Holy Cross Catholic Church

Holy Cross parish in Federal Hill was the first and oldest faith community established in the south Baltimore area. The parish was founded in 1858 as a mission of St. Alphonsus Church for the 1,000 Catholics of German descent who lived in South Baltimore. Mass was first held in a room on the second floor of the St. Alphonsus School until a church building, begun in 1858, could be built. The Archdiocese listed the church as a German parish until 1959.