The mustard-seed growth of the Catholic Church in Georgia is marked by four significant events. On July 3, 1850 the Diocese of Savannah was established. The name was changed in January, 1937 to the Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta in recognition of the increasing importance of the state capital. On July 2, 1956 the Diocese of Atlanta was established, and it was named an Archdiocese on February 21, 1962 with the appointment of the Most Rev. Paul J. Hallinan, D.D., as its first archbishop.

Five months before that Bishop Francis E. Hyland, Atlanta’s first head when it was made a separate diocese, had resigned due to ill health after five years of tireless leadership in this diocese covering 71 counties in the northern half of Georgia. For six years prior to his appointment to the Atlanta see, Bishop Hyland had been auxiliary to Bishop Gerald O’Hara of Savannah-Atlanta. At the ceremonies on November 8, 1956 when the Apostolic Delegate to the United States, Archbishop Amleto G. Cicognani, canonically erected the diocese and installed Bishop Hyland, Archbishop O’Hara in his sermon noted the rapid growth of the Church in this area as the reason for establishment of the new diocese.

Organization of the diocese took form with these appointments to the bishop’s staff: Msgr. Joseph E. Moylan, vicar general; Msgr. Joseph G. Cassidy, vicar for Religious; Rev. Michael J. Regan, officialis; and Rev. James P. Boyce, chancellor.

A month after its erection, the Holy Father gave approval to placing the new diocese under the primary patronage of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Pope St. Pius X is the secondary diocesan patron. These heavenly patrons were early recognized in the naming of a new parish in metropolitan Atlanta and the first diocesan high school. In July, 1957, Bishop Hyland visited Pope Pius XII and reported to the Holy Father on the growth of the Diocese of Atlanta.

Metropolitan Growth

The major evidence of growth of the Church in North Georgia is the number of parishes in greater Atlanta, reflecting the trend since World War II to the urban from the rural areas in the South’s change from an agricultural to a commercial and industrial economy. With only seven parishes in the early 50’s, the five-county metropolitan area is now served by 16 parish churches, plus two Eastern Rite churches. Two of three parishes added in May, 1964 serve the Metropolitan area: Holy Spirit, covering northwest Fulton County to the Chattahoochee River and the southern boundary of St. Jude’s Parish, and Holy Cross, to serve Tucker, Doraville and all of Gwinnett County. The third is St. Mark’s at Clarkesville in Habersham County, formerly a part of Mother of our Divine Savior Parish in Toccoa. The Verona Fathers who formerly served the original Toccoa parish were replaced by the Glenmary Home Missioners to care for this new parish.

Mission Churches

Mission chapels or stations have been set up to provide for a full Catholic life for those who live in rural Georgia at the rate of two or three a year since the inception of this diocese. The first rural mission established in the North Georgia diocese was that of St. Anna in Monroe, dedicated on May 16, 1957. At the end of the next month, the Church of St. Joseph was blessed May 30 at Dalton. The next year saw three dedications: St. John Vianney at Austell on June 6, St. Pius X Chapel outside the grounds of Our Lady of the Holy Ghost Abbey at Conyers on September 20, by the Rt. Rev. Abbot Augustine Moore, O.C.S.C.; and St. John the Baptist Chapel at Thomaston on October 31, 1959. On the last Sunday in February 1960, Mass was offered for the first time in Blue Ridge, and on April 20 Bishop Hyland dedicated St. Mary’s chapel in Jackson, to be administered by the Redemptorists Fathers from Griffin. The Redemptorist mission of St. Peter Chanel at Summerville was blessed May 11, 1960; and on October 1 of that same year the chancery office announced the establishment of a new parish dedicated to St. Luke in Dahlonega, to be cared for by the Glenmary Home Mission Society. Two more missions were blessed in 1961, one at Clarkesville on March 26 and St. Helena’s at Clayton on June 29. Since inception of the archdiocese new parishes and missions have been established at Cleveland, Carrolton, Covington, Jonesboro and Winder. At the time these were announced in 1965, potential missions were reported to be under study in Paulding, Gwinnett, Putnam, Jackson, Morgan and Lamar Counties. Two areas which are missions of Sacred Heart parish in Griffin are developing so rapidly that both may become suburban parishes of Atlanta before long.

Another important change in the archdiocese was announced in the summer of 1965 when the archdiocesan priests under Msgr. Joseph E. Moylan who had cared for Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, were transferred to Sacred Heart Church, and the Marist Fathers under Rev. Thomas J. Roshetko replaced them at O.L.A. as the parish embracing the relocated Marist College.

Ordination

In 1956, the new Diocese of Atlanta had only 35 secular priests. The first ordinations for the new Atlanta diocese took place in May and June of 1957. Rev. Dale Freeman and Rev. Daniel McCormick, both of New York State, were ordained specifically for the Atlanta area. Seeking new priests for the Atlanta diocese among seminarians here and abroad has resulted in several newly ordained priests coming to Georgia each summer. Ireland is providing a “bumper crop” of young men eager to work in Georgia parish and mission fields. In the past few years a deacon program has brought assistance and summer relief for our busy priests by having seminarians work in parishes here a season one year before their ordination.

