By Marge LaFoy

When the Catholic Church of Our Lady in Carrollton moved into its new church, it was faced with a decision to be made about its former structure. This edifice had been standing in the heart of the city since 1893, and to dismantle it would be to destroy still another of the few remaining landmarks of Carrollton’s earlier days; to sell it meant to risk again, its destruction.

The historic building had been used, first for Episcopal services, and, since 1953, for Catholic services, and it was felt that a way must be found to have the chapel continue to serve the community in some capacity.

Archbishop Hallinan, offered to donate the building to West Georgia College to be used on campus as a Chapel of All Faiths. With the approval of the Board of Regents, the president of the college, Dr. James E. Boyd, accepted this offer and in the midst of a huge expansion program, allotted space for it in a prominent spot on the main college road. There it will be preserved as a link with the past and will become a part of the tradition of the college.

“This is a source of much satisfaction,” said the pastor, Father Richard B. Morrow, “both to the pioneer Catholics of the West Georgia area, and to the Marist Fathers who came from Atlanta to offer services here. To them, it is a symbol of the struggle to keep alive the Catholic faith that had first taken root in this section in 1893, when about 200 families of Hungarians settled outside of Bremen and named their community ‘Budapest.’”

“Although through the years many of these early families migrated to other parts, those who stayed remained loyal to their Catholicity and attended Mass whenever a priest was available. By 1936, one of the Marist Fathers was coming from Atlanta regularly to offer Mass on Sundays in an abandoned one-room schoolhouse, where a pot-bellied stove furnished the heat, the mark of the blackboard still plainly showed on the wall, and the old school bell rang out the call to Mass.”

This tiny group took on new vigor as the city of Carrollton grew and Catholic families drove the thirty miles to Budapest to hear Mass. It became apparent, however, that a more centrally located church was needed and the problem was solved when, in 1952, the local Episcopal Church was offered for sale. Though few in number, these Catholics worked diligently to raise the required amount, $8,500, and by August 1953 the chapel was theirs and was dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

They had received a substantial donation from the Catholic Extension Society and understanding friends in the area, in Atlanta, and elsewhere.

Public spirited citizens of Carrollton, realizing that a Catholic Church was a “must” if they were to attract new industry to their city, gave their enthusiastic support. By 1961, the chapel was bursting at the seams as the number of parishioners had tripled, and a new church plant was begun on Center Point Road and was dedicated in March 1962. Shortly thereafter, the small white frame chapel was offered to the West Georgia College.

This Chapel-with-a-tradition is about to be moved to the campus, there to add another chapter to its long record of service. It will provide a quiet spot for meditation and a central location for religious organizations on campus. The need for such a facility has been apparent for some time. No services will be conducted in the chapel on Sundays, so there will be no conflict with other religious services in the community.

The necessary funds to move the building and make the renovations to convert it to a chapel for all faiths are being raised through a committee of laymen from each major denomination in the West Georgia area, under the chairmanship of Frank Searcy. The monetary goal has almost been reached and before too long this Chapel of All Faiths will be nestling in a wooded grove in the midst of modern brick buildings on the West Georgia campus in Carrollton.