About

About Holy Cross Old Catholic Church

A Catholic Parish Rooted in the Ancient Church

Holy Cross Old Catholic Church is a welcoming sacramental parish rooted in the ancient faith of the undivided Church. We stand within the Old Catholic tradition, cherishing reverent worship, apostolic ministry, and the grace of the sacraments, while seeking to serve the people of God with pastoral charity, dignity, and truth. At Holy Cross, we believe that the Church is called not only to preserve the faith but also to make visible the Kingdom of God through prayer, mercy, and faithful witness.

Whether you are searching for a church home, returning to the life of faith, seeking the sacraments, or simply desiring a place of prayer and spiritual care, you are welcome here. Holy Cross exists to proclaim Jesus Christ, to celebrate the sacred mysteries of the Church, and to invite all people into a deeper life of grace.

Holy Cross Old Catholic Church is Catholic in faith, Apostolic in ministry, and sacramental in life. We confess the historic Christian faith, honor the worship and order of the ancient Church, and stand in continuity with the Church’s apostolic tradition. Our life together is shaped by Holy Scripture, the witness of the Fathers, the life of prayer, and the celebration of the sacraments as means of grace for God’s people.

As an Old Catholic parish, we seek neither novelty nor reinvention. Rather, we seek faithful continuity with the life of the Church received through the ages. The Old Catholic tradition understands itself not as a modern protest movement but as a continuing branch of the ancient Catholic Church—preserving the faith once delivered to the saints with reverence, humility, and pastoral care.

The term Old Catholic refers to a historic Catholic tradition committed to the faith, worship, and order of the early and undivided Church. To be Old Catholic is to remain grounded in the ancient inheritance of the Church: apostolic faith, episcopal ministry, sacramental worship, and the pastoral care of souls. It is a way of being Catholic that treasures continuity with the ancient Church while proclaiming Christ faithfully in the present age.

For us, “Old” does not mean outdated. It means rooted. It means receiving with gratitude the faith handed down through generations of Christian witness. It means belonging to a tradition that values the Gospel, the sacraments, the episcopate, the councils of the Church, and the living communion of the faithful.

A central part of our identity is apostolic continuity. This means that the Church is not merely an association of like-minded believers but a living body joined to the mission of Christ through the apostles and their successors. Holy Cross stands within an unbroken sacramental and episcopal inheritance, preserving the apostolic ministry of the Church and the sacramental life that flows from it.

In the Old Catholic tradition, apostolic continuity is both historical and spiritual. It is historical in that the episcopal succession has been handed on through the laying on of hands from bishop to bishop across the centuries. It is spiritual in that the Church remains called to guard the apostolic faith, to preach the Gospel faithfully, and to celebrate the sacraments with integrity and reverence. Apostolic continuity is therefore not only about lineage but about fidelity: fidelity to Christ, to the Gospel, and to the life of the ancient Church.

This continuity assures us that the sacramental life of the Church is not self-invented or newly devised but received as a sacred trust. At Holy Cross, Baptism, Holy Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, pastoral blessings, and the other sacramental ministries of the Church are offered in the confidence that we stand within that continuing apostolic inheritance.

A defining part of Old Catholic heritage is the Ancient Liberty of Utrecht. This phrase refers to the historic and canonical freedom of the Church of Utrecht to govern its own ecclesial life and to elect its bishops according to the ancient order of the Church. In Old Catholic memory, this liberty is not understood as rebellion or rupture but as the preservation of rights, responsibilities, and ecclesial order that were recognized in the life of the Church long before later controversies arose.

The Liberty of Utrecht reminds us that the Church’s life is not based merely on centralized control but on apostolic continuity, conciliar faithfulness, and the lawful ordering of the Church in fidelity to the Gospel. For Holy Cross, this heritage is important because it expresses something deeply spiritual as well as historical: the Church is called to remain faithful to what it has received and to preserve the ancient faith with courage, peace, and pastoral wisdom.

This heritage shapes our identity today. We stand within an Old Catholic tradition that treasures the freedom of the Church to remain what she is called to be: Catholic, Apostolic, sacramental, and rooted in the ancient witness of the undivided Church.

The Old Catholic heritage associated with Utrecht traces its roots to the ancient missionary life of the Church in the West. The Diocese of Utrecht is traditionally linked to Saint Willibrord, whose mission and consecration in 695 AD established a line of ecclesial continuity that Old Catholics regard as a lasting witness to apostolic mission and Catholic order.

Over the centuries, Utrecht’s rights and ecclesial standing were repeatedly recognized in the life of the wider Church. The right of canonical episcopal election was affirmed in the medieval period, including by Pope Eugene III in 1145 and by the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. These milestones are remembered not merely as legal details but as signs of a deeper principle: that the life of the Church is grounded in apostolic order, lawful continuity, and fidelity to the faith handed down through the ages.

When Old Catholic communities later emerged more visibly in the modern period, they understood themselves not as inventing a new church but as continuing a much older inheritance. In the language of your encyclical, the Old Catholic movement may rightly be described as “a new branch upon an ancient tree.”

At Holy Cross, this heritage is not merely a matter of history. It is lived out in worship, sacramental ministry, prayer, service, and pastoral care. We gather to adore God, hear His Word, receive the sacraments, and support one another in the Christian life. We seek to be a parish in which the beauty of Catholic worship and the warmth of Christian hospitality belong together.

We joyfully offer the sacramental and pastoral ministries of the Church, including Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, anniversary blessings, Quinceañera Mass with Confirmation, funerals, memorials, hospital visits, nursing home visits, home blessings, and emergency chaplaincy. In all these ministries, our desire is to make the mercy and presence of Christ tangible in the lives of those we serve.

We also believe that the life of the Church extends beyond the sanctuary. Holy Cross seeks to be a place of prayer, encouragement, service, and spiritual presence in the wider community. We strive to strengthen faith, offer compassion, and create opportunities for people to encounter the love of God in both worship and daily life.

We welcome all who come seeking Christ, prayer, healing, truth, and a church home. Our desire is to receive each person with reverence and kindness, honoring both the sacred tradition of the Church and the real needs of those whom God sends to us. Holy Cross is committed to being a place where ancient faith is lived with open hearts, open doors, and a sincere devotion to the care of souls.

To be welcoming, in our understanding, does not mean setting aside the faith of the Church. It means offering that faith faithfully and generously—inviting others to share in the worship, sacramental grace, and spiritual inheritance of the Body of Christ.

If you are searching for a parish rooted in apostolic faith, reverent worship, sacramental life, and pastoral care, we invite you to learn more about Holy Cross Old Catholic Church. Whether you are exploring Old Catholicism for the first time or seeking a deeper home in the life of the Church, we would be honored to welcome you.

Come and worship with us. Come and pray with us. Come and discover the grace, beauty, and hope of the ancient faith lived in the present day.