One Catholic Family under Father Thomas Mischler started with the chronological creation of St. Mary as a mission of St. Paul in Valparaiso until 1887 and was under the care of priests until 1894. A tornado destroyed the first church building and the current one was finished in 1926 under Father Joseph Suelzer. St. Helen was then formed as a mission of St. Mary Kouts in 1932 and a building was bought from a Presbyterian church in 1946. The present church was created in 1989 under the care of Father Derrick Dudash. Holy Spirit was the last parish in the Diocese to be created after Bishop Melczek directed Father Murphy to start a parish in Winfield, Indiana. It started by having gatherings in homes and masses at neighboring churches, as the funds were gathered the building of the church began in 1999, and the first Mass was celebrated in the newly built church as we know it now on Pentecost Sunday, June 11, 2000. Father Tom came into the picture on July 1, 2010, as he came to take over as pastor as Father Murphy prepared to retire. St. Helen was next to be under the care of Father Tom after Father Dudash retired in April 2016. Father Tibbs passed away in April 2019 and was then added under the pastoral care of Father Tom as well. In the spring of 2022, to better represent the value of each parish, the website, catholicfamilyhs.org, was revised to feature One Catholic Family with a newly designed logo. As a community, One Catholic Family represents the unity of three unique parishes with each having a lot to offer and share in the glory of God.

One Catholic Family’s foundation is in the gratitude of the community it has founded. There is much to be grateful for. The Lord has blessed us with the gift of our Pastor, Father Tom, who works hard to foster the parishioners in the light of God as they come into his care due to a shortage of priests. There are also amazing opportunities to foster community through the ministries each parish supports that are open to everyone to learn and grow in faith and fellowship. There are also amazing lessons to be learned and fun to be had in the participation of our Faith Formation program. It opens the door of learning so that each child is prepared and learns about God’s love for each of us in a fun way that allows them to form a connection with God and the community and they also learn about community service. Our St. Vincent de Paul ministry leaves those in need in deep gratitude through the help and care they offer to their neighbors. The parishes also share resources and St. Helen offers the Mobile Market. St. Mary creates blankets for those in need as well. Each parish offers so much back to the community around us as much as within us. Sharing and learning about God’s grace can leave us with a reason to live in gratitude for the life we are given but also the opportunity to foster our love with others as One Catholic Family.

Each of our three parishes were established to provide spiritual care for the people in Kouts, Hebron, and Winfield. That spiritual care persists to this day. Our continued efforts in Building Our Future ensures that our One Catholic Family will continue to provide for ourselves and others. The physical plant of each location requires loving attention, repairs, and updating. The ministries each parish provides to administer care requires continued financial support. To grow that care and enable it to reach even more parishioners is supported by advanced tools and training. Those too require financial support. We build our future by securing the past (our physical plant), strengthening our present (ministries), and planning ahead to meet the future needs of our parishioners.