The History of Holy Family Catholic Church in Council Bluffs

In 1908 when Council Bluffs was still part of the Diocese of Davenport, with only the two parishes of St. Francis Xavier and St. Peter's and both of them in the downtown area, a need was felt for a new parish in the west part of the city.

Thus was born the parish of Holy Family. The dividing line for Holy Family Parish was everything west of 14 street to the Missouri River. At that time there were fifty to sixty families in that area.

A cattle lot was located across the street from the church. The streets were unpaved, there were no sidewalks or streets lights, most of the property was vacant lots, and sunflowers were in great abundance.

Father John O'Neill, a native of Council Bluffs, who at the time was pastor of the parishes of Bayard and Jamaica, became Holy Family's first priest. He set about the task of building the church. The structure, forty feet by one hundred twenty-five feet, is a lasting monument to the many worthwhile accomplishments of Fr. O'Neill's life.