Holy Angels Parish became the home of the first Catholic Church in Gary, Indiana in September 1906. The church building served two purposes, a school on the first floor and church on the second floor. The representing nationalities among the founding parishioners were from Eastern European countries including Irish, German and Italian. The early settlers were part of the construction of the steel mill, buildings for businesses and homes for workers.
By the parish’s 25th Anniversary the church supported over 3,000 parishioners and the school 500 pupils. It was evident at this time the parish was in dire need of a larger church and school to support the growing population. On October 26, 1947, plans were completed, construction began and the cornerstone was laid. The new church was dedicated January 29, 1950 and was elevated to cathedral on February 25, 1957.
Over the decades the local steel mill attracted a wide variety of ethnic workers who in turn came to Holy Angels Cathedral for worship. To support the growing Latino population masses are held in both Spanish and English since the 1980’s. Special celebrations of San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist) in June and Our Lady of Guadalupe in December became a regular part of parish life.
Holy Angels Cathedral is proud of its ethnic diversity. This diversity is celebrated in the Holy Angels Mosaic on the sanctuary platform. Each of the four corners bears an angel in the following likenesses: African, Anglo, Asian and Hispanic inviting all the faithful to join together in worship.
Is giving up desserts for Lent so last year? Apparently. A new trend in modern sacrificing is to give up on time-consuming things such as frequently reading or adding postings to Facebook.
The Arlington Catholic Herald, diocesan newspaper of Arlington, Va., did a story on this, quoting Catholics who might even continue this Facebook fast after Easter. One priest told the paper, 'We?ve become so [...]
During Lent, The Michigan Catholic, Detroit?s archdiocesan newspaper, is giving its readers space to tell personal stories of faith-changing moments. Writers to date have talked about difficult experiences ' losing a job, an illness, an unexpected pregnancy ? where they experienced grace and grew stronger in their faith.
Editor Marylynn Hewitt said the paper tried this [...]
Editor's Note: Barb Fraze, CNS international editor, is traveling in Asia as part of the 2010 Senior Journalists Seminar sponsored by the East-West Center in Honolulu.
MUMBAI, India ' Mumbai, India's financial capital, is home to at least eight of the world's religions. Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Sikhs, Jews, Jains and Christians ' including Catholics ' [...]
VATICAN CITY ' Regarding the beatification of Pope John Paul II, one thing is certain: no date will be set until the pope formally approves a miracle attributed to his intercession.
Many people were expecting Pope Benedict XVI to approve a miracle in December when he issued the decree recognizing that Pope John Paul had heroically [...]
This charming, beautifully illustrated story for children and adults demonstrates how small acts of kindness, in this case a boy hugging his mother, can lead to great acts of love. Ages 3-8.
