Fr. Ryan resigned as pastor on June 29, 1950. The next six years would see a quick succession of pastors.
Fr. Wilfrid O’Kane succeeded Fr. Ryan and served until March 16, 1954.
Given the healthy bank balance Fr. Ryan had established, the wardens asked Fr. O’Kane to approach the diocese once again for permission to erect the upper church.
There is no indication whether the request was ever made or, if so, a response was received. However, the pastor did initiate many “improvements” to the basement church, the approximate cost: $28,000.
Under his administration, expenditures drastically increased and the growth of the parish surplus stalled. The archbishop, Paul-Emile Cardinal Léger, decided that Holy Family needed a new style of leadership and appointed his vice-chancellor, Fr. Alex Carter, to succeed him.
Holy Family’s world changed when Fr. Carter arrived on March 18, 1954. The canon lawyer and chaplain of St. Mary’s Hospital had also worked in various diocesan offices and under three archbishops. He brought a broad understanding of what it meant to be a parish in the 20th century and an English-speaking Catholic community in a French diocese.