On the first week of Advent, November 28, 2004, two well-established

faith communities in Fairview Heights, Our Lady of the Assumption and

St. Albert the Great, joined together for worship as Holy Trinity Catholic

Church.  As plans proceeded in the development and building of a new

church and school complex, temporary worship space was offered as an

interim solution at Pontiac Junior High School–or as some parishioners

lovingly referred to “St. Pontiac’s.”  For two years, parishioners came

together for worship at the junior high school, where the gymnasium

was transformed into a worship space where everyone pitched in to set

up the removable altar, ambo, and chairs each week.  Special liturgies

were offered for Christmas and the Triduum leading up to Easter at the

Fountains Convention Center.

 

On a very cold and windy Sunday, March 19, 2006, the faithful gathered in prayer and song with the architect, city leaders, and construction workers in an old farmer’s field on Fountains Parkway to celebrate the ground breaking of our new Holy Trinity Catholic Church and School.  On August 12, 2007, our parish family of faith moved from the gymnasium to the newly finished Parish Community Center to worship until the sanctuary was completed.  It was on this day that the Most Reverend Stanley G. Schlarman presided over the school dedication.  The following week over 180 students opened the doors of the new school facilities and the parish celebrated its first widely attended Summer Picnic.

 

By December 2007, the entire complex was ready, marked by the completion of the worship space.  Again, on a cold and windy Sunday, December 2, 2007, the Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton, Bishop of the Diocese of Belleville, presided over the dedication of  Holy Trinity.  It was a symbolic and festive dedication attended by over 600 faithful followers.  In the first few months an average of six new families has joined our faith community each week.  In the coming months and years ahead, Holy Trinity will continue to grow as “we invite all people to a greater awareness of God’s abiding Triune presence through Communal Worship, Lifelong Learning, Stewardship and Service.”

 

Our parish complex covers 84,439 square feet and contains the church sanctuary, multiple meeting and gathering spaces, and a K-8 Catholic school.  The building is surrounded by sports and agriculture fields.  As of 2010, there are more than 1,100 families registered with Holy Trinity Church and about 200 students in Holy Trinity School.

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