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.
A one hour indoor presentation can be given.
stop 1 – Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church
On Ely Street (at the corner of Center Street) is all that remains of the former Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church – the church bell. The parish was formed on Passion Sunday April 11 1886 as an extension of Sacred Heart Church. During that year and in 1887, the parish meet at the corner of Main and Mosher Streets at the old Baptist Church. In the summer of 1887 Father Howard purchased land for the parish. The cornerstone was laid October 22 1887. By August 26 of 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 1A – Rosary Chapel
The Rosary Church had a chapel that was located in the basement. Its name was the Chapel of the Infant of Prague.
stop 2 – Rosary Convent
In 1901 the convent was built joined to the church. Both the church and the convent had their own chapel. The convent was occupied by the Sisters of Saint Joseph from 1902 onwards. They taught at the school and were the only nuns to do so.
Sanborn map analysis:
Sanborn 1884 map shows the Ely Street School and nothing more
Sanborn 1889 map shows the church for the first time
Sanborn 1895 map shows the stub of a convent and a St Mary’s Home connected to a tenement home
Sanborn 1915 map shows the convent in its full state and the home connected to classrooms that once was a tenement home
stop 2B – Rosary Churchyard
stop 3 – Rosary Rectory
The rectory was built at the corner of Mosher and Center Streets. Michael Howard lived at 18 Mosher Street for a couple of years and then Thomas Beaven lived there for a couple more years beyond that. (The building is gone now.) The official rectory (50 Mosher Street) was started in 1889 and finished in 1890 for Thomas Beaven. 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 | image | start | end | burial |
| 1st | Michael Howard | March 26 1886 | 16 Sept 1888 | Rosary Churchyard (Holyoke) | |
| 2nd | Thomas Beaven | Image | 1889 | 18 October 1892 | Saint Augustine Mortuary Chapel (Springfield) |
| 3rd | David McGrath |  | 1892 | 1903 | Saint Mary’s Cemetery (Milford, Massachusetts) |
| 4th | Edward S Fitzgerald | monsignor Dec 19 1910 | 1904 | 30 January 1911 | Calvary (Holyoke) |
| 5th | John F Griffin | 1911 | 1929 | Saint Thomas Cemetery (Palmer) | |
| 6th | Daniel H 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 grammar school opened in the fall of 1903 with a freshman class too. The Rosary High School had its first graduate in 1907. 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.
Rosary School graduation
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. The Sisters of Providence ran the St Mary’s Home. It was only opened from 1909 to 1917. At that point it was turned into part of the Rosary School (under John Griffin’s direction).
stop 8 – Neighborhood
Wander around this neighborhood to get a good feel of what it was like in the past.
Cool facts:
- The Rosary Lyceum was founded on September 14 1891. This was for the education of the parish members. It meet at 8 West Street.
Dominick Reis a janitor at the school witnessed the Fatima miracle.
Rosary was a pioneer in sports in Holyoke.
