The first organ heard at Holy Rosary was brought by express wagon from neighboring Immaculate Heart parish for the Dedication of the Church on January 28, 1894. By the early 20’s, Holy Rosary had obtained its own organ. Built by the Kilgen Company of St. Louis, it served the parish for over 60 years until substantially upgraded and rebuilt by Bond Organ Builders of Portland. On a chilly November morning in 1993, just one decade after the Bond organ was dedicated, a devastating fire raged through the church. The new organ was completely destroyed, in its place only a faint trace of melted pipes. Just short of a century since a neighboring parish came to its rescue, Holy Rosary was again without an organ.

Fr. Anthony Patalano, pastor, who had painstakingly overseen the restoration of the church only to wake to those November flames, wasted no time; under his leadership, a newly restored Church was dedicated, and in the loft was a beautiful tracker organ, once again installed by Bond Organ Builders.

The foundation for the new instrument was sets of pipes salvaged from an 1880’s Bergstrom organ. Although its casework and mechanism were beyond repair, the pipes were a fine example of the best of nineteenth century American organ building. New pipes from Germany and the United States expanded the original stops, and carved and gilded Palladium casework was built in the Bond shop to elegantly house the instrument. Like a phoenix rising from the flames, the organ is a thing of beauty. Due to the generosity, determination and discernment of many, Holy Rosary liturgies will continue to be graced with the “king of instruments” for many years to come.