St.
Alphonsus
Cradle of the Faith for North Seattle Catholics for Over 100
Years
In 1891, Redemptorist Fathers from Sacred Heart
parish in
Seattle began to care for the Catholics in the nearby city of Ballard. The
first permanent location for the celebration of Mass was on the south side of NW 58th Street, midway between 20th and 22nd Avenues
NW.
When the church was built and in response to a request of the parishioners, a
resident priest was assigned. On November 16, 1901, Father Gustave
Achtergael became the first of eight men who were to serve as pastors for this
parish.
Father Achtergael believed that the spiritual life of the parish would flourish only if there was a larger parish plant where more social interaction between the people could take place. So almost immediately after accepting the post, he began a search for a piece of property which would be large enough and located where it could best serve the people. With remarkable foresight, he chose the present location of 15th Avenue NW.
On September 21, 1902, the Most Reverend Bishop O'Dea laid the
cornerstone of the church which was to serve the parish for the next 60 years. The steeple, surmounted by the traditional cross, pierced Ballard's
unbroken skyline a distance of more than 130 feet and was visible above the
forest of firs that covered a major portion of the expanded Ballard area at the
turn of the century.
During the eighteen months which followed, three buildings were erected--the church, a ten room rectory and a spacious parish hall. A large hall with a stage, a fully-equipped gymnasium, meeting rooms, a well-used card room, a billiard room and a kitchen, as well as living quarters for a resident caretaker, made this building an important addition to the life of the parish.
Father Achtergael, along with his parishioners, decided that a
parish school was necessary for the growth of the spiritual life of the
community. Having become acquainted with Dominican Sisters in a previous
assignment in Chehalis, Washington, the priest requested their help in the
venture. 
The parish purchased and deeded to the order a property adjacent
to the buildings already present on 15th Ave. NW. On September 7, 1907,
eight nuns greeted 75 pupils on the opening day of Holy Angels'
Academy. By the end of the first term of school, there were 200
students enrolled, of whom 12 were in high school classes. At the end
of this first year, one student was graduated from high school and 14 from
the eighth grade.
The Holy Angels' Building was home for the teaching staff,
support sisters, and boarding students for many years. However, because of
the rapid growth of enrollment, it soon became apparent that another school
would have to be built. A temporary solution, portable buildings, relieved
the overcrowding until the present school building was erected. On
February 11, 1923, Bishop O'Dea dedicated the brick building which still houses
St. Alphonsus School.
Under the leadership of Father John D. McGrath, the next
pastor, additional property was purchased adjacent to that already owned by the
parish. Plans were
drawn up for a new church and rectory because the
number of parishioners had outgrown the first church; in addition, the buildings
in spite of remodeling and renovation, were in need of replacement, and the
parish hall, having become obsolete and unsafe, has already been demolished some
years previously. Father McGrath's death prevented the fruition of his
planning and delayed the building of a new church for several years.
During the pastorate of Father A. J. Shaughnessy, three brick buildings replaced the old church, rectory and convent. With the erection of the new buildings, the last of the original wooden structures disappeared under the wrecking ball.
Father Jeffrey Sarkies succeeded Father Shaughnessy. It was during his pastorate that the magnificent Fritts-Richards tracker organ was installed. Father Joseph Doogan was named pastor in 1980. He moved the baptismal font into the main church and converted the baptistery into a chapel. The next pastor, Father Paul Byrne, turned his attention to the school. The aging building was brought up to current code and completely refurbished.
On October 21, 1993, the Dominican Sisters left the parish, many returning to the order's mother house in Edmonds. It was a sad day for St. Alphonsus parishioners, for the sisters had been an important part of the parish for 85 years.
Father James
Gandrau renovated the
convent, turning it into Fonzi's, a center for the senior parishioners.
Father Gandrau also instituted Perpetual Adoration in the chapel.
On December 8, 1996 the Parish launched a drive to build a new gymnasium and Family Center in the vacant lot across the street from the school. The magnificent, award winning structure was dedicated on September 20, 1998. The much needed facility greatly enhanced the life of the Parish.
But the history of the parish of St. Alphonsus is just not buildings and their eventual replacements. It is the people whose faith mandated the establishment of the parish, present parishioners, and all the many thousands in the intervening 95 years of parish life.
At the time of the dedication of the present church in 1962, it was computed that more than 280 vocations had come from those who grew up in the parish or had attended its school.
The geographical boundaries of the original parish included at least 15 other north-end parishes. The first was St. Benedict, followed by Blessed Sacrament, St. Margaret and St. John. The impact on the spiritual life of the Church in the Northwest cannot be denied: St. Alphonsus has been the mother church to so many.