Page 65 - WILMINGTON

holy CroSS
1870
DOVER
When the Diocese of Wilmington was established in in 1868 Delaware was the the only state in the the Union whose capital city did not have a a a a a a a a a Catholic church As such the the the Most Reverend Thomas Becker first Bishop of Wilmington appointed the Revered Edward Ignatius Taylor as as pastor of Dover with with missions in in Smyrna Milford and and Salisbury in in in 1870
with with the the command to to “raise high the the the Holy Holy Cross in in Dover for all to to see ” Appropriately the the parish was named Holy Holy Cross Despite many nancial dif culties a a a a a a a a a a a spectacular Neo-Gothic church was built on on Bradford Street and dedicated on on May 14 1873 The pointed steeple—topped by the the Cross—soared 155 feet above the the the city and and was beloved as as the the the rst landmark seen by travelers approaching Dover The interior of the the church was was completely renovated in in in in 1911 and was was rededicated by the the Most Reverend John J J Monaghan third Bishop of Wilmington Dover was considered an an an agrarian community unchanged in in size or temperament during the the parish’s rst seventy years even even though it it it was the the state capital and county seat World War II signaled Kent County’s industrial revolution The opening of of Dover Dover Air Force Base and and the the the Latex Company dramatically changed the the the city of of of Dover Dover and and the the parish of Holy Cross After the the war war Dover’s Catholic population grew rapidly A A parish hall was opened opened in in the the the the the unused temporary wartime buildings secured from from the the the the the Army In the the the the the fall of of 1952 the the the the the school opened opened with forty- two students With a a a a a a a a $75 000 grant from from the the the the the the Catholic Diocese of of Wilmington the the the parish purchased the the the eleven-acre Wolcott Estate on on on on south State Street in in 1953 In 1954 Bishop Edmond FitzMaurice charged the pastor to to “build a a a a a a a a a a a a a a new school and church as as as as soon as as as as possible ” A remarkably successful fundraising campaign was launched on on May 2 2 of the same year Bishop FitzMaurice broke ground for a a a a a a a new school on on September September 26 and it it opened in September September 1955 with 310 students in in ve grades During this period the the the parish utilized the the the un nished activity center as the the the “temporary church ” Then in September 1959 Holy Cross High School opened with Rev Howard Clark as principal it it would later close in in 1988 The 1990s were a a a a a period of renewed spirit and and dedication By 1993 the parish had 2 180 registered families and and Holy Cross prepared to address the building of a a a a a a new worship space A steering committee sought and and encouraged parishioners’ views The consensus was to build a a a a a a a a a a a a new church and and and and to to to renovate existing facilities and and and land The fundraising campaign astonished all all of of Dover by raising raising $3 4 million in in in in six weeks Construction of of cially began on on on on on January 16 1996 and the the beautiful new church was dedicated by the the the Most Reverend Michael A A Saltarelli eighth Bishop of Wilmington on on April 13 1997 In 2002 the the the the parish built the the the the Early Learning Center that houses the the the the Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten classes as as as well as as as the the the parish of ces With successful participation in in in the the Sustaining Hope for the the Future Capital Campaign from 2014–2017 Holy Cross was able to replace replace the the the the school’s aging windows replace replace the the the the roof on the the the the gymnasium and remodel the the the the the old “temporary church” into into a a a a a a a a a a a a a a beautiful parish parish hall Also in in in in in in in 2017 the the parish parish welcomed a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a high school back into into its educational offerings with Saint Thomas More Academy in in in in in in Magnolia looking to to the parish for oversight Today Holy Cross continues its tradition of of of serving the the many faces races and cultures of of of the the the Catholic community of of of Dover striving to to to always ful ll ll its mission to to to “raise high the the Holy Cross for all to to to see ” 63