HISTORY
Holy Family Parish began on June 7, 1880 with the first mass in the settlement of Mitchell. Organized by Fr. Hennessy, the people of the congregation in 1882 erected the church building, 37 x 74 feet and 21 feet high. The church and rectory cost about $7,500 and there were 500 parishioners.
The current church was built in 1906 in the Gothic Revival architectural style with granite quarried in Spencer. A.J. Kings was the lead contractor. The building cost $100,000. The cross atop the spire is 165 feet above the ground. The stained glass windows were designed by Ford Brother’s Glass Company of Minneapolis. Holy Family Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Holy Family Church has undergone multiple restorations over the years including work done to the steeple, tuck pointing and stained glass repairs.
Notre Dame School was built in 1912. Additions were made 1921 and 1956. Holy Family and Holy Spirit school systems were combined in 1999. The former school building was demolished in 2005 and a new 7,000 square feet gathering space was built in 2008.
Pastors of Holy Family
Fr. McCarty 1880
Fr. Nolan 1880-1881
Fr .E.M. Hennessy 1881-1884
Fr. G.L. Willard 1883
Fr. P. Wilhelm 1884
Fr. Francis Flanagan 1884
Fr. John W. Considine 1884
Fr George Sheehan 1885-1892
Fr. John Ahern 1892
Fr. William Maher 1892-1896
Fr. John F. Hogan 1896-1899
Fr. John J. Shea 1899-1907
Fr. Colman O'Flaherty 1907-1918
Fr. M.J. Harte 1919
Fr. P.T. Monaghan 1919
Msgr. John M. Brady 1919-1963
Msgr. Henry P. Kolbeck 1961-1969
Fr. Al Kryzyzopolski 1969-1977
Fr. B. Alton Kelly 1977-1981
Fr. Leonard M. Thury 1981-1984
Fr. R. Kasch 1984-1986
Fr. Darrell V. Lamberty 1986-1995
Fr. Edward J. Pierce, 1995-2003
Fr. Larry Regynski, 2003-2015
Fr. Shane Stevens, 2015-2017
Fr. Kenneth Lulf, 2017-2021
Fr. Cesar Valencia, PES, 2021 -
Associate Pastors of Holy Family
Fr. John M. Brady 1919-1920
Fr. Edmund Kehoe 1920-1923
Fr. Frederick Gierl 1923-1924
Fr. Hugh Maguiness 1924-1925
Fr. Richard Fitzpatrick 1925-1927
Fr. Hugh Wolf 1927-1928
Fr. B.F. Cahill 1928-1931
Fr. Patrick j. O'Connor 1931-1938
Fr. C.C. Reidel 1938-1940
Fr. Owen Kirby 1940
Fr. Charles Nemmer 1940-1945
Fr. Thomas J. McPhillips 1945-1948
Fr. John Mulkern 1948-1951
Fr. B. Alton Kelley 1951-1956
Fr. Richard Mahowald 1956-1959
Fr. James Doyle 1957-1964
Fr. Jerome Holtzman 1959-1965
Fr. James I. Bream 1964-1967
Fr. William Burns 1965-1969
Fr. Frank J. Barnett 1967-1969
Fr. Donald Mahrohn 1969-1970
Fr. Gerald Thury 1970-1976
Fr. Michael D. Kelly 1976-1977
Fr. Jerome P. Kopel 1977-1979
Fr. Kenneth Koster 1979-1984
Fr. Joseph Ripp 1984-1985
Fr. Darrell V. Lamberty 1985-1986
Fr. Paul T. Josten 1987-1989
Fr. John M. Fischer 1989-1992
Fr. Jim Friedrich 1992-1995
Fr. Antonio W. Ramos 1994-1995
Fr. Thomas J. Ryan 1996-1997
Fr. Jesudas Thaliyan 1998-2003
Fr. Andrew Dickinson 2006-2007
Fr. Andrew Thuringer 2017-2018
Fr. Barry Reuwsaat 2018-2020
Fr. Timothy Cone 2020-2021
Fr. Yamato Icochea, PES, 2021-
With grateful hearts we remember the courageous and faith-filled men and women, clergy and consecrated, native and immigrant, who nurtured and nourished the land and built the visible Church on the prairie; and commit ourselves to honor them by being good stewards of their legacy.