The Holy Cross Church (LOCATION) was started in 1905 as a mission church of the Saint Jerome Church of Holyoke. The first pastor John Ivers (starting Jan 25 1905) served for many decades until he died in 193. The first mass of the Holy Cross parish was in 1905 at the St Patrick’s Chapel at St Jerome’s. Then they moved to the top floor of the Highlands Grammar School for one year.
Holy Cross Mission Church and Its Rectory
This mission church is still in place at the corner of Appleton and Pleasant Streets. This was the main church until the enormous church to the east was built in 1927. The architect of the brick mission church is PM Lynch. This Holy Cross Chapel started October 1 1905 and was dedicated December 10 1905. In 1913 an addition was added to this mission chapel. The original name was Highland Roman Catholic Church. After a few years it was called Holy Cross.
The modern church was modeled after a church in Ely England called Saint Etheldred and Saint Peter. The inside looks a lot like that cathedral but the outside does not. In 1911 the land called Holy Cross Square was purchased. This is the land that the church is on. In the summer of 1924 the foundation was started and in 1928 it was dedicated. The architect was John William Donohue.
John Ivers was the first pastor of Holy Cross Church. He was pastor for 33 years at this church. He raised it from a mission church to a regular church and started many of its institutions. Holy Cross never had its own school system since the Saint Jerome School was only a short trolley ride away and most people at this point did not mind placing their children into public or private schools. The first rectory was in one of the three homes owned by the Lynch family in the triangle to the west of the mission church. What a great location this was to live since there were trolleys coming and going around here. The traffic area between Appleton, Dwight, and Pleasant Streets is called Sullivan Square.
Holy Cross Church has not had many pastors since most have served for long terms.
| pastor | name | image | start | ends | burial |
| 1st | John Ivers |  | 1905 | 1938 | Saint Michael’s Cemetery (Springfield) |
| 2nd | James Hanrahan | 1939 | 1967 | Saint Jerome Cemetery (Holyoke) | |
| 3rd | John Keaney | 1968 | 1971 | Saint John’s Cemetery (Worcester) | |
| 4th | John Harrington | 1971 | 1995 | Calvary Cemetery (Holyoke) | |
| 5th | Roland Galipeau | 1995 | Notre Dame Cemetery (South Hadley) | ||
| 6th |
Sanborn map analysis: