Holy Cross Church, Lewiston

Building in Maine, United States

Holy Cross Church Église Sainte-Croix (in French)
Church (center), 2013.

General information
Architectural style	Baroque
Town or city	Lewiston, Maine
Country	United States
Construction started	1924
Completed	1926

Holy Cross Church is a church at 1080 Lisbon Street in Lewiston, Maine and is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland.

Building

Over the main door of the church is the motto O Crux ave, spes unica (Hail to the cross, our only hope) - a line from the ancient Latin hymn Vexilla Regis Prodeunt. The inside of the church is adorned with important statues, a wooden carved altar, and gold leaf wrought iron railings. The stained windows also depict important Catholic Saints, and each window was donated by a parishioner.

History

The original church celebrated its first mass on September 14, 1924. The parishioners were largely of French Canadian heritage; after some early controversy over the name of the church, by 1926 the French name Église Sainte-Croix was adopted and the membership became almost entirely French American, as the Irish-American members joined St. Patrick's Church.^[1]^[2]

A new church was constructed after World War II, and an extensive renovation was completed in 1985.^[3]

Many marriages took place at Holy Cross Church and a recent book was written by Youville Labonté which relates to the genealogy involved.^[4]

Facilities

The Catholic Church of Lewiston has a library of some 3,500 items.^[5]

References

^ "Church named for date of first mass", The Lewiston Journal, Jun 21, 1985, pp. 21-22.
^ Larry Poitras, "Survivance: A Franco-American Obsession", Je me souviens (Journal of the American-French Genealogical Society), vol. 13, no. 2, Winter 1990 , pp. 39-40.
^ "Holy Cross Church/Sainte-Croix Re-dedication", The Lewiston Journal, Jun 21, 1985 (special supplement section).
^ OpenLibrary.org. "holy cross (church : lewiston me.) - Open Library". openlibrary.org.
^ "Parish Library". Prince of Peace Catholic Community.

External links

Official website

Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland

Bishops

Ordinaries: David William Bacon; James Augustine Healy; William Henry O'Connell; Louis Sebastian Walsh; John Gregory Murray; Joseph Edward McCarthy; Daniel Joseph Feeney; Peter Leo Gerety; Edward Cornelius O'Leary; Joseph John Gerry; Richard Joseph Malone; Robert Deeley; James T. Ruggieri

Auxiliary: Amédée Wilfrid Proulx

Churches

Cathedral: Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

Basilica: Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Lewiston

Parish churches (list): Holy Cross Church, Lewiston; Sacred Heart Church, Portland; St. David Church, Madawaska; St. Denis Church, North Whitefield; St. Joseph's Church, Biddeford; St. Mary's Church, Augusta; St. Patrick's Church, Newcastle; St. John's Church, Bangor

Former churches: St. Andre's, Biddeford; St. Mary's Church, Biddeford; St. Cyril and St. Methodius Church, Lisbon Falls; St. Dominic's, Portland; St. Joseph's Church, Lewiston; St. Patrick's Church, Lewiston

Education