A Parish Family on Lower Roswell Road

Holy Family Catholic Church sits along Lower Roswell Road in eastern Cobb County, a few turns east of I-75's Delk Road exit, where the road runs past Old Canton Road and the church sign is set back from the pavement. From that one address, a Roman Catholic parish of the Archdiocese of Atlanta serves Marietta and the wider east Cobb community with a full program of weekend and daily Mass, the seven sacraments, faith formation for every age, a half-day preschool, and outreach through the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

Father Miguel Grave de Peralta, the pastor, describes the parish as a community shaped by Scripture and Roman Catholic tradition. The parish exists to glorify God by carrying out the Lord's command to go and make disciples, and daily access to the sacraments, youth ministry, faith formation and outreach all flow from that mission. Holy Family is intentionally bilingual: the same sacraments, formation and pastoral care are offered in English and Spanish, and the parish reaches out to both longtime east Cobb families and a growing Hispanic community in the same worship space.

Mass in English and Spanish, Every Day of the Week

The parish gathers for Mass seven days a week. Daily Mass is celebrated Monday through Saturday at 9:00 AM in English, with an additional Wednesday evening Mass at 7:00 PM in Spanish (Misa). On the first Friday of each month, a noon Mass is added to the daily schedule. The weekend schedule opens with a Saturday Vigil at 5:00 PM in English, followed by five Sunday Masses: 8:30 AM, 10:30 AM, 12:00 noon and 5:00 PM in English, and 1:00 PM in Spanish. The 10:30 AM English Mass and the 1:00 PM Spanish Mass are both broadcast on the live stream so that those who cannot attend in person can join from home or on the road.

Anyone attending a Mass or event on the grounds should know that Holy Family broadcasts and records services and that attendance implies consent to be photographed or filmed. The Saturday morning and Wednesday afternoon Confession schedule is set up to make the sacrament accessible to both language communities: Confessions are heard in English and Spanish on Wednesdays from 5:30 to 6:30 PM and on Saturdays from 9:45 to 10:30 AM. Sacramental emergencies at any other hour are handled through a dedicated line, 678-744-2600, staffed by the clergy.

The Seven Sacraments at the Heart of Parish Life

Sacraments are organized around Baptism, First Reconciliation, First Holy Eucharist, Confirmation, Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders and Anointing of the Sick, and each is treated as its own pathway at Holy Family rather than as a one-stop program.

Baptism

Baptism is celebrated in English and Spanish for infants and children of registered parishioners. Parents are asked to be active, registered members of the parish for at least six months before scheduling a baptism. Both parents and both chosen godparents are required to attend a monthly Baptism Preparation Class at least four weeks before the chosen date; English classes meet on the second Sunday at 11:45 AM in the Mulroy Room and Spanish classes meet on the first Sunday at 11:00 AM, also in the Mulroy Room. Godparents must be at least sixteen, fully initiated in the Catholic Church, and, if married, married in the Church. Childcare is not available during the classes. The sacrament itself begins at 11:00 AM, and families are asked to arrive twenty minutes early and to dress modestly.

First Reconciliation and First Holy Eucharist

Preparation for First Reconciliation begins the journey toward First Communion and is treated as a family affair. Children age seven and older, already baptized and enrolled in regular Faith Formation classes or a parochial school program with at least eighty percent attendance the prior year, prepare with a parent who must attend three Thursday evening sessions along with them. Classes meet from 6:00 to 7:30 PM in the parish center in October, with a nursery available for siblings on request. Once First Reconciliation is celebrated, families move into the First Holy Eucharist preparation classes the following January, again meeting Thursday evenings for three sessions plus a Banner Making night and a church rehearsal in the spring.

Confirmation

Confirmation is typically celebrated in tenth grade or later, after two years of foundational faith formation with at least eighty percent attendance each year, followed by a stand-alone, sacrament-specific preparation year that includes specialized classes, a retreat and rehearsals. The parish organizes the program in three stages: Year 1, Year 2 and Final Confirmation Preparation. A change is on the horizon: beginning with the 2027 to 2028 school year, the standard age for Confirmation across the Archdiocese of Atlanta will move to sixth grade. Older teens or adults seeking Confirmation join the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults process instead.

