By Sy Reitman

Approximately 900 Holy Cross parishioners applauded when Archbishop Eugene A. Marino turned the first shoveful of dirt after his blessing of their new church site adjacent to the existing church building off Chamblee-Tucker Road in Chamblee.

The ground-breaking ceremony took place Sunday, June 5. The Holy Cross community gathered in the present church, a multipurpose building erected in 1966, where Archbishop Marino welcomed everyone before leading the procession to the site of the new altar. There he celebrated the paraliturgy that concluded with his blessing of the new church site.

Archbishop Marino used the traditional “gold” shovel for the ground-breaking. Father Dan Shanahan, the pastor, Rick Cylc, Holy Cross Building Committee chairman, Jim Barker, the architect, and Dave Martin, the general contractor, also took part in the ceremony.

Archbishop Marino reminded the Holy Cross community that “we build not because the church itself is the most important reality, but because the church houses the community where it gathers to celebrate the mystery of our faith.”

“It is appropriate,” he added, “that, 20 years into the life of the parish, you gather now to build the church, the most important structure.”

The ground-breaking ceremony was followed by a catered chicken dinner with parishioners serving and contributing a variety of homemade desserts.

The new sanctuary, costing $1.8 million, is scheduled for completion in the fall of 1989. It will be constructed west of the two existing buildings now used for education and worship. A combination of fixed pews and rows of chairs locked together will seat approximately 750 people and provide flexibility in liturgical arrangements for special celebrations. The light-colored stains to be used on the wood of the pews and chairs will match the exposed, laminated columns curing into overhead beams and the exposed interior wood decking. The seat fabric and carpeting will match liturgical colors. Dimmable fluorescent lighting will provide overlapping cones of light capable of varying intensities to meet lighting needs.

A gathering area of approximately 3,400 square feet will adjoin the 12,000-square-foot sanctuary as a transition from the entrance of the building to the entrance of the sanctuary. This space will feature interior wood columns and a clerestory to let in natural light.

A stucco exterior, matching the light-colored brick veneer of the existing buildings, will frame large, arched windows. The sloping metal roof will rise to a ceiling height of 56 feet, topped by a centrally placed seven-foot-high glazed cupola. Externally, the 53-foot-tall metal steeple and cross will stand 91 feet above the finished floor. A covered drive-through will provide a protected drop off point. The two vestibules in the new building will extend across the west end of the existing courtyard to link all three buildings.

The first phase of the current building plan includes a softball field and improved vehicular circulation and parking. Advanced phases call for renovation and expansion of the two existing buildings and construction of an activities center containing a gym at the opposite end of the courtyard from the new church.

Completion of the current building plan will complete a dream that began in 1956 when Beverly Cash of Tucker and a friend convinced the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen to establish a mission in the Tucker area. Archbishop Sheen was then director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Mrs. Cash, still a member of Holy Cross, succeeded in having Archbishop Sheen persuade Bishop Francis E. Hyland of Atlanta to establish the mission under the auspices of St. Thomas More Church in Decatur.

This mission worshipped initially at the old Tucker High School before moving to a larger room at the Tucker Federal Savings and Loan building. Responsibility for the Tucker community was transferred to Immaculate Heart of Mary, when that church was founded, and it became known at the St. Francis de Sales Mission.

The actual Church of the Holy Cross came into being in 1964. With Holy Spirit parish, founded the same year, Holy Cross was one of the first to offer the parish center concept. Instead of a parochial school, the emphasis was on total religious education through a strong CCD and adult education program. The parish purchased a residence in Chamblee for its first pastor, Father Leonard F. Mayhew, who celebrated daily Masses three. Sunday Masses were moved to the Carey Reynolds School in Doraville until the parish could build its own church building in 1966 on the present site.

This building was conceived as a parish center containing offices, a chapel, meeting rooms and a large, multipurpose room. The first Mass in the new parish center was celebrated by Father Eusebius J. Beltran, later named Bishop of Tulsa. In addition to being used for liturgical services, this multipurpose room has been the site of social events such as dinners, dances, parties and variety shows.

In 1968, a 16-classroom education building was erected parallel to the parish center. Over 1,400 children participated in the parish’s religious education program, coming from as far away as the outlying missions in Norcross and Lawrenceville. This was at a time when Holy Cross served not only Tucker, Chamblee and Doraville, but also a portion of Atlanta and all of Gwinnett County.

The third building to be constructed was a permanent rectory placed at the Hathaway Court entrance to Holy Cross. Father Beltran’s residency there was followed by two other diocesan priests, Father Tony Morris and Father Ed O’Connor. The Dominican then agreed to assist the diocese by assigning members of that order to serve at Holy Cross. Father Mark Geary was the first Dominican pastor followed by Fathers John O’Brien, Alberto Rodriguez and Dan Shanahan. Dominican Fathers Cayet Mangiaracina and Steve Smith currently serve as assistant pastors with Father Shanahan.

Today there are approximately 1,100 families at Holy Cross. With the establishment of permanent parishes in areas once designated as outlying missions, it is unlikely the parish will again be split. For this reason, the need to provide space for future membership growth within the existing parish boundaries is being met.