Our History

Holy Family Traditional Catholic Church was founded in order to preserve the traditional practices, and to maintain inviolate the traditional Catholic faith, as taught and observed prior to the Second Vatican Council.

Our history began in the 1970s, when a group of Catholics in Brevard County decided to hold rosary vigils regularly, imploring God’s help to obtain the Tridentine (traditional latin) Mass. For years they traveled long distances to Mass while meeting for weekly rosaries in town. The first public monthly Mass was on May 24, 1981 in the American Legion Hall in Cocoa. In 1983 the Mass was moved to community centers in Melbourne and the frequency increased to twice per month if a priest was available.

Groundbreaking for the existing church took place on November 4, 1993 after long hours of planning and substantial financial commitments, including a generous bequeathment. Many of the items in the church were rescued from Catholic churches scheduled for closing or demolition. The altar came from Fort Pierce, the statues from Pennsylvania, and the 140 year old cross atop the church, came from St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn. The first Mass to be offered at Holy Family was on June 26, 1994.

With a secure and permanent location, Sunday Mass attendance increased from 50 to well over 100 in a short period of time, to the 250-300 that worship today. In 2003 a nearby home was purchased and serves as the rectory for our priest. Through the generous support of our loyal parishioners we completed a major addition in 2011; which consisted of a large parish hall, library, office, and expansion of the priest’s and altar server’s sacristies.

Holy Family is a testimony to Divine Providence working through the perseverance of a staunch group who yearned to provide a refuge for our traditions where Holy Mass could be offered for the Roman Catholic faithful. God has been extremely kind to us in many ways. May He continue to bless us all.