page_title: Holy Redeemer Catholic Parish, Belize City
section_title: Twentieth century
hierarchical_section_title: Holy Redeemer Catholic Parish, Belize City / Twentieth century
caption_attribution_description: English: Holy Redeemer Cathedral and Rectory, Belize City, Belize, CA
context_page_description: When the Holy Redeemer Catholic parish was founded in 1852, it was the only parish in Belize and from it missionaries covered the whole country. When other parishes were founded Holy Redeemer remained a parish with its own history but with its leadership connected to the Catholic church in all of Belize under titles of governance that evolved over the years from apostolic prefect to apostolic vicar to bishop. It has remained the hub of the diocese, the bishop's church, as well as a parish in its own right.
context_section_description: In 1929 Holy Redeemer Parish Hall (the "Old Barn") became the first multipurpose auditorium in the country, with a fully outfitted stage and an auditorium adaptable for basketball, tennis, and boxing. For 25 years it was the premier venue for indoor events in Belize, until the construction of Bliss Institute in 1955. The parish Catholic Knights began hosting in the hall a banquet for the Knights throughout the country each Ignatius day, July 31. Sodality Chapel Hall was also built in 1929, adjacent to Parish Hall. The Boy Scout movement in Belize was greatly advanced by Brother "Jake" Jacoby in Holy Redeemer parish during his long tenure in Belize, 1928 to 1957. In 1938 Fr. Hugh Harkins started the Drum, Bugle, and Fife Band for the boys of the parish. All of Belize City remained a part of Holy Redeemer parish until St. Ignatius church was built in the south of Belize City in the 1930s.
   
  After the 1931 hurricane destroyed the Loyola Park campus of St. John’s College, it moved back to cramped quarters at Holy Redeemer, later moving to a wooden building at the site of the present chancery. In 1952 the college moved to its spacious Landivar campus. In 1954 St. John’s Teacher Training College was established using borrowed classrooms at Holy Redeemer Primary School. A hostel nearby was run for the out-district teachers. The next devastating hurricane to strike the parish was Hattie in 1961. 
  In 1937 Fr. Marion M. Ganey, while assistant pastor at the Cathedral, organized youth clubs and Golden Gloves boxing tournaments, and went on to found the credit union and cooperative movement in Belize. Fr. Henry J. Sutti founded the Holy Redeemer Credit Union (HRCU) in 1944. By 2015 it had reached Bz$501,200,000 in assets, with membership recorded at 50,564. 
  In 1969 Fr. Facundo Castillo became vicar general of the diocese and the first diocesan priest to serve as pastor at Holy Redeemer parish. In 2001 a new diocesan center was built at Holy Redeemer and named Monsignor Facundo Castillo Diocesan Center. The Mercy Sisters of Belize have their motherhouse in the parish, along with a spirituality center and St. Catherine Academy.
caption: Cathedral and rectory, 1940s
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