Holy Cross, Dover

As such, the Most Reverend Thomas Becker, first Bishop of Wilmington, appointed the Revered Edward Ignatius Taylor as pastor of Dover, with missions in Smyrna, Milford, and Salisbury, in 1870 with the command to raise high the Holy Cross in Dover for all to see. Appropriately the parish was named Holy Cross. Despite many financial difficulties, a spectacular Neo-Gothic church was built on Bradford Street and dedicated on May 14, 1873. The pointed steeple topped by the Cross soared 155 feet above the city and was beloved as the first landmark seen by travelers approaching Dover. The interior of the church was completely renovated in 1911 and was rededicated by the Most Reverend John J. Monaghan, third Bishop of Wilmington.

Dover was considered an agrarian community unchanged in size or temperament during the parish's first seventy years even though it was the state capital and county seat. World War 2 signaled Kent County's industrial revolution. The opening of Dover Air Force Base and the Latex Company dramatically changed the city of Dover and the parish of Holy Cross.

After the war, Dover's Catholic population grew rapidly. A parish hall was opened in the unused temporary wartime buildings secured from the Army. In the fall of 1952, the school opened with 42 students. With A $75,000 grant from the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, the parish purchased the 11-acre Wolcott Estate on South State Street in 1953. In 1954, Bishop Edmond FitzMaurice charged the pastor to build a new school and church as soon as possible. A remarkably successful fundraising campaign was launched on May 2 of the same year. Bishop FitzMaurice broke ground for a new school on September 26, and it opened in September 1955 with 310 students in five grades. During this period, the parish utilized the unfinished activity center as the temporary church. Then in September 1959, Holy Cross High School opened with Rev. Howard Clark as principal; it would later close in 1988.

The 1990s were a period of renewed spirit and dedication. By 1993, the parish had 2,180 registered families and Holy Cross prepared to address the building of a new worship space. A steering committee sought and encouraged parishioners' views. The consensus was to build a new church and to renovate existing facilities and land. The fundraising campaign astonished all of Dover by raising $3.4 million in six weeks. Construction officially began on January 16, 1996 and the beautiful new church was dedicated by the Most Reverend Michael A. Saltarelli, eighth Bishop of Wilmington, on April 13, 1997. In 2002, the parish built the Early Learning Center that houses the Pre-K Kindergarten and Kindergarten classes as well as the parish offices.

With successful participation in the Sustaining Hope for the Future Capital Campaign from 2014 - 2017, Holy Cross was able to replace the school's aging windows, replace the roof on the gymnasium, and remodel the old temporary church into a beautiful parish hall. Also, in 2017, the parish welcomed a high school back into its educational offerings with Saint Thomas More Academy in Magnolia, which opened in 1998 and closed in 2020 due to dwindling attendance.

Today, Holy Cross still continues its tradition of serving many faces, races, and cultures of the Catholic community of Dover, striving to always fulfill its mission to raise high the Holy Cross for all to see.