Holy Childhood was one of eleven new parishes founded by
the Archdiocese in 1946 as military personnel returned
home. Its founding pastor, Fr. John J. Buchanan, had served as
a chaplain with the 1st Armored Division in Europe, and would
pastor the parish for forty years.
Following the parish’s official incorporation on April 8, 1946,
Mass was offered in a State Fairgrounds building. By autumn
of 1947, a basement church and two floors of the school were
complete. The main church was completed in 1957.
The church is noted for a set of magnificent stained-glass
windows by Max Ingrand of Paris, a Wicks organ, twelve
bronze bells from the Netherlands which may be played from
a keyboard, and a number of statues—the work of Peter Lupori
of then-College of St. Catherine. The nave is flanked by flags
from many nations. The towering south windows, dominated
by the color blue, are dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and
contain symbols from the Litany of Loreto, while the smaller,
red-hued north windows alternate with the Stations of the
Cross and depict the symbols of the Passion.
