As reported in the Washington Post, Holy Cross parishioners Sargent and Eunice Kennedy Shriver hosted more than 500 guests who bought $3.75 tickets to benefit the Holy Cross Church Building Fund on the grounds of the Sargent Shriver Estate. “We’ve built a church, a school, and a convent,” said Father Louis Quinn. “This party will help us build a rectory.”
While the layout of the grounds and main architectural elements designed by Msgr. Quinn remain, the church and school buildings have been modified and added to over the 60-year history of the buildings. Rearrangement of the sanctuary, updates to the tabernacle, the addition of a baldachin,
a new stained-glass pieta in the east transept, the addition of the wooden Stations of the Cross, reconditioning of the pipe organ, and even the addition of bathrooms to the narthex have enhanced the church over the years. An early childhood education building was added in the 1980s which houses the Msgr. McAllister Library, named in memory of Reverend Monsignor Joseph B. Mc Allister, a retired Catholic University professor who lived in residence at Holy Cross for many years; and Brosnan Hall, an arts building named in memory of Sister Miriam Regina Brosnan, CSC, the much beloved Principal of Holy Cross School who undertook the addition of both buildings. The social hall, later named Lewis Hall for Msgr. Robert Lewis, the parish’s second pastor, had a structural failure in 2008 and through parish fundraising was rebuilt with a raised roof, retractable basketball hoops, new performance stage, an updated kitchen, and renovated bathrooms.
60 years later, Holy Cross Church and School continue to fulfill the dream of those original parish families on Euclid Drive.
Interview by Kate Oczypok
Interview with Deacon Bob and Charlene Hubbard
Deacon Bob Hubbard and his wife Charlene have lived in the same house for 60 years—the only house they ever owned. When they moved into the Garrett Park Estates neighborhood, Holy Cross Church wasn’t even built yet. “We went to Mass at Holy Cross Academy in their auditorium for a while,” Bob said.
All three of the Hubbard children were baptized and confirmed at Holy Cross Church, and they also attended Holy Cross Elementary School through eighth grade.
“Obviously there have been lots of changes to the neighborhood, church and school,” Hubbard said. “One thing in particular was the improvements and additions to the school—they allowed for more people to get the benefit of a Catholic education.”
Hubbard was eager to share what Holy Cross Church looked like before some renovations. The church itself has remained relatively the same, although the altar used to face the other direction and a communion rail used to enclose the sanctuary across the front of the church.
The Hubbard's were always willing to help with any improvements they thought were needed too. For example, there was a gold railing that went across the top of a wall near the former sacristy that had become discolored.
“I told Father Quinn it became discolored so I asked to paint it,” Charlene said. “He said okay so I went over and painted it!”
The sacristy was also next to a furnace room and was “so small, you would pull a drawer out and not be able to get around,” Bob said. Charlene and Bob remembered Monsignor Gatto building a new sacristy, the one we all know today.
As far as the ministries they’re called to at Holy Cross, Bob started studying to become a deacon when he was in his 60s. The program typically takes five years and now, he presides as deacon at one Mass every Sunday, typically the last one. He also does around 95 percent of the baptisms at the church and helps preside at funeral Masses and committals at cemeteries.
“I think there’s a feeling of satisfaction, doing something good,” Bob said. He mentioned the shortage of priests making deacons very important. He takes communion to the sick and also is around to talk to parishioners who may feel like they need to talk to someone who’s married and has kids, someone “who’s been through some things that priests haven’t been through,” Bob added.
His position as deacon is strictly volunteer work, so he joked he can’t be fired!
Charlene converted to Catholicism around 20 years ago. Since then, she has more than made her mark on the church. She has become a eucharistic minister, giving communion to the homebound and serves as president of the Over 50 Club. She’s active in Lunch Bunch and the Altar Society. Also, they often drive parishioners who need a ride to Sunday Mass.
“I’m always sitting in the front pew, people joke it’s my pew,” Charlene laughed.
Some stories from Holy Cross’s past that Bob and Charlene are fond of are how parishioners used to put on Broadway shows. There were also spaghetti dinners along with the shows. The couple also loved the picnics the church had in the summertime, with parishioners using the hill behind St. Angela’s Hall. The two are glad Holy Cross has picked up its picnic tradition again in recent years.
Before he retired, Bob used to be a professional photographer for 50 years and would often photograph Holy Cross’s events and all confirmations and communions and even some weddings.
“We moved into the neighborhood when we were in our 20s, we’re in our 80s now,” Bob said. “Back then, half of our block were Holy Cross members.”
He shared that it was the little things about his fellow neighborhood parishioners that he enjoyed.
“After big snows several of us men would go out and shovel each other’s driveways and afterward we’d have some beer—it was good times,” he said.
When asked why Holy Cross is the parish for them, Bob spoke of the friendliness and warmth of its people. “The priests have always been friendly and the people have always been so generous—just look at our Christmas Giving Tree this year,” he said. (Despite the pandemic, all 600+ gift requests were fulfilled.)
“It’s just a nice environment to live, work and practice your faith in,” he added.
As far as what they hope for Holy Cross for the next 60 years, they both believe the church will still be standing strong.
“There’s an awful lot of youngsters being baptized,” Bob said.
Trivia
Question from the last newsletter:
Question: Why is the building that houses PK3, PK4 and the Library called The Miriam Center?
Answer: The building that houses PK3, PK4 and the Library is called The Miriam Center in dedication to Sr. Miriam Regina, Principal of Holy Cross School from 1984 through 2001. Soon after Sr. Miriam was assigned as principal, she began to advocate for the addition of a kindergarten class and later a Pre-Kindergarten program. Sr. Miriam had the foresight and vision to accommodate the school's growth by working with school families to plan and finance the new construction. The building was dedicated to Sr. Miriam on November 18, 1999 for her many years of untiring service.
Congratulations to Yvie Killian for submitting the correct answer.
Question: What year was it and what position did Mrs. Kane hold when she joined Holy Cross School?
Please send your answers to hc60anniversary@gmail.com with the subject “Mrs. Kane Trivia”. Answer will be in the next newsletter.
We Want Your Photos!
The Holy Cross 60th Anniversary Committee is looking for photos from the far or recent past, to share as a part of celebrating the 60th anniversary of our church and school.
Please email photos to hc60anniversary@gmail.com in highest resolution and if possible, please identify "who is in the photo, what the occasion was, when it occurred, where the photo was taken". All submissions will be subject to review for content and appropriateness prior to publication. A submission indicates permission for Holy Cross Church to publish the content on the parish website and other Holy Cross publications".
If submitting hard copies, please deposit them at the rectory in a well-marked envelope with your name and contact information clearly readable on the envelope. Please let us know if you are willing to donate your photos to our archive. If you would like the photos returned, the photos should be marked with your name and address on the back of the photos.
Thank you!
Thank you for celebrating Holy Cross Catholic Church and School's
60th anniversary with us!