Holy Family Parish: A Catholic Community on the Eastside Since 1914
Holy Family Parish sits on 120th Avenue NE in Kirkland, Washington, on the east side of Lake Washington, where it has served local Catholics for more than a century. As part of the Archdiocese of Seattle and a partner parish with St. John Vianney on Finn Hill, Holy Family is one of the largest Catholic communities in the Eastside, known for its daily Mass schedule, perpetual Eucharistic adoration chapel, on-site parish school, and a robust youth ministry that draws on the Life Teen movement.
A Parish Born from the Eastside's First Catholics
Holy Family's story is older than its current buildings. As late as the start of the twentieth century, no local Masses were available for Catholics living on the east side of Lake Washington. That changed in 1914, when the parish began as a mission of St. Anthony's in Renton. Once a month, Father Nicholas O'Rafferty celebrated Mass for about twenty Catholics in the Kirkland City Council Chambers, after the mayor of the eight-year-old city made space available. On March 8, 1914, Father O'Rafferty performed the first baptism, and on July 1 of that year Bishop O'Dea directed construction of a church at 6th Avenue and 3rd Street. Parishioners donated the labor themselves, finishing it without a general builder, and the first Mass was celebrated on October 18, 1914, with Bishop O'Dea consecrating the church the following month.
The new church, with its balcony, seated between 150 and 200 people. In the fall of 1915, Bishop O'Dea formally established Holy Family as a parish and named Father Thomas Madigan its first resident pastor, with boundaries that reached into Kirkland, Bothell, Redmond, and Bellevue. The 1920s and 1930s brought lean years - for some time after World War I the parish was without a pastor, and Monsignor D.A. Hanley said just one Sunday Mass on the Eastside, alternating between Holy Family and Sacred Heart in Bellevue. Successive pastors, beginning with Fr. William McDonald in 1921, purchased a rectory and lots for a future school. Fr. Robert Ryan, who became pastor in 1935 and served until his death in 1955, oversaw the construction of a new church, school, rectory, convent, and parish hall on ten acres along 120th Avenue NE purchased in December 1955.
Five Dominican sisters of the Congregation of St. Thomas Aquinas moved into the new convent in August 1957 and opened the parish school with 220 students in six grades that September. Christmas Eve of the same year saw the first Mass in the new church, and the campus was dedicated on the Feast of the Holy Family in 1958. After Vatican II, the interior of the church was modified to fit the renewed liturgy, and through the late 1960s and 1970s many deacons from St. Thomas Seminary received pastoral experience at Holy Family. Growth continued even as new parishes were carved out, including St. John Vianney in Juanita in 1971 and St. Jude in Redmond in 1978.
On the night of July 9, 1988, an arson fire destroyed the church. Mass moved into the gym the next morning and stayed there for two years, while other Catholic parishes and other Christian churches opened their sanctuaries for weddings and funerals. The parish rebuilt, dedicating the present church on November 4, 1990. With the Dominican sisters no longer in residence, the old convent was converted into a Parish Center, and the rectory was remodeled into meeting rooms.
Mass, Reconciliation, and the Liturgical Week
Mass is at the center of life at Holy Family. The current weekly schedule includes a daily Mass Monday through Friday at 8:40 AM, a Wednesday evening Mass at 6:30 PM, and a first-Saturday-of-the-month Mass at 8:40 AM with anointings offered immediately afterward. The Saturday Vigil is at 5:00 PM, and three Sunday Masses are celebrated at 9:00 AM, 11:00 AM, and 5:00 PM. Mass is also livestreamed on the parish's YouTube channel for those unable to attend in person.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is offered in the east narthex of the church on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings from 8:00 to 8:30 AM, on the first Saturday of the month from 8:00 to 8:30 AM, and on Saturday afternoons from 3:30 to 4:30 PM. Confessions can also be arranged by appointment through the parish office.
Mass times for Holy Days may differ from the regular schedule; the parish events calendar carries the liturgical schedule for those days. To receive text alerts about weekday Mass schedule changes, parishioners can text "MASSCHANGE" to 84576.
Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Around the Clock
Holy Family is one of the few parishes in the region to maintain a perpetual adoration chapel, open to the Real Presence of Christ twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The chapel is publicly accessible between 6:00 AM and 9:00 PM Monday through Friday, and between 7:00 AM and 9:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday. For security reasons, only registered adorers are admitted between 9:00 PM and 6:00 AM (7:00 AM on weekends). Registered adorers commit to one or more hours each week and arrange substitutes through the parish's WeAdoreHim scheduling site.
Two hours each week are set aside as Family-Friendly Adoration Hours - Fridays from 3:00 to 4:00 PM and Saturdays from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM - where parents with young children are especially welcome and a bit of movement or noise is expected. Children are always welcome at adoration; these hours simply offer an additional, more relaxed option.
Baptism, First Sacraments, and OCIA
The parish walks families and adults through the seven sacraments. Baptisms are celebrated on the third weekend of every month, outside the seasons of Lent and Advent, and are scheduled into any of the regular Sunday or Saturday Vigil liturgies. Parents and godparents attend a Baptism Preparation class held on Saturday mornings four times a year; classes are not required again if a parent has attended within the past two years. Julie Klinkenberg coordinates baptism preparation, and baptism information is also available in Spanish.
