Photo Caption: Father Stephen Willard, pastor of Holy Cross Parish, leads prayer before the Blessed Sacrament during a pause in a Eucharistic procession Sept. 9 that opened the parish’s series of centennial events.

CHAMPAIGN — An 11-day celebration of 100 years of faith at Holy Cross Parish in Champaign will culminate this Wednesday, Sept. 19, with an Anniversary Mass celebrated by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC.

During the 6 p.m. Mass at Holy Cross Church, the bishop will also administer the sacrament of confirmation to 40 members of the parish’s eighth grade class.

Father Stephen Willard, pastor, and area priests will concelebrate.
The cornerstone for the first Holy Cross Church and School at Elm and Clark streets was laid on Aug. 24, 1912. Father William Frawley was first pastor, and oversaw construction of the present church of classical Romanesque design in 1924.

While Holy Cross was founded from St. Mary’s Parish, it has since become the mother parish of both St. Matthew’s Parish in Champaign (1965) and Our Lady of the Lake in Mahomet (1981). Holy Cross now embraces nearly 1,000 families in the heart of Champaign.

“ALWAYS HOME, ALWAYS FAMILY”
The parish’s centennial celebration opened on Sunday, Sept. 9, with a Eucharistic procession following the 10 a.m. Mass. The procession began in the church and wound around the block.

Other daily activities that have already taken place include a parish history presentation and volunteer appreciation gathering sponsored by the Catholic Daughters of the Americas on Sept. 10; adoration and veneration of the parish’s True Relic of the Cross and a concert by the Holy Cross choir on Sept. 11; a musical performance by David Howie and pro-life testimonies sponsored by the parish pro-life committee on Sept. 12; the sacrament of reconciliation and a Healing Mass coordinated by the Holy Cross parish nurses on Sept. 13.

On Friday, Sept. 14 — the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross — an all-school Mass was to be celebrated in the morning, followed by Eucharistic adoration. An adult social celebration was planned from 6:30 to 10 p.m.

Alumni from the parish and school are invited to take part in an afternoon of fun from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15, including an open house at the school and parish center. A centennial “parish family photo” will be taken at 3 p.m., and an alumni Mass is scheduled for 5:30.

Catechists and parish and school volunteers will be recognized on Sunday, Sept. 16, which is Catechetical Sunday.

Students of Holy Cross School and the Family Formation Program will present a living rosary from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 17. The following evening, a 6:30 p.m. presentation will explore the true meaning of the parish and school’s name.

The True Relic of the cross will again be displayed for veneration, and the Blessed Sacrament exposed for adoration, from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18, prior to the bishop’s visit that evening.