Holy Matrimony

Couples planning to marry at Holy Family begin with an interview with the clergy, instruction, and the diocesan Marriage Preparation seminar. The parish asks couples to be registered and practicing members for at least six months before starting the process and recommends reserving the date at least nine months ahead. After the clergy meeting, Kelly Sturniolo, the parish wedding coordinator, walks couples through the practical details.

Anointing of the Sick

Anointing of the Sick is offered at the Vigil Mass on the first Saturday of each month and can be arranged at any other time by calling the parish office. The parish teaches, in line with the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, that the sacrament is not reserved for those at the point of death but is for any Catholic whose illness or frailty has begun to put them in danger. Sacramental emergencies, including sudden illness or accident, are routed to the emergency line at 678-744-2600.

Holy Orders and OCIA

For men discerning priesthood or the diaconate, the parish points interested parishioners to Father Miguel. The parish has been blessed with a number of vocations, and the bulletin regularly lifts up seminarians and ordinands from the community. Adults who have never been baptized, or baptized Catholics who have not received Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation, find their way in through the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA), the parish's name for the traditional RCIA process. The OCIA team describes itself as a faith-sharing environment that meets people where they are, and the parish actively recruits sponsors each year to walk with candidates and catechumens.

Forming the Faith, from Preschool Through High School

Faith formation at Holy Family runs alongside the sacraments as a year-round effort. Catechesis for children in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade uses the Pflaum Gospel Weeklies, a liturgically based program in which each lesson flows from the upcoming Sunday Gospel. Two Sunday time tracks are offered: Pre-K through Grade 5 from 9:35 to 10:35 AM, and Kindergarten through Grade 5 from 11:35 AM to 12:35 PM. A homeschool option supplies parents with the same materials to work through at home. For the youngest learners, age three and a half through six, the parish offers the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in a Montessori-style atrium during the earlier Sunday time track.

Middle schoolers in grades six through eight gather for Seek, a Sunday night program that meets from 6:00 to 8:00 PM after the 5:00 PM Mass. The Seek curriculum walks through a three-year rotation of Scripture, Creed, the sacraments, prayer, morality and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, with retreats, day camp, socials, a Living Stations of the Cross and a mission trip serving the homeless in Atlanta folded into the year.

High school students, regardless of faith background, are invited to Holy Family Youth Group on Sunday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. The nights include food, games, small groups, talks and Eucharistic adoration whenever possible. A separate weekly Bible study called Pizza and Prayer meets Wednesdays from 7:00 to 9:00 PM in the Teen Room (Room 104). The parish also sends teens to the Steubenville Atlanta conference each summer, with the church subsidizing part of the cost so that more students can attend.

Adults have several formation tracks. Once a month on a Saturday morning, the parish gathers for Mass, hospitality and a program in the Parish Center. The Adult Faith Formation calendar also points parishioners to Abide Catholic Young Adult Ministry, a regional young adult effort that hosts Emmaus Nights of Eucharistic adoration, a coffeehouse environment, a talk and dinner out at a restaurant. Every parishioner is offered free year-round access to Formed.org, the Catholic media platform, by signing in with the parish's zip code, 30068.

Holy Family Preschool: Twenty Years and Counting

Holy Family Preschool has been preparing children for kindergarten since 2007, and the 2026 to 2027 school year marks its twentieth anniversary. The half-day program serves children from eighteen months through five-year-olds in Pre-K Plus, with classes meeting one, two, three, four or five days a week depending on age. Hours run from 9:15 AM to 12:30 PM, with optional after-care until 1:15 PM on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Wednesday afternoons add an Art Ventures enrichment for three and four-year-olds.

The curriculum weaves a Catholic worldview through every part of the day, including a specials rotation in Spanish, music, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and science, along with an outdoor Wonders of Creation curriculum and classroom. The preschool follows the Georgia Early Learning and Development Standards (GELDS), gives fall and spring progress reports with parent-teacher conferences to three-year-olds and Pre-K, and operates under the oversight of the Archdiocese of Atlanta Office of Parish-Based Early Childhood Programs. Director Kate Viets was named the Archdiocese of Atlanta's 2023 Preschool Director of the Year and has appeared on Atlanta Catholic radio to talk about early education.

