Florida Catholic | Construction :: Holy Family Parish

Parish brings family under one roof

LAURA DODSON | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Published: 10.05.07

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ORLANDO | At Holy Family Parish in Orlando, the building project focuses on family.

Father William Ennis, pastor, explained, "We have developed a saying over the years that this is Holy Family family. This project has been designed to be user-friendly. Our family comes together under one roof."

Holy Family Parish opened its doors 28 years ago. “When we originally designed our current church and school, they were placed on the perimeter of our property, which allowed for future expansion.

"After reviewing several master-site plan designs for our future needs, our parish determined that the centralized approach would be best," Father Ennis said.

The long-range vision, "Our Family, Our Faith and Our Future," was developed by 200 parishioners who participated directly in the planning process and an additional 1,000-plus parishioners who contributed through committees, task forces, town hall meetings and workshops.

To accommodate the growing family — more than 2,000 families attend Mass each week — the church is being expanded to accommodate a capacity of 1,400, a 40 percent increase.

The campus is in the final stages of being centered by a new narthex, or central gathering area, connecting all of the parish buildings.

What was once a parking area between school and church is now the site of the new Parish Life Center, which includes a social hall, nursery, library and second- floor Youth Zone. The school, gymnasium and sports field are now within the central site with parking surrounding the perimeter, providing a pedestrian-safe environment for all.

The narthex will serve as the parish "crossroads" — as members participating in a variety of events and programs cross paths. The parish broke ground a year ago on the new project. Father Ennis anticipates completion within the next four years.

Robert Shearer, director of development and planning added, "We hope the large stage in the new 1,200-seat social hall with meeting and educational space will enable the parish to develop significant ministries for religious concerts and stage productions. Given the geographic location of the campus and number of meeting rooms available, the parish may also host national, state or diocesan events in the future."

Tanya Goodman of the Florida Catholic staff contributed to this report.

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Parish brings family under one roof

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