Under the direction of Monsignor Andrew Ignasiak, pastor of St. Stanislaus Church, Holy Family Parish was established. It was through the efforts of Monsignor Ingasiak that an appeal was sent to Bishop Fitzmaurice, Bishop of Erie, for a Slovak parish on Erie’s Eastside.

In late August of 1907, land for the parish site was purchased on the corner of East Ninth and Fulton Streets and the seeds of the future Holy Family Parish were planted. Under the guidance of the Bishop and with the help of Monsignor Ignasiak, fundraising for the new church began. Construction of a small wooden frame church was completed in late November of 1908, and on November 29, the church was formally dedicated to the Slovak people of the Erie community. The tiny church was pastured by the Reverend Carl Smelko, a young priest of Slovak heritage. Through his guidance, the number of church families grew to over 150.

In 1912 the Rev. Andrew J. Jurcak assumed pastorship of Holy Family Parish. After a while, Father recognized the need of the Slovak families to provide a Catholic education for their children.

So it was in September of 1915 that classes were first held in the basement of Holy Family Church. Father Jurcak appealed to the Sisters of Mercy to help in his mission to educate the youngsters of the parish. Classes were held in these cramped, often unpleasant surroundings for the next thirty years. Hundreds of children learned their first lessons about Catholicism as well as English, from these meager beginnings of Holy Family School.

During the later years of the 1920’s, the Sisters of Mercy gave up their teaching mission at Holy Family. It was at that time that the School Sisters of St. Francis from Pittsburgh, Bellvue, PA came to Erie and started to work at Holy Family.

In 1936 the Rev. Stephen Meko was appointed Pastor at Holy Family Parish. His ability to speak and understand the Slovak language and his knowledge of Slovak traditions and customs made him the best available candidate. Father Meko was appalled at the poor conditions of the school and quickly made needed improvements. Keeping in mind the needs and financial limits of the parishioners, a beautiful new church was designed.

The school children of Holy Family continued to attend classes in the new church but as enrollment swelled to over 400 children, Father Meko and members of the Parish Council knew it was time to begin fundraising to build a separate school. Enthusiasm for the new building seemed to infect all the parishioners. Mothers’ groups held fundraising dinners and card parties in their own homes. Donations for building a new school seemed to come from everywhere, ranging from $.50 offerings from many of the school children to as much as $5,000 from a few wealthy parishioners. In September of 1949, Holy Family school opened its doors to the first of many generations of children.

During the time of Monsignor Meko, Holy Family Church flourished. At one point over 500 families were active parishioners. Monsignor’s authoritative manner was evident in the way he oversaw both the church and school.

The school children knew Monsignor well. His daily visits to the classrooms and routine quizzing on matters of the Church strengthened the children in their faith. The Sisters made sure that everyone was well prepared in their religion and academics.

Today Holy Family School continues to educate students from the neighboring parishes. Affiliated with Holy Family Parish are: St. Ann, St. Casimir, St. Mary, St. Hedwig, St. Patrick, St. Stanislaus, and Mt. Calvary.