Two weeks of summer camp round out the year, with themed weeks such as Under the Sea and Blast Off, open to children who are three or older by January 1 and potty trained. Middle school campers take on helping roles, and high school students can earn volunteer hours by serving as counselors in training.

Liturgical Ministries: Serving at the Altar

Holy Family estimates that roughly twenty volunteers are needed at each Mass and that the five Sunday Masses draw about a hundred weekend volunteers. Behind that number is a small constellation of liturgical groups.

The Altar Guild quietly takes care of the linens, altar cloths and priestly vestments. Altar Servers, open to boys and girls who have made their First Communion, assist at Mass after about an hour of training and gather socially for movie nights and outings. Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion are practicing Catholic parishioners approved by the pastor and appointed by the Archbishop for a three-year term, while Home Extraordinary Ministers bring Communion to parishioners who are homebound or in care facilities. Lectors proclaim the readings and arrive fifteen minutes before their scheduled Mass; an AV Tech Team runs lights, sound and projectors; Ushers help with seating, the offertory and bulletins; Mass Greeters welcome newcomers at one Mass a month. A Children's Choir rehearses on Thursdays from 5:30 to 6:15 PM in the Choir Room (Education Building Room 204) and sings for liturgies throughout the year.

Spiritual Life Beyond Sunday Mass

The parish runs an unusually full calendar of prayer and devotion outside of Mass. Eucharistic Adoration fills the Adoration Chapel throughout the week: Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, and Fridays from 9:30 AM to noon. Wednesdays add a Holy Hour of prayer and Adoration from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. A morning Rosary is prayed Monday through Saturday at 8:15 AM in the Church.

First Saturday Devotions begin at 9:00 AM with Mass in the Church and continue with the Rosary. Lay Carmelites meet on the third Saturday of each month from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, beginning with Mass and followed by a meeting in the Mulroy Room. Contemplative (Centering) Prayer gathers on Wednesdays at 7:00 PM in Room 202 of the Education Building, and Our Lady's Family Prayer Group meets on the second and fourth Fridays at 7:00 PM in the Church.

Three ongoing Bible study and discussion groups round out the week: Word on Wednesday (W.O.W.) meets Wednesday mornings at 9:45 AM in the Hospitality Room, Roundtable gathers Fridays at 9:45 AM in the same room, and a Women's Bible Study meets Fridays at 10:00 AM in the Mulroy Room during the fall and spring semesters. The parish also publishes homilies and talks as a podcast called Oasis.

Parish Organizations and Groups

The Pastoral Council is an advisory board to the pastor, made up of elected parishioners who serve three-year terms and meet monthly. The 45+ Group is a social fellowship for parishioners in their middle years and beyond, gathering for the noon Mass and a monthly luncheon on the first Friday of each month. The Creation Care Team implements the parish's Laudato Si' Action Plan, and the Fall Mass and Picnic Committee organizes the parish's biggest outdoor gathering of the year. General Office Volunteers support the parish's day-to-day operations with their organizational gifts.

The Knights of Columbus Holy Family Council 9792 is a Catholic, family, fraternal service organization that meets on the first, third and fifth Mondays of each month. The council's work within the parish includes Sunday breakfasts, casino nights and the annual parish Fall Festival, which has earned state recognition, and its broader community work supports Citizens with Disabilities, the Tommy Nobis Center, a Kennesaw State scholarship and seminarians studying for the priesthood. Practicing Catholic men of the parish who are eighteen and older are welcome.

For families with young people, the parish hosts the Federation of North-American Explorers, an educational and outdoor program for children and teens based on the pedagogy of Father Jacques Sevin and Baden-Powell. Activities include camping, cooking, service projects and a deep sense of brotherhood or sisterhood.

Service to Neighbors in Need

Service to the wider east Cobb community is concentrated in a handful of long-running ministries. The parish's St. Vincent de Paul Conference is the front door for parishioners and neighbors who need help. The conference handles person-to-person visits, financial assistance when no other resources are available, a food pantry stocked through donations of canned goods from the narthex, and limited motel placements for those in crisis. Office hours for direct assistance are Wednesdays from 9:30 AM to noon at the parish office, and the conference phone line (770-973-7400) accepts messages at any time. The conference meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM in Room 115 near the Parish Center.