Oriental Rite Pastors

An important and pressing concern of the bishop in the early days of the diocese of Atlanta was the spiritual care of the Catholics of Eastern Rites, a considerable number of whom live within the metropolitan area of the see city. On June 9,1957 Bishop Hyland in a solemn ceremony in both the Latin and Oriental rites, dedicated the new Melkite rite church of St. John Chrysostom. Rev. William Haddad became the pastor of the city’s Melkite Catholics. Less than a year later Rev. Joseph Abi-Nader was installed as the pastor of St. Joseph’s Maronite Church in Atlanta. Until that time the Maronite Catholics had been cared for by Rev. Val Becker, S.M., superior of the Marist community in Atlanta.

Converts Increase

On June 10, 1957 the first administration of the Sacrament of Confirmation specifically for adults, particularly converts to the faith, was held in the Cathedral of Christ the King. Bishop Hyland that day confirmed 208 adults, while 187 adults had been confirmed earlier that year in ceremonies held at different parish churches. In 1958, 146 adults were confirmed at the Cathedral, and in 1959 there were 278 adults confirmed. The next two years, due to the large number of those receiving the sacrament and their guests, the ceremony of confirmation of adults was held on two successive days.

The ratio of converts to the number of priests in the diocese is one of the highest in the country. To further this apostolate, Bishop Hyland established the Catholic Information Service under the direction of Rev. John Mulroy to bring a knowledge of the faith to those who are not Catholics through advertisements, correspondence courses, literature, and inquiry and instruction classes. In the fall of 1961 it was announced that seven Atlanta parishes would conduct weekly instruction classes, coordinated and arranged so that every night of the week is covered.

1963 Census

An archdiocesan census taken by 6,000 lay volunteers on the first Sunday in Lent, March 3, 1963, revealed 43,342 Catholics in the 71 counties of North Georgia. This represented an increase of 83% since the diocese was established in 1956. Of these, 83.4% (36,168) resided in the metropolitan Atlanta area. One-fourth of those counted had lived in the archdiocese only one year, corroborating one theory that over half the newcomers to this area from out of state are Catholics.

A Mere Half-Century Ago

Fifty years ago Georgia was so admittedly anti-Catholic that many of its newspapers attacked the Church or slurred Catholics in every issue. One man in particular, active in politics, rallied a following by constantly decrying the “Roman Catholic hierarchy,” which term immediately filled his followers with the fear of the unknown because scarcely one of them had any idea what the Roman Catholic hierarchy was. Catholics at that time numbered about 15,000 in a state with a population of 2,000,000. Since the vast majority of Georgians had little knowledge of what the Catholic church taught, knew little of the true nature of its practices, the anti-Catholic scare did its insidious work. Suddenly a campaign of intolerance began, especially in the remotely populated areas where Catholics were few in number. The adoption by the state legislature of the Veasey Bill or “Convent Inspection Act” climaxed this era of bigotry.

Laymen’s Association

These frightening developments dismayed Catholics, some of whose forebears had been in Georgia since colonial days. There was scarcely a city of consequence in which Catholics had not occupied the highest positions, up to and including mayor. Patrick Walsh of Augusta had represented Georgia in the United States Senate. One Catholic prominent in the business and civic life of Augusta, Capt. P. H. Rice, joined with Msgr. Mitchell and, with the aid of the Religious Prejudice Commission of the Knights of Columbus arranged the circulation of pamphlets over the state. Capt. Rice also arranged meetings in Augusta, Savannah and Macon which finally culminated in the formation in Macon in 1916 of the Catholic Laymen’s Association. A publicity bureau headed by James J. Farrell began inserting advertising in the newspapers of the state. These ads carried positive statements that Catholics did not believe or do certain things ascribed to them, and offered to answer questions regarding what they do believe and practice. Inquiries began flowing in to the association headquarters, at first many of a bitter nature but gradually these became the exception. Every inquiry to the association office was answered by a personal letter, courteous and to the point. No matter how absurd or touched with ridicule. The association never lost sight of its objective “to bring about a friendlier feeling among Georgians irrespective of creed.”

The Bulletin

In April 1920, the Laymen’s Association began the publication of “The Bulletin”. In January 1963, this publication was renamed The Georgia Bulletin and went on a weekly basis edited by a nationally-know journalist - editor, Gerard E. Sherry. The consulting editor, Rev. R. Donald Kiernan, and associate editor Rev. Leonard F. X. Mayhew, have continued to edit the paper since Mr. Sherry’s resignation as of the end of March, 1966.

