Msgr. Hugh McNelis had just returned from an assignment in Africa in 1950 when Bishop Charles Buddy gave him the mission of opening St. Adelaide, a new parish in Highland. The original parish comprised about 30 families and an orange grove with a very old house on it. After a flurry of fundraising and much hard work, the first church was built by Christmas of 1956. In 1962 a parish school went up and the next year, a convent to house the Sisters who taught in the school.
In 1967 the new pastor, Fr. William Bolger, erected the Parish Hall and in 1977, Fr. William Erstad, a new rectory. But the following year, a disastrous fire destroyed the church.
The opening of the new church came on June 4, 1980. The most recent pastor, Fr. John Ryan, retired in 2002 after breaking ground for a new Parish Center in 2001 and dedicating it on May 19, 2002.
In July of that year, Sr. Maura Feeley, RSM, began her work as Pastoral Coordinator to help guide St. Adelaide's parish into the future. Now embracing more than 1900 registered parishioners with more than 3000 family members, the parish has grown and flourished over the years and today also serves St. John Bosco Mission, East Highland.