Atlanta Catholic Centennial

Immaculate Conception, 1880

Other parishes and churches

To undertake the construction of the present Immaculate Conception Church after the devastation wrought by the War Between the States and the losses suffered by the citizens required an abounding faith in the future of Atlanta. This grand token of love for our Divine Master that was wrought in the building of this church, which was commenced in 1869, has not been surpassed in this city to the present day.

The first break in the single parish of Atlanta occurred on February 28, 1880, when Sts. Peter and Paul parish was established. It consisted of a congregation of between two and three hundred people. The church was built on an elevated lot on Marietta Street at a point which would approximately face Jones Avenue. Father P. H. McMahon was the first pastor.

Due to a number of reasons it was deemed advisable to make a change in this parish. In 1897, Bishop Thomas A. Becker established the Sacred Heart parish and put it in charge of the Fathers of the Society of Mary. The Sacred Heart church was built and the dedication took place on May 1, 1898. The old parish of Sts. Peter and Paul was discontinued. New boundary lines were established between the Immaculate Conception and Sacred Heart parishes. The Sacred Heart Parish included practically all of the north half of Atlanta. The first pastor was Rev. Father William Gibbons.

St. Anthony's parish was established in 1903. It included the section known as West End. Rev. Father O. N. Jackson was the first pastor. The original congregation was composed of less than fifty people including children. The first chapel was composed of three rooms of an old frame house which was purchased with money raised by the parishioners. The balance of the house was used for the study, office and residence of the pastor. This building, which at one time or another has served for every purpose required of a parish building, was finally abandoned on the completion of the new rectory and its occupation in December, 1936. It was demolished only last month after thirty-four years of good use by the parish.

Through continuous and devoted work the pastor and his parishioners raised money to build the basement of the present church. The basement was dedicated June 13, 1911, by Rt. Rev. Benjamin J. Keiley, D. D. Steps were soon taken to raise money to complete the church but due to the outbreak of the World War they were discontinued and the church was not completed until many years later. It was dedicated by Most Rev. Michael J. Keyes, D. D., on January 14, 1924.

Ku Klux Klan Headquarters

The Sacred Heart parish grew to the extent that the congregation was too large for the church, so in 1936 plans were made for a new parish. On April 11, 1936, Bishop O'Hara purchased the old Ku Klux Klan headquarters at 2699 Peachtree Street. The first Mass was celebrated August 15, 1936, at 1:30 P. M., daylight saving time. A portable altar was placed on the porch and the congregation was on the lawn where chairs had been placed for their accommodation. The first Mass was celebrated by Very Rev. Joseph E. Moylan, V. F. A portion of the first floor was remodeled into a pretty chapel. Other rooms were used for study, office, meeting rooms for parish societies and residence for the parish priests. Plans were soon drawn for a church and school and these are under construction at the present date.

On April 15, 1937, Atlanta was made a co-Cathedral city with Savannah, changing the name of the diocese to Savannah-Atlanta. Christ the King parish was chosen by our bishop, Most Rev. Gerald P. O'Hara, as his Atlanta residence. The new church when completed will be a co-Cathedral church.

The ground for the new church and school was dedicated October 25, 1936, by Bishop O'Hara. The parish of Christ the King was taken from the northern portion of Sacred Heart parish, the boundary being Chattahoochee River to Southern Railway, along Southern Railway to Rock Springs Road and thence north to Wildwood.

When our former Bishop, Rt. Rev. Benjamin J. Keiley, was a young man finishing his theological studies in Rome, Italy, one of his college-mates was a young Syrian, who, in after years, became Father Paul Azar.

About 1911 a young Syrian residing in Atlanta, Mr. Thomas Najjar, saw the need of a Marionite Syrian Church for his countrymen in Atlanta. He wrote Bishop Keiley regarding their needs and the Bishop promptly gave the spiritual care of the Georgia Syrians to his old friend, Father Paul Azar. Services were first held in a small chapel on Butler Street near Grady Hospital.

With the increase in membership a house was purchased at the southeast corner of Fort and Hunter Streets. In the fall of 1919 part of this residence was remodeled into St. Joseph's Church. Father N. Aitallah was then pastor. The present pastor is Father Paul Risk. Bishop O'Hara celebrated Mass there shortly before leaving for the Eucharistic Congress last December.

In 1912 Our Lady of Lourdes Church was erected by Father Ignatius Lissner, S. M. A. Father Lissner is the Provincial of the Lyons African Missionaries in the U. S. A. Bishop Keiley had given this order entire charge of the Negro Catholics in Georgia, and his church was erected for the colored Catholics of Atlanta. Services were held in an adjoining house during construction of the church.

The number of colored Catholics in Atlanta are few in proportion to the Negro population, but there have been some colored Catholics here even during slavery days. At the old Immaculate Conception Church, there is recorded as early as “August 13, 1851 -- Frederick Gabriel Fitzgerald, slave of Ellen Fitzgerald, baptized.”

Father Lissner, S. M. A., is in Atlanta now while Father F. J. Weiss, S. M. A., the pastor, is on a vacation. Father Lissner was a good friend of Father Jackson and stayed at St. Anthony's quite often when he first came to Atlanta. He has served forty-six years in the priesthood.

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