Holy Family combines its efforts with other Catholic churches in Cobb County to support Habitat for Humanity, with a building schedule that typically starts after Labor Day weekend. The parish Pro-Life Team works with the Archdiocesan Pro-Life Office to pray outside abortion facilities, organize local and national Novenas for Life, distribute educational materials and run letter-writing campaigns. Walking with Moms in Need is a parish-based initiative that connects pregnant and parenting mothers in difficult circumstances with resources and ongoing friendship. The Prison Pen Pal Program, run through the Knights of Malta, matches parishioners with an imprisoned pen pal for one letter a month over a twelve-month period.

Two parish groups keep the church grounds and the liturgy looking their best. The Ground Shepherds tend the church gardens as needed, and the Sanctuary Decor Team transforms the worship space for feast days and seasons of the liturgical year. Bereavement Committee members help with Funeral Masses and receptions, while the Hospitality team provides receptions for First Communion, Confirmation, OCIA, Hospitality Sundays and other parish milestones.

Pastoral Counseling at the Parish

The Holy Family Counseling Center, located in the parish complex, offers Christian counseling on a sliding scale for anyone who needs to talk. Sessions are available in person and through secure Zoom video conferencing, with services for Spanish speakers as well. The center is staffed by Wendy Baribeau, a Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist and Board Certified Christian Counselor, who can be reached at 678-993-8494.

Becoming a Parishioner and Supporting the Mission

Newcomers are welcomed to register as parishioners through the parish registration form, which connects them to envelopes, Online Giving and parish communications. Online giving is set up through Parish Soft and OSV Hub, and step-by-step directions walk first-time givers through creating an account, selecting a fund, scheduling recurring or one-time gifts and choosing a payment method. Checks can also be mailed to the parish office.

Beyond the regular offertory, the parish participates in the Archbishop's Annual Appeal, the Archdiocese of Atlanta's annual second collection that funds outreach to the poor, the formation of clergy, care for the sick and elderly, and Catholic education. Holy Family maintains its own Endowment Fund through the Catholic Foundation of North Georgia, designed to provide long-term financial stability for the parish. Anyone can add to the endowment at any time.

Office, Clergy, and Parish Staff

The parish office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, with appointments recommended for matters that need more time. The main line is 770-973-0038; Sacramental emergencies are handled through 678-744-2600. Father Miguel Grave de Peralta serves as pastor and Father Joseph Mullakkara as parochial vicar, assisted by Deacons Jim Grebe, Dave Barron and Jose 'Trini' Merlo-Quintero.

Amy Drick directs Elementary and Middle School Faith Formation, including First Reconciliation, First Eucharist and Vacation Bible School, and Julianna Rhodes coordinates Faith Formation and background checks. Emily Allsteadt leads the High School Youth Ministry and Confirmation preparation. Cecilia Flores serves as the parish's liaison for the Hispanic Community and can be reached at 404-735-5764. Maria Gonzalez, who speaks English and Spanish, is the first point of contact for baptism questions at extension 110.

Music is led by Music Coordinator Glendon Genty and Choir Director Carrie Sturniolo. The preschool is led by Director Kate Viets and Assistant Director Nalley Tabor. Anyce Craig, the Stewardship Coordinator, connects newcomers and longtime parishioners to the liturgical, spiritual, parish and service ministries. Communications, online giving and parish records are managed through the parish office.

Finding the Parish and Joining In

From I-75, take Exit 261 to Delk Road and head east. Delk Road becomes Terrell Mill Road after the Powers Ferry Road intersection and then Lower Roswell Road; Holy Family is about half a mile on the left after Old Canton Road. The church cannot be seen from the road, so the parish sign is the marker to look for. Live streamed Mass, the Sunday bulletin, podcasts and the event calendar are available from the parish, and the Resources section collects the live stream, online giving, the Act of Spiritual Communion and a list of archdiocesan and EWTN broadcasts for those traveling or homebound.

For families considering a Catholic education for the youngest members of the household, the preschool offers weekday tours at 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM and 12:30 PM during preschool office hours. For anyone discerning Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick or the call to Holy Orders, the parish office is the place to begin. And for neighbors in need of food, rent or utility help, the St. Vincent de Paul voicemail at 770-973-7400 is answered every Wednesday between 9:30 AM and noon.