Chapel of the Holy Family Rises in Woodridge Forest

After years of planning and a few delays, the beautiful new chapel for St. Martha Catholic Church is nearing completion in Woodridge Forest. The Chapel of the Holy Family will be the newest addition to the church located at 4301 Woodridge Parkway. It will seat approximately 250 people and be used daily for prayer and contemplation.

The new facility is part of the second phase of construction for St. Martha, which moved to Porter from Kingwood nearly a decade ago. The first phase included the current church, a rectory and an administration building. Plans for the second phase — including the chapel, a family life center and additional office space — were put on hold until the sizable debt the church incurred during Phase 1 was paid in full.

By 2016, the church still owed half of the amount it had borrowed despite a robust capital campaign. Then long-time parishioner Pat Reed passed away leaving the bulk of her estate to the church specifying that it be used to construct the chapel.

Studio Red designed the facility and the church contracted with Arch-Con Construction to build it at a cost of just more than $4 million in 2017. Hurricane Harvey caused further delays, but the church was able to break ground on Oct. 13, 2018. Completion is slated for this summer.

Many of the residents of our Concourse Development community attend St. Martha, and many of our young scholars attend St. Martha’s Catholic School, 2411 Oak Shores Drive in Kingwood.

The private school is located just around the corner, so it’s easy for Woodridge Forest parents to provide their K-8 grade children with a faith-based, challenging curriculum. In addition, students can choose from a range of athletic programs including soccer, basketball and volleyball as well as artistic pursuits such as drama and band.

The parish of St. Martha was founded in Kingwood in 1979. Updates on the chapel can be found on the church’s Facebook page.