For worship and service: Holy Family Church undergoes $900,000 expansion

By AMY H. PETERSON
Special to Lumen Media
 
Built in 1884, Holy Family Church in Emmetsburg is the oldest church in continuous use in the Diocese of Sioux City. It’s undergoing a $900,000 renovation to better serve the needs of its aging congregation. This stage of the renovation is part of a $1.8 million project to expand and enhance the church building, according to Father Paul Kelly, pastor of Holy Family as well as parishes in Estherville, Armstrong and Graettinger. 
 
Workers have started pouring the concrete foundation of an addition that will include a garage, sacristy and atrium entrance to the church, connected to the nave through what is now a window. 
 
The spacious entryway will provide a handicap accessible entrance to better accommodate funeral processions and wedding parties. For funerals, the new entrance will allow pallbearers or funeral home staff to bring the casket directly into the front of the church instead of bringing it in the old front entrance and all the way down the aisle. 
 
Father Kelly explained that the project began before he was assigned to Holy Family Parish last year. Plans for the expansion were sparked by a critical unmet need for storage and space.
 
“The sacristy was so small, and the place that was supposed to be storage was beyond repair, I think storage, the lack of an expanded sacristy and the need for overflow space on holidays like Christmas and Easter really precipitated this project,” Father Kelly said. 
 
The expansion will connect with the original church building.  
“It’s not that much more money to connect them. In time, I want to put a little walkway between the two school buildings and the expansion so the kids can go from their classroom or the lunchroom to the church without going outside,” Father Kelly said. 
 
Currently, students at Emmetsburg Catholic School make a brief jaunt outside between the classroom building and the building that houses the gym and lunchroom. A covered walkway would protect students from the elements as they make their way from the lunchroom to an after lunch Mass in the church. 
 
Key features of the expansion include:
 

• Two handicap accessible bathrooms
• An accessible entrance with a more gradual slope to the front parking lot
• Additional space for families to take a break during funerals or vigils
• Improved access from the rear parking area
• Garage space

 
Father Kelly emphasized the benefits of the addition for funeral services: “If a family wants to take a break, we’ll have extra room. Most people will be out ([in the new space) for viewing and visiting, which keeps the church a little more reserved for prayer,” Father Kelly said. 
 
The project also aims to enhance the church’s blend of old and new elements. 
 
“It has the qualities of the old, traditional elements and the new, and brings in so much natural light,” Father Kelly said. 
 
The Roman arches, high altars, gold leaf, and statuary reflect the traditional roots of the church while the new stained-glass windows make the most of natural light, especially in the morning, the priest explained. 
 
As workers lay concrete footings for the foundation, the Emmetsburg Catholic community looks forward to more access and space at Holy Family Church, ready to serve its parish for generations to come. The pastor predicts the project will be completed in January.
 
Holy Family Parish is grouped with Immaculate Conception in Graettinger, St. Patrick in Estherville and St. Mary’s in Armstrong. 
 
Amy H. Peterson is a freelance writer based out of Estherville. She attends Mass at St. Patrick Parish in Estherville.

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