His choice was Father Gerald M. O’Keeffe, then Bishop Cantwell renamed the parish “The Church of the Holy Angels.” On October 24, 1935, Father O’Keeffe celebrated the regular 8:15 a.m. Mass at Holy Angels. Confessions were heard on Saturday evenings by candlelight. The parish now served over 275 families.
On December 9, 1935 the church building was moved to the newly acquired property on Holly Street. The building was then enlarged to accommodate 200 worshippers. The first Mass celebrated at Holy Angels’ new location was on January 1, 1936. By the end of 1937, Holy Angels Parish had grown in size to over 500 registered families. In December of 1937, Father O’Keeffe conveyed his vision of building a new church to parishioners. Ultimately enough money was raised to allow for ground-breaking of the new church on July 4, 1939. The new church opened in December 17, 1939 with the first Solemn High Mass celebrated on Christmas Day 1939 at 5:00 a.m. Later, in 1952, Holy Angels Church was expanded to its present size.
