Holy Cross church to dedicate new school
As thousands of children begin a new school year this week, about 245 of them will enter the first new Catholic school in the Rockford diocese in nearly 40 years. And they will begin classes in a brand-new building.
Holy Cross Catholic Church will dedicate its new 42,000-square-foot Catholic Education and Community Center after the 11:15 a.m. Mass on Aug. 24. The school adjoins the church at 2300 Main St. in Batavia.
The $6.9 million building - $7.4 million if you count furnishings and books - has been chiefly financed through a five-year fundraising drive of the parish that includes more than 3,200 families.
"It has been an effort of the whole parish and the culmination of six or seven years of work," said the Rev. Msgr. Daniel Deutsch, senior pastor at Holy Cross. "We have a growing community, a committed group of parents and a whole group of parishioners enthusiastic about a grade school. Everything came together at the right time."
The new center includes classrooms for the day pupils in preschool through eighth grade, as well as rooms to accommodate more than 1,100 children who receive education in the Catholic faith after school. The center will also be home to adult formation classes, various church ministries and a gymnasium.
Holy Cross has had a grade school in the past, but the last one closed in the 1960s, according to Deutsch.
"Now a whole new group will have Christ at the center of all of their classes," Deutsch said.
"It will help parents raise their children in the faith, and it is a statement of hope in the future. Batavia is a vibrant city, and it's an opportunity to say that we want to be a part of that."
According to Principal Melissa Crisci, the faculty includes nine classroom teachers as well as teachers in art, physical education, Spanish, music and technology.
"It's been a blessing to be able to meet all the parents," Crisci said. "We're more excited than I even thought we'd be."
Classes begin Aug. 25.
The Rev. Thomas Doran, Bishop of the Rockford Diocese, will dedicate the cornerstone and bless the building. A parish picnic will follow.