For much of its early history the Catholic Church in the Yakima valley was mission territory under the supervision of the Bishop of Seattle. In 1951 the Diocese of Yakima was established and the western part of the city of Yakima was part of St. Paul Parish. Due to the rapid expansion in this area, property was purchased by Bishop Joseph Dougherty in 1952 and construction began on what is now Queen Gymnasium in 1957. On January 12, 1958 it was dedicated as Holy Family Center. Bishop Dougherty established Holy Family Parish on November 4, 1959 naming Fr. Richard Queen as the first pastor. A geographical boundary was established that divided St. Paul Parish leaving about 500 families to make up the new Holy Family Parish. Mass was celebrated at the center (gym) for the next 10 years with the people sitting on folding chairs that had to be put up and taken down for Sunday mass and again for each weekday mass. The Virgil Scott residence across from the present church was purchased and became the rectory and parish offices.
Holy Family experienced rapid growth and because of its extensive westward boundaries, the parish priests in 1963 began, celebrating Mass at the newly restored Ahtanum Mission which was built by Father Louis St. Ange in 1865. That same year of 1963 saw completion of the first of two eight room units that would make up Holy Family Grade School. Staffed by four Sisters of St. Dominic of the Congregation of St. Thomas Aquinas and five lay teachers, the school opened on September 3, 1963 with an enrollment of 309 students. The second classroom building was completed and together with the gym made up a thriving educational and parish activity center.
Since its inception, the concern of the parish had been to build a fitting Church to house the tabernacle for the Eucharistic Christ. Several years of praying and planning, indeed sacrificing, resulted in a design for the largest church (1200 seating capacity) in the Diocese of Yakima. Ground was broken on December 28, 1967 and one year later on December 14, 1968 the first mass was celebrated in the chapel. The main sanctuary was consecrated on June 17, 1969. Under the tireless direction of Fr. Queen scores of parishioners pitched in to work on many phases of the project such as inside finish work, landscaping and sprinkler installation. Besides financial help, many parishioners donated materials and their time and talent.
The school operated until June 1971 when, as was the case with so many parish schools in the 70’s, the sisters could no longer provide staffing and Holy Family Grade School was closed. This brought a time of transition as the parish developed various programs and ministries to maintain its role in the passing on of the faith together with greater parent involvement in what was known at that time as CCD classes. It has been used as a parish education and activity center since that time providing wonderful space for classes, meetings, dinners, receptions, funeral lunches and as a valuable community resource.
In 1972 Fr. John Shaw was named co-pastor with Fr. Queen. After 16 years Fr. Queen left Holy Family in 1975 to become the first pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Selah. During the next 10 years we had 4 pastors or co-pastors: Fr. Edmund McGrath, Fr. John Ecker, Fr. Perron Auve and Fr. John Tholen and some 14 assistant priests. Even though their time here was limited they all brought gifts that helped Holy Family grow into a thriving and dedicated faith community
In Feb. 1985 Fr. Fred Brenner was named pastor and in the fall of Fr. John McDonnell was assigned and remained an associate pastor until his retirement in 2001. Fr. Brenner quickly decided that the cramped offices which were now in the church behind the altar area needed to be replaced by a new office building adjacent to the church. Construction began in 1986 and was completed in February 1987. Shortly after moving in to the new space Fr. Brenner suffered a fatal heart attack at home in March 1987. Stunned parishioners grieved their loss and awaited word of a new pastor. Bishop William Skylstad acted quickly and named Fr. John Murtagh who moved from St. Andrews in Ellensberg to become the 7th pastor of Holy Family Parish in April 1987.
With the same kind of energy Fr. Queen had in developing the buildings and grounds for the benefit of parishioners, Fr. Murtagh set out to develop processes that best utilized the gifts and talents of the people of Holy Family. New committees were added to work with the Parish Council, Finance Board and Activity Board already in existence. Soon the parish staff was meeting regularly for training and communication and over the next few years a Religious Education Board, Youth Council and Liturgy Board were all in place to help discern and provide for the needs of the parish. Membership of these various groups were lead by the pastor and made up of parish members with a staff person present for support. The parish continued to grow with nearly 1500 families registered by the early 1990’s. A major influence came to Holy Family in 1994 in the form of a program called RENEW.
RENEW helped to break down the vast size of the parish by organizing people into small groups that met over two six week seasons and helped parishioners to get to know one another and share the joys, sorrows and routine events of life in light of their Catholic faith. Large group events and special liturgies brought people even closer together. The RENEW core team experience helped us to view planning and ministry in a new way that has prompted us to include parishioners even more. In 1995 a large group met to develop a parish Mission Statement which has guided our pastoral planning ever since. As RENEW ended, the groups began to develop an identity as Small Church Communities and continue today to provide a place for people to come together for faith-sharing, learning, prayer, support and outreach.
One of the effects of the Mission Statement and RENEW processes was the re-cognition of the need for a gathering place adjacent to the church. The Pastoral Council under Fr. Murtagh’s direction began a process in 1996 that led to fundraising and the construction of a large parish hall. Construction began in the fall of 2001 and the hall was dedicated by Bishop Carlos Sevilla on Pentecost May 19, 2002.
Since 1999 the people of Holy Family have been beginning to embrace Stewardship (the belief that all we have and all we are comes from a generous God and that we return a portion to Him) and Evangelization (bringing Christ’s message and love to the world) in new ways. From 1957 to today the priests and people of Holy Family have strived to be witnesses of God’s goodness and Jesus’ saving grace. At the beginning of a new millennium we pray that we use our bountiful resources and rich history to honor God and build up His Church.
yakima wa 98908
(509) 966-0830
(509) 965-1742 - Fax
Mass Schedule
| Daily | 6:30 am |
| Sat | 8:30 am 5:30 pm |
| Sun | 7:00 am |