Older children and teens who have not been baptized - or who were baptized in another Christian tradition - prepare for full initiation through a yearly RCIA process for children and teens that culminates in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. First Reconciliation and First Eucharist are offered to children in the parish school and to those enrolled in the parish's youth programs, with separate tracks for elementary, junior high, and senior high ages. Adult preparation follows the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA), the restored Vatican II process for non-baptized adults, baptized Christians from other traditions, and baptized Catholics seeking Eucharist and Confirmation. Inquirers' sessions are held on several evenings each summer for those beginning their exploration of Catholicism.
Adult Confirmation is offered through the parish's Reconnect program for Catholics who have not completed their initiation. Marriage preparation is required for couples marrying at Holy Family, with the parish asking couples to contact them at least six months before the intended date. The Anointing of the Sick is available to those facing serious illness, with communal anointings on the first Saturday of the month after the 8:40 AM Mass and on-call visits arranged through the Eastside Deanery Pastoral Care Team at 425-655-3200.
A School on Campus and Children Faith Formation
Holy Family Parish School has shared the campus with the parish since 1957, when Dominican sisters opened its doors with 220 students in six grades. The school continues today as a parish-supported K-8 program led by a principal who works alongside the School Commission and the parish's Parents' Club. Susan Webster serves as principal.
For families whose children attend other schools, Children's Faith Formation is offered beginning each fall through flexible schedules and formats. The parish describes parents as the first and most important teachers of the faith, with the parish family supporting them through Sunday worship, prayer, catechesis, and sacramental preparation. The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program, directed by Connie Moretti, is one of the formation pathways available.
Youth Ministry and Life Teen
HFK Youth Ministry serves middle school and high school youth in grades 6 through 12, with programming powered by Life Teen, an international Catholic movement that has provided USCCB-approved middle and high school curricula for more than thirty years. Youth group meets on Sunday evenings from 6:00 to 7:30 PM between Labor Day and Memorial Day, and high school students can drop into the Open Teen Center on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 2:30 PM. The ministry describes itself as Eucharist-centered, relationally focused, and unapologetically Catholic, rooted in Marian devotion, the Communion of Saints, the Catechism, and communion with the Pope. Ayisa Yenokida directs high school youth and young adult ministry.
CYO Sports and Parish Life
Holy Family fields a wide range of CYO sports programs for youth and adults through the Archdiocese of Seattle's Catholic Youth Organization. Youth offerings include soccer, cross country, basketball, volleyball, and track and field, with all-eligible-participate policies and no try-outs or cuts. Adult programs include co-ed pickleball, men's basketball, and co-ed volleyball, along with an annual Tournament Weekend for dads' basketball and moms' volleyball. The HFK Gym hosts practices and games throughout the year.
The parish maintains active communications through a weekly bulletin, an email newsletter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram (@hfkparish). A parish-wide Flocknote sign-up keeps members informed of events. The annual Parish Family Events Calendar lists ongoing programming for newcomers, returning Catholics, families, young adults, seniors, and parish groups. The Parish Family Advisory Council has prayerfully discerned five initiatives under what the parish calls its One Parish Plan, in cooperation with St. John Vianney.
Stewardship, Outreach, and St. Vincent de Paul
Holy Family runs an active Outreach Program in addition to its regular stewardship operations. Stewardship gifts fund the parish's day-to-day work, while directed giving supports specific ministries - the parish's Outreach efforts (including the Thanksgiving Meal, New Bethlehem, and refugee assistance), the local St. Vincent de Paul chapter and its food pantry, the parish school, the HFK Café, Holy Days, debt reduction on the Parish Center loan, and special collections such as Rice Bowl, Catholic Home Missions, Peter's Pence, and disaster relief. Memorial gifts, gifts of stock (handled through the Archdiocese of Seattle), donor-advised funds, IRA charitable distributions, qualified charitable distributions, and employer matching gifts are all accepted.
Online giving is available through Pushpay, and stewardship pledge forms are submitted annually. Pam Carbonetti coordinates giving and accounting at the parish.
Clergy, Staff, and Parish Leadership
Holy Family is pastored by Fr. Brad Hagelin, with Deacon Carl Chilo, O.P.L., assisting. The Pastoral Associate is Dave Laidler. Music is led by Music Director Kerry O'Connor, and parish communications are handled by Communications Coordinator Gina Hall. The parish's pastoral and administrative life is supported by several councils: the Pastoral Council chaired by Andrew Devereux, the Finance Council chaired by Julia Proudlove, the School Commission chaired by Crystal Cressey, an Evangelization Committee, a Liturgy Committee, and a Giving Committee.
The parish office is open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, Friday from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM, and closed Tuesday. The church building itself is open longer: Monday through Friday from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and weekends from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM. After-hours pastoral emergencies are handled through the Eastside Deanery line at 425-655-3200. The parish mailing address is 7045 120th Ave NE, Kirkland, WA 98033, and the main parish phone number is (425) 822-0295.
Becoming Catholic, Returning Catholics, and FORMED
For those exploring Catholicism, the parish offers OCIA (formerly RCIA), a structured journey through inquiry, the catechumenate, the Rite of Election, the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil, and mystagogy. A dedicated OCIA team of sponsors accompanies seekers throughout the process. For Catholics who have been away from the practice of their faith, the parish points to its Returning Catholics page and to Catholics Come Home, an independent nonprofit that welcomes inactive Catholics back to sacramental life. Those who have been divorced and remarried are encouraged to contact the parish to clarify their situation before returning to the sacraments.
All Holy Family parishioners have free access to FORMED, a digital library of Catholic movies, talks, and study programs from the Augustine Institute and other Catholic producers, by signing up at formed.org/signup using the parish's zip code (98033). The parish also recommends the Augustine Institute's Catechism in a Year video series as a way to learn the faith in depth.