Holy Rosary Church, one of the longest continuously established Catholic parishes in the Puget Sound region, will be honoring more than two dozen priests and nuns who were formerly assigned to the parish at a celebration Sunday, June 7.
It's the first major event of the parish’s centennial celebration, will be held at a Mass at the church at 11:15 a.m., and will be followed by a homecoming luncheon to be held at the parish to honor the returning clergy and religious.
The parishioners and the staff of this parish have been blessed over many decades to have had so many wonderful priests, religious, and lay staff to minister to the many members," said Father John Madigan, pastor of the parish. “ We just felt that the celebration of our centennial should logically begin by honoring as many of those wonderful people as possible. So we are inviting them to be honored, and to help us honor those no longer with us going all the way back to 1909, and we invite all those who have been affiliated with Holy Rosary over the years, whether currently in the parish or not, to join us in this mass and homecoming luncheon. We also invite our neighbors in the West Seattle Community to share in this celebration with us.”
Tickets for the luncheon may be obtained by contacting the parish during normal office hours, 935-8353.
Holy Rosary Parish was established in 1909 by the Most Reverend Edward John O’Dea, Bishop of Nesqually (Vancouver, Washington), which was later transferred to Seattle under his direction. The Reverend Daniel Hanly was named its first pastor. Originally located at the corner of Walnut Avenue and Hill Street, the parish has moved twice in its history, first in 1913 to the corner of California Southwest and Southwest Hanford, and again some years later to its current location at 4139 42nd S.W..
The parish today has more than 1,200 registered families, and its parish elementary school has been in continuous operation since 1913. Today the school houses more than 400 students in grades one through eight, and has been cited on a number of occasions as among the outstanding elementary schools in the nation.
