Holy Family celebrates 150th anniversary amid renewed growth in Randallstown

Deacon Steve Roscher says Holy Family is an apt name for a parish that has been his spiritual home for more than five decades.

“I always thought calling it Holy Family: how appropriate,” Deacon Roscher said of the Randallstown parish, which currently ministers to about 575 registered families and is celebrating its 150th anniversary. “Society can be so divisive along social, financial and racial lines, and I have never seen any of that at Holy Family.

“Even with all of the demographic changes in the area over the past 40 years it’s always been a very friendly, welcoming place,” said Roscher, who became a parishioner in 1976 and was assigned to minister at St. Charles Borromeo in Pikesville after his ordination to the permanent diaconate in 2011. 

Deacon Roscher, a lawyer and retired prosecutor for the state’s attorney office, raised three children with his wife, Nancy, in the parish. All three of his children were baptized and attended the parish school, which closed in 2010. Most of his grandchildren were baptized at the parish.

He is as well-acquainted with the origins of the church, originally known as the Harrisonville Mission, as well as with its modern transformation since his wife is a member of the Harker family, which helped found the parish.

The seeds of Holy Family began in the late 1870s when Catholics began worshiping at a tavern with the assistance of Jesuit priests from nearby Woodstock Seminary. The priests arrived on horseback to hold Mass at the behest of Holy Family foundress Mary Louisa Harker.  Harker requested the liturgies after watching Methodist family members hold services at the tavern, which later became the site of historic Ward’s Chapel United Methodist Church. 

Nancy Roscher, who converted to Catholicism without any prompting from her husband in 2009, was from the Methodist line of the Harker family.

“Holy Family has been there for the community going back eight, nine generations,” Deacon Roscher said. “The demographics have changed, but not the spirit of the church.”

Current pastor Father Raymond Harris, who is also celebrating his 10th anniversary serving the parish, couldn’t agree more. He said the theme for the 150th anniversary is “Giving Glory to God.”

“We are praising God for how our parish has developed over the years,” Father Harris said. “This was once primarily a farming community that has continued its development during its suburbanization. It’s truly an intercultural community, particularly in the last 20 years or so.”

Father Harris said the parish includes people with connections to nearly all of the world’s continents.

“What I appreciate about the parishioners is their resilience, their continuing dedication to worshiping the Lord and witnessing to the Lord,” he said, noting the parishioners generous outreach to the impoverished and particularly Pregnancy Center West. 

Father Harris oversees two campuses, the original “old church” along Liberty Road and the site of the newer church  and former school opened in 1961. The old church, used for special occasions, was significantly renovated in 2000 after being virtually vacant for years.

Holy Family opened its sesquicentennial celebration Dec. 28. 2025 on the Feast of the Holy Family. It is planning to produce a commemorative book for the celebration and will host a “legacy celebration” in August that welcomes school alumni and former parishioners among many others. 

The year-long celebration will continue with a church open house and homecoming on Sept. 12, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The celebration will include a presentation about the beginnings of the parish with a Mass at noon in the old church and a prayer service in the cemetery. Seating in the old church is limited to 125 so it will be first-come-first-serve.

A 150th anniversary gala is planned Oct. 11, 2 p.m., at Martin’s West in Woodlawn ($150 a person). A Mass of thanksgiving will be held Oct. 18, 11 a.m. with Archbishop William E. Lori as the main celebrant. A closing 150th celebration is scheduled for Dec. 27 on the Feast of the Holy Family.

Kathy Parkerosn, co-chair of the 150th gala celebration, has been a parishioner of Holy Family for 41 years. She loves her parish’s diversity.

“It’s a very diverse community,” Parkerson said. “We all seem to come together, especially in times of need. I give a lot of the credit to Father Harris. He deserves so much respect for how supportive he is of each of our ministry.”

Father Harris said the church has experienced a good deal of growth in the past several years after years of decline.

“We’ve experienced growth in Mass attendance, school religion classes and the celebrations of different sacraments,” he said. “We’re grateful for what the Lord is doing, and we continue to celebrate that.”

Father Harris is looking forward to the continued celebration, and said the parish has plans for renovating the old school building into a parish center.

“We are not only looking at the blessings of the past, but the blessings of the present and future,” he said. “We hope to maintain a vibrant Catholic witness in Northwestern Baltimore County.”

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