Holy Spirit Catholic School Different by Design
Holy Spirit School’s mission is to empower a diverse community by providing academic excellence in a Catholic environment.
Preschool through 8th Grade
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Our mission and beliefsHoly Spirit School’s mission is to empower a diverse community by providing academic excellence in a Catholic environment.1) The Catholic faith should be the guiding force behind all decisions impacting the work of the students and staff.
2) Students should be given opportunities to learn about and practice the Catholic faith and values on a daily basis
3) All students can learn and should demonstrate measurable progress within a school year.
4) Curriculum and instructional practices, including assessments, should include a variety of differentiated strategies that address students’ different learning styles.
5) We should teach each student to develop and use their unique gifts and talents in order to fulfill God’s plan in a safe environment.
6) The concept of a partnership of mutual respect and responsibility between the school and its families is essential to whole child development and advancing the school’s mission. -
HISTORY
Holy Spirit Parish was founded in 1947 under the guidance of Father Harry S. Connelly. In November 1948, a census of the parish showed a Catholic population of 624 with no school, no church building, just devoted parishioners. The present chapel was blessed by Bishop Ready in April 1951.
The cornerstone for Holy Spirit School was laid in July 1952 and 167 children were enrolled that first fall. By 1954, the population of the parish had grown to 4,517 with 272 students in the school. The school was staff by the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs. That same year, the cornerstone of the second church was laid with the dedication of the church on September 12, 1954.
Plans for Holy Spirit’s new church, which was to be built at Broad and Yearling, were drawn up in April of 1959. The new church was built to align with the school so that later it could be converted into classrooms. A new parish, St. Pius, was formed in 1958 and eastern boundaries for Holy Spirit were set at McNaughten Road. The cornerstone of that church was laid on September 4, 1960, and the first Mass was celebrated in the new church on the first Friday of December 1960.
The establishment of St. Matthew and St. Phillip parishes in the late 1950s created today’s north and south boundaries of Holy Spirit Parish.
Father John Eyerman was pastor from 1949-1952 with Father Chester Le Blanc serving as pastor from 1952-1953. Father Robert Harwick served as pastor from 1953 to 1974. From 1974 to 1982 Father John Dreese and Father Anthony Missimi served as co-pastors. It should also be noted that during the period of 1979 to 1981, Sr. Pauline Devine was assigned to the parish as a pastoral assistant. In July 1982 Father Jerome Stluka was assigned as pastor.
The bells in the tower were purchased in 1983 from the former Carmel Community and installed more than 20 years after the church’s completion. In July 1989, Msgr. J. Colby Grimes was assigned as pastor. The school was remodeled in 1987 and entered the 1990s with a state-of-the-art computer room and an enrollment of 300 students, again near capacity.
In July 1997 Father Raymond Larussa was assigned as pastor to Holy Spirit Church. In 2004, an elevator was installed to provide access from the ground to the sanctuary and basement levels of the church. The “Ten Commandments” monument located at the church's front entrance and funded through the efforts of parishioners was dedicated on September 11, 2005. A Shrine to the Blessed Virgin was erected by the Holy Spirit Men's Club in 2007.
Father William L. Arnold was assigned as Holy Spirit's pastor in July 2009. Holy Spirit Parish continues to be a vibrant and diversified Catholic Community under the continued spiritual guidance of Father Arnold, who retired in November 2023.
Bishop Earl Fernandes installed Father Veevin Richard Pitchaisavary as pastor of Holy Spirit Parish on December 3, 2023.