THE EARLY YEARS

In 1896, Mrs. Brand DeBoer bequeathed land to the diocese of Grand Rapids, which for some time had been fostering a dream to more fully serve the Catholics residing in the southwest area of the city. The dream was realized some nine years later when, in September of 1905, ground breaking began for the foundation for a new school, church, and convent. The building was completed in September 1907, furnished by the winter of 1908, and formally dedicated by Bishop Henry J. Richter on July 26, 1908. Thus, Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church was born.

The first pastor was Rev. Thomas J. Reid, whom, along with 59 parishioners, began setting down roots. The parish grew rapidly and by 1914 a new convent was erected. The old DeBoer homestead served as the rectory until 1919 when parishioner Bert Hogan built a new one, which is still standing and in full use today.

Father Reid served Holy Name until February 1917 at which time Father Oswald T. McGinn was appointed to succeed him. During this time, Holy Name grew into a major parish and it was necessary to have an additional priest to say a third Mass each Sunday. Father McGinn was famous for his wild game hunting and sharp shooting and his annual wild game (moose) dinners. He was pastor at Holy name until 1932, marking the end of the first 25 years for our church's History.

Succeeding him as pastor was Father Joseph W. Delehanty who, in 1948 saw to the renovation of the school building. With the enrollment now up to 350 students, new rooms were needed. Following closely was redecorating of the interior of the church and then in 1957, extensive remodeling of the convent took place. In 1960, during the pastorate of Fr. Delehanty and his assistant Fr. VanBurgen, ground was broken for a new church. The new church, which is our current church, was built for approximately $375,000 including the organ at a cost of $6,000 and the bells for $2,000.

Shortly after the completion of the church, Fr. Delehanty retired on account of illness. He died on November 5, 1961 and was buried in New Jersey.

From 1961 to 1970, Monsignor William J. Murphy was pastor of Holy Name. He immediately faced a large debt on the church, but made the final payment in 1963. Within no time after that, Monsignor recognized the fact that the school was inadequate and too small, so plans for a new school at a price tag of $484,000 began. This made the parish incur another large debt, but by manipulating the parish funds, the payments were made on time. Monsignor Murphy retired in 1970 due to poor health.

The last pastorate highlighted in this era was Father John N. McDuffee. The 8 years of Fr. McDuffee’s pastorate did not see the structural growth of the previous years, but during this time the convent was torn down to make room for parking and the sisters moved to a home on Leetsma Street. Additionally, the rectory underwent redecoration. Ill health led to Father’s retirement in 1978 to St. Patrick’s Parish in Grand Haven.