IN THE LEGISLATURE OF JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI
Title
A RESOLUTION congratulating Holy Cross Church upon celebrating 100 years of service to the Historic Northeast Community.
Intro
RESOLUTION # 14177, May 6, 2002
INTRODUCED BY Scott Burnett, County Legislator
Body
WHEREAS, Holy Cross Church is celebrating its centennial of service to Jackson County residents in the Historic Northeast Community of Kansas City; and,
WHEREAS, the parish was canonically established on March 30, 1902, with Father John J. Hogan serving as pastor; and,
WHEREAS, on October 11, 1902, a congregation of 35 Catholic families held their first mass at the new St. Agnes Academy at Scarritt and Hardesty, and on July 10, 1904, the cornerstone for the first church was laid at the northwest corner of St. John Avenue and Quincy; and,
WHEREAS, in 1907, Father John P. Prendergast became pastor and assumed the financial responsibilities of the growing parish; and,
WHEREAS, by 1917 the parish had grown to 350 families, and by 1934 there were 478 families with 1,923 registered parishioners, including 402 elementary school-aged children and 151 students attending high school or college; and,
WHEREAS, construction began on the school building at 5108 St. John Avenue in 1923, but was not completed until 1942, after the Great Depression; and,
WHEREAS, in 1954 the parish observed its 50th anniversary with choir director, Bruno Nicoli, serving as the general chair of the event; and,
WHEREAS, on October 22, 1961, the parish broke ground at 121 N. Quincy to build a new three-story school of reinforced concrete with brick facing, at a cost of $329,904.00; and,
WHEREAS, in 1968 lightning struck the former parish school (then auditorium), causing fire damages totaling $42,949.00 and destroying six bowling alleys; and,
WHEREAS, Frank Grimaldi was the architect for the reconstruction of the auditorium which was converted into a gymnasium; and,
WHEREAS, on March 19, 1971, the first St. Joseph Table, a long-standing tradition among parishioners of Sicilian descent, was held in the parish facilities; and,
WHEREAS, in August 1975, the parish sponsored a Vietnamese refugee family; and,
WHEREAS, in 1977, the parish completed $83,000.00 worth of improvements including church renovations and painting a newly-designed altar, in anticipation of a 75th anniversary; and,
WHEREAS, in 1991 Holy Cross ceased being a parish school and became a Central City School, financially independent of the church, receiving diocesan Central City School Funds, supported by the business community; and,
WHEREAS, in December 1995, the Altar & Rosary Society paid for repairs to the church bell, which now sits stationary as the hammer strikes the bell; and,
WHEREAS, "there's a good spirit in the parish these days," said Father Tom Holder, who has been pastor at Holy Cross since 2000, "We've made ourselves accessible to people and let them know we're able to accommodate them;" and,
WHEREAS, the 2002 centennial celebration of Holy Cross Church comes with a commitment from parishioners to continue its service to the Northeast Community and to make the church strong enough to remain another 100 years; now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the County Legislature of Jackson County, Missouri, that the Legislature congratulates Holy Cross Church upon celebrating 100 years of service to the Historic Northeast Community.
Enacted and Approved
Effective Date: This Resolution shall be effective immediately upon its passage by a majority of the Legislature.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
___________________________ __________________________________
County Counselor
Certificate of Passage
I hereby certify that the attached resolution, Resolution # 14177 of May 6, 2002 was duly passed on __________May 6____________, 2002, by the Jackson County Legislature. The votes thereon were as follows:
Yeas ________7_________ Nays _______0_________
Abstaining _____0________ Absent _____2_________
_________________________ ________________________________
Date Mary Jo Brogoto, Clerk of Legislature