Holy Rosary Church was a Catholic church in the Flats section of Holyoke. It was built in the early 1880s and taken down in 1974.
stop 1 – Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church
Three blocks up Ely Street is the former Holy Rosary Church. All that remains of it is the church bell. The parish was formed in 1886 as an extension of Sacred Heart Church. By 1888 the basement was finished and pastor Michael Howard served the first masses there. He died that year and was buried alongside his church.
stop 2 – Rosary Convent
A convent was built joined to the church. Both the church and the convent had their own chapel.
stop 3 – Rosary Rectory
The rectory and school were built along Center Street. The school was completed in 1903 and was comprised of both an elementary and a high school. The school started in 1902 and that first year the classes were held in the Lyman Street School. Saint Mary’s Home for Young Women was attached to the back of the church. This was a home for girls and young women from Ireland that had no family in Holyoke.
| pastor | name | start | end | burial |
| 1st | Michael Howard | 1886 | 1888 | Rosary Churchyard (Holyoke) |
| 2nd | Thomas Beaven | 1889 | 1891 | Saint Augustine Mortuary Chapel (Springfield) |
| 3rd | David McGrath | 1892 | 1903 | Saint Mary’s Cemetery (Milford, Massachusetts) |
| 4th | Edward Fitzgerald | 1904 | 1910 | |
| 5th | John Griffin | 1911 | 1929 | Saint Thomas Cemetery (Palmer) |
| 6th | Daniel McDermott | 1929 | 1931 | |
| 7th | John J McCarthy | 1932 | 1942 | |
| 8th | John McMahon | 1943 | 1951 | |
| 9th | Andrew Sullivan | 1952 | 1970 | |
| 10th | John Mara | 1972 | 1974 | Saint John’s Cemetery (Worcester) |
| 11th | ||||
| 12th |
stop 4 – Rosary School
The high school joined with two other schools in 1963 to form the Holyoke Catholic High School. From 1971 to 1974 Rosary School joined with Immaculate Conception School to form Mary Immaculate School. Rosary was the middle school and Immaculate Conception was the primary school. In the spring and summer of 1974 the entire campus of the Holyoke Rosary Church was razed. The body of Michael Howard was disinterred and reinterred in the Calvary Cemetery.
stop 5 – Rosary Church Bell
The church bell was saved and is still in the Lyman Street School lot.
stop 6 – Hadley Mills Workers’ Housing
see this LINK
stop 7 – Saint Mary’s Home for Young Women
Saint Mary’s Home for Young Women was attached to the back of the church. This was a home for girls and young women from Ireland that had no family in Holyoke.
Wander around this neighborhood to get a good feel of what it was like in the past.