Durham, North Carolina was a sleepy southern city until the birth of Research Triangle Park (RTP) in the late 1960s. Then everything changed forever. IBM and other companies in RTP began to relocate employees from the northeastern part of the country, and many of them were Catholic.

Msgr. James E. McSweeney, then pastor of Immaculate Conception parish in Durham, sensed the potential for growth. He proposed the formation of a new parish to accommodate the flood of newcomers. Immaculate Conception donated 15 acres of land in southwest Durham to help start the new parish. Mr. and Mrs. John Gaetano of Orange, Connecticut, gave a generous gift of $100,000 to build the new church and rectory, with the proviso that the new parish bear the name “Holy Infant” to honor John Gaetano's devotion to the Infant of Prague.

To staff the new parish, Most Reverend Vincent Waters, then-Bishop of Raleigh, called upon the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, a community of priests and brothers from Wilmington, Delaware. On October 4, 1970 Bishop Waters dedicated the new church. Approximately 70 families, primarily from the Parkwood neighborhood in southern Durham, composed the initial congregation. In short order a Parish Advisory Board was established, Catholic Christian Doctrine programs inaugurated, and social clubs formed.

Initially the parish grew slowly, and by April 1981 had doubled in size to 150 households. The parish had a single priest / pastor, and Oblate deacons preparing for ordination served in the parish for five-month periods. During the summers, Oblate seminarians did internships at Holy Infant. This system continued until an associate pastor was assigned to the parish from 1987-1990.

In August 1981, the parish faced a major crisis. A lightning strike in the pre-dawn hours of August 8 caused a fire which severely damaged the church. When dawn broke, blue sky was visible where once a roof had sheltered the now destroyed altar. What at first appeared to be a major tragedy for the young parish would become an unforeseen blessing. For a year and a half after the fire, liturgies were held at the Parkwood Elementary School. Out of necessity, many parish activities took place in neighboring churches and in parishioners' homes.

When Holy Infant began meeting at the school, chairs for the liturgy were set up in the traditional straight row upon straight row format, with people gazing at the back of other parishioners' heads, but the pastor moved the seating into a semi-circle around the altar. Parishioners had come to the school as a traditional Catholic parish, and returned to their rebuilt church building as a people with new insights into what it means to be a Catholic Christian community. Holy Infant began to identify itself as a people, not a place. Not only did the parishioners change, so too did the church sanctuary. The design now incorporated a new liturgical environment which included semi-circular seating around the altar area. On November 21, 1982, Bishop F. Joseph Gossman celebrated the rededication of Holy Infant. The parish now numbered 200 households.

Throughout the late 20th century Holy Infant continued to grow and flourish, and as we embrace the the 21st century, we have been blessed with--and challenged by--continued growth. Today we are a community of approximately 800 households.

Oblate Service Through the Years

Many Oblates of St. Francis de Sales have faithfully served the parish as pastors and parochial vicars, including Edward H. Friel, OSFS; Anthony Silvestri, OSFS; Harry McGovern, OSFS; Louis R. McCartney, OSFS; Anthony Simeone, OSFS; James Behan, OSFS; James Turner, OSFS; Philip Cerrato, OSFS; Richard R. DeLillio, OSFS; Joseph C. Zuschmidt, OSFS; John E. McGee, OSFS; Richard Cleary, OSFS; Michael McCue, OSFS; Joseph Brennan, OSFS, and our current pastor, Rev. David Devlin, OSFS.

Milestones