Christian education was happening in our new building long before we called it home.
Marilyn Lanigan’s first thought when she walked into UCA’s new building was, “Where did my office go?”
The commons area at UCA is a place for students to relax and talk with friends. But for 32 years, that space was Marliyn’s professional home as she worked as a secretary for Holy Ghost Catholic Church.
Marilyn Lanigan stands in the space that was her office for 32 years.
Decades ago, with a fourth child on the way, Marilyn and her family moved from their Harvey home to South Holland, just a few blocks from Holy Ghost. The Lanigans joined the Holy Ghost church and school family, which had been growing since it started in the early 60s.
The land UCA now calls home was originally farmland, and in 1962, Father Thomas Gorman had been tasked with starting a Catholic Parish on the 10 acres. The church began meeting at McKinley School for Sunday mass, and at Father Gorman’s farmhouse on the property for daily mass. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in 1962 for Holy Ghost School, and school began in the building the next year, serving grades one through four. Each year following, Holy Ghost school added a new grade, eventually serving grades one through eight in 1967.
Taken in 1962, this photo shows a sign promising a future church and school called Holy Ghost.
This photo collage shows construction of the Holy Ghost School building, which is now UCA's home.
Father Thomas Gorman looks on as work continues in front of the newly-constructed Holy Ghost School.
Masses were held in a multi-use space at the east end of the school, which was years later divided into multiple classrooms. In 1968, the parish began construction on a unique and modern church building, which was dedicated on May 16, 1971 — and now hosts UCA’s chapels, graduations, and other events. From the time the parish started in 1962 to the church building’s completion in 1971, the parish had grown from 300 to 700 parishioners.
By the time Marliyn’s children had all graduated from Holy Ghost School, and she became a church secretary in the 80s, Holy Ghost had hit its stride, with 2,500 families calling the parish home.
“We had like four masses every weekend,” Marilyn said. She also remembers two portable classrooms that were set up on the back lawn to accommodate a burgeoning student body.
Among Marilyn’s duties at Holy Ghost were keeping parish records updated, arranging funerals for families, organizing baptisms and confirmations, allowing admittance to the school building, and decorating the sanctuary for different seasons and events.
“There are just so many memories,” she said as she reflected on 32 years working at Holy Ghost.
Left: Father Thomas Gorman speaks at Holy Ghost Church during its dedication ceremony in 1971. Right: Head of School Neil Okuley speaks from the same platform at UCA's 2024 Graduation.
Top: A group of Holy Ghost students gather in front of the church and school in the mid 80s. Bottom: On UCA's first day in our new building in February 2024, the school community gathered in the same area to pray for the building and grounds.
As the racial and ecclesiastical demographics of South Holland changed, enrollment at the school and attendance at the church dwindled. Holy Ghost School was closed in 2004, while the church continued until its final mass on June 30, 2019.
Less than two years later, on March 11, 2021, the UCA Board of Directors voted to put a bid on the 10 acres, beginning the storied property’s next chapter.
Now, in the same halls where elementary and middle schoolers walked for nearly 40 years, UCA high schoolers continue the tradition of Christian learning.
When asked about her thoughts on Christian education continuing in what was for years an empty school building, Marilyn only had two words to say:
“Thank goodness.”
Top: A teacher at Holy Ghost in the mid 1980s with her class. Bottom: UCA math teacher Noah Friesen demonstrates a concept in his precalculus class in 2024.