History of Holy Child Parish 
With Fr. Louis Kubash as founding pastor, Holy Child Parish was established by Archbishop Charles Halpin on October 9th, 1977, the International Year of the Child. The gymnasium of the newly opened St. Theresa School was used for Sunday masses in the early days, with weekday masses celebrated alternately at St. Theresa and St. Catherine Schools.
The Catholic Women’s League and Men’s Club were established in early 1978. The sod-turning and ground blessing ceremony for the parish centre took place on July 15th, 1979, and the parish hall was completed by July 1st, 1980. Although the church was not totally completed, it was used regularly for mass starting on October 26th with the official blessing of the building on November 6th, 1980. With the assistance of many volunteers, a rectory, paved parking lots and landscaping were completed in the next few years.
In 1985 the Knights of Columbus was formed. This was followed by rejoining with St. Joseph the Worker Parish to form the Holy Child/St. Joseph Parish Community with Fr. Joe Balzer as pastor. Over the years, he was assisted by Fr. Rick Krofchek as well as many seminarians, during their internship year. The parish grew and thrived as the east end of Regina continued to expand. After Fr. Joe Balzer died suddenly on May 1st, 1998, Fr. John Weckend served as pastor until 2008 when Fr. Lorne Crozon took over. After three short years, Fr. Lorne Crozon was transferred to another parish. As of August 1st, 2011 Fr. Danilo Rafael is currently our parish priest, assisted by Fr. Alejandro Cabonelas. Throughout the years, the work of the pastor has continuously been supported by dedicated staff members as well as retired priests, Fr. Art Vandendriessche and Fr. Gene Schaffer.
Holy Child is well known for the beauty and prayerful atmosphere of the sanctuary, highlighted by the stained glass windows and modern Stations of the Cross painted by Regina born artist Erica Grimm-Vance, as well as the powerful seasonal environment created by members of the liturgy committee.
Parish life is very active, with many parishioners taking part in sacramental preparation, programs such as Alpha and Journey bible study and hosting various workshops at Holy Child. Many parishioners are involved in ministry to the sick and the parish is always responsive to the social justice committee’s request to assist those in need, locally and beyond, especially in working with refugees. St.Joseph The Worker 
St. Joseph the Worker was established in 1960 when Little Flower Parish established a ‘chapel of ease’ at the new St. Mark’s School to serve the growing Catholic population of the Glen Elm subdivision. By October 1962, plans were begun to establish the parish of St. Joseph the Worker, with the new church ready for worship by the end of June and the official blessing by Archbishop O’Neill taking place on September 2nd, 1963.
During the early years, the parish was served by Msgr. F. Gerein and his assistants from Little Flower, but by 1966, the house across the street had been purchased for a rectory and Fr. Pat Murphy became the first resident pastor. He was followed by Fr. John Mulcahy, Fr. Louis Kubash and Fr. Leon Savoie.
The Catholic Women’s League and a Men’s Club were quickly established in the parish and the number of young people celebrating sacraments grew every year.
With the growth of the Glencairn subdivision in the 1970’s, St. Joseph the Worker was no longer large enough for the needs of the entire area and Holy Child Parish was established. Early in 1985, plans were made to join the parish communities of Holy Child and St. Joseph the Worker with one pastor, Fr. Joe Balzer. Fr. Rick Krofchek, as well as several seminarians doing their internship, also served the parish at the time. With the untimely death of Fr. Joe Balzer on May 1st, 1998, the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, Fr. John Weckend was called to serve the Holy Child/St. Joseph Community until 2008 when Fr. Lorne Crozon was welcomed as the new pastor. After three short years, Fr. Lorne Crozon was transferred to another parish. As of August 1st, 2011 Fr. Danilo Rafael is currently our parish priest, assisted by Fr. Alejandro Cabonelas. Fr. Art Vandendriessche and Fr. Gene Schaffer, also, have assisted in the parish, as retired priests.
St. Joseph the Worker continues to thrive with the faithful attending weekday morning mass as well as a 4:30 p.m. Saturday vigil mass from September through May. Many St. Joseph parishioners are also involved in various ministries and activities at Holy Child. For many years the basement served as a gathering centre for parish life, and was also used for marriage preparation classes for the Regina area. |