Holy Family Catholic School in Huntsville is preparing to host Viva La Fiesta, an auction party evening, as a fundraiser for the Holy Family Capital Campaign to build a new school. Viva La Fiesta will take place on Friday, April 22 from 6 to 10:30 p.m. in the school gym. The event is open to everyone age 21 and older. There will be silent and live auction bidding on donated items as well as music, dinner, drinks, and dessert.

The Holy Family Capital Campaign was launched this past August at the start of the 2021-2022 school year. It is a significant fundraising effort to help the school support the growing number of Catholic families in north Alabama. The school has developed a $15.5 million building project to create a superior, modern, educational facility over the next decade that can support up to 350 students while continuing to provide an outstanding Catholic education with small class sizes that support individualized education plans. The Capital Campaign's goal is to raise $12 million in donations, pledges, and grants over the next four years.

Holy Family Catholic School is located at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Huntsville. Both the school and church are an important part of Huntsville history. St. Joseph’s Mission was founded in 1952 when priests and brothers of the Society of the Divine Savior (the Salvatorians) came to Huntsville to serve black members of the community. Father Hermenegild Messmer celebrated the first Masses; today the school gymnasium is named in his honor.

In September 1956, St. Joseph’s Mission School opened under the leadership of two Salvatorian sisters and began educating 61 black students in grades first through fourth. Within a short time, the school had more than 100 students. In September of 1963, St. Joseph’s School became the first racially integrated elementary school in the state when twelve white students enrolled and the school was “reverse integrated.”

The parish and school were an important part of Huntsville’s Magnolia Terrace neighborhood, which today is being surveyed for possible listing on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

In 1979, St. Joseph’s School merged with the Catholic school at St. Mary of the Visitation Catholic Church. The new school remained at St. Joseph Catholic Church and was renamed Holy Family Catholic School. In 1980, students from the former school at Our Lady, Queen of the Universe Catholic Church in Huntsville joined Holy Family as well. Today, the school is primarily supported by St. Joseph Catholic Church; St. Mary of the Visitation Catholic Church; and Our Lady, Queen of the Universe Catholic Church. However, students from all parishes, faiths, and economic backgrounds are welcome. The late Bishop David Foley called it “the gem of the diocese.” Holy Family has continued to serve students and their families and worked to encourage a community of diversity and rich Catholic spirit across all walks of life.

Having outgrown its current physical building, the new school will be built on St. Joseph parish property and will be constructed in phases so that classes can be offered without interruption.  Once finished, the new school campus will serve as an example for Catholic schools throughout the country and will offer many resources that the current school does not have.