A strong state organization like the Laymen’s Association was necessary when the Sacred Heart Church on Ivy Street in Atlanta was the only parish between Atlanta and the Tennessee border, and the only church between Savannah and Atlanta was at Macon, 300 miles away. With the establishment of more parishes came parish organizations, and the Laymen’s Association became a coordinating office to synchronize the efforts of the parish groups. With discontinuance of the former Bulletin publication in 1963, the efforts of the laymen’s organization were incorporated into the newly established National Council of Catholic Men.

Women Organize

The Catholic women of Atlanta, which had been a Deanery of the Savannah-Atlanta Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, reorganized as the Atlanta DCCW in 1957. At its annual meeting on September 21 held at Sacred Heart Church in Atlanta, the first dialogue Mass in the diocese was celebrated by Bishop Hyland. Parish councils of Catholic women were encouraged to pattern themselves after the Diocesan Council and organize their spiritual and temporal activities under the committee structure designated by the bishop. In 1962 the Archdiocesan Council was sub-divided into Northwest, Northeast and South Deanery Councils, which held organizational meetings in February 1963 at Rome, Gainesville and Hapeville, respectively. The president of each Deanery Council is a vice-president of the Archdiocesan Council.

Youth Work

In July 1957 the Atlanta Diocesan Council of Catholic Youth was formed with representatives from most of the parishes of metropolitan Atlanta. Rev. Leonard F. X. Mayhew was appointed director of youth. On October 27 the Council sponsored its first public demonstration, a Youth Holy Hour at the Cathedral of Christ the King. Other annual diocese wide functions of the Youth Council have been the Vocation Rally, the summer Fiesta, and workshops for parish C.Y.O. officers. A highly successful athletic league for upper-grade boys and girls, and encouragement of scouting by annual presentation of Altare Dei and Marian awards in a Cathedral ceremony, are other fields of activity in the formation of our youth.

Catholic Schools

Since the education of youth is always a primary concern of the Church, the parish schools have evidenced the same rapid growth that has characterized all the activities of the Atlanta diocese. Marist College, for over 50 years a landmark in mid-Atlanta, found it necessary to relocate and move to expanded facilities in the Northeast suburbs. In May 1957 the bishop announced purchase of land on the Northeast Expressway for the first diocesan, coeducational high school, and St. Pius X was opened in September 1958. The faculty was made up of nuns from four teaching communities - Notre Dame de Namur, St. Joseph of Carondolet, Sisters of Mercy of the Union, and Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart, as well as lay teachers.

In December 1959, the bishop blessed the building and grounds of a new academy for girls, D’Youville, to be taught by the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart. In June 1963 construction was begun on a new building as an addition to the Academy.

In September 1960, what is now St. Joseph High School, opened on Courtland Street as an annex of the first diocesan high school. The following year plans were announced for Drexel High School in St. Paul of the Cross parish, to be taught by Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and of St. Joseph.

Under the guidance of Msgr. Cornelius Maloney, then superintendent of schools, Our Lady’s Day School for exceptional children was established at 44 Hunter St., SW, Atlanta to care for those afflicted by mental retardation. In September 1964, this school was moved to facilities at Drexel High School.

Recognition of the importance of the diocesan school system came when the first principal of St. Pius X, Rev. James L. Harrison, was named to the executive committee of the Georgia Association of Independent Schools.

School Desegregation

On December 13, 1959, in the midst of growing tension over the future of the public school system of Atlanta in the face of court orders to desegregate, Bishop Hyland issued a statement urging that the schools be kept open. On February 14, 1961, an important pastoral letter read simultaneously in all Catholic pulpits of the dioceses of Atlanta, Savannah and Charleston, S.C., attacked the racial segregation problem by declaring that all Catholic schools would be open to all Catholic pupils regardless of race no later than the time that the public schools were opened to all pupils. “The heart of the race question is moral and religious,” the bishops wrote, “...it concerns the rights of man and our attitude toward our fellow man.”

On Sunday, August 27, 1961, shortly before the desegregation of the public school system of Atlanta, the Diocese of Atlanta observed a Day of Prayer for Law and Order. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was offered in each parish for the peaceful achievement of desegregation and special prayers were said by all the faithful.

The following year, on Pentecost Sunday, June 10, a pastoral letter was read at all Masses in the churches of North Georgia announcing complete desegregation of the Catholic schools of the archdiocese as of September 1, 1962. Shortly thereafter, Archbishop Hallinan issued an admission policy affecting Catholic hospitals in the archdiocese. It stipulated that assignment of hospital space to patients will be made on the basis of medical and surgical need and that there would be no separated section for any radical group.

Human Relations

Under the St. Martin’s Council on Human Relations, a panel set up in 1963 by the archbishop to study racial relations and promote understanding, a three-day conference was held at the Hilton Inn near the Atlanta Airport beginning September 9, 1965. Keynoting this Southern Catholic Leaders Conference on Social Change and Christian Response, Archbishop Hallinan said that the Church must bear the “burden of conscience” if it is to transform society in these days of moral indifference to racial and social justice. Five bishops and several hundred priests, nuns and laymen in key positions in Southern dioceses attended the meeting, which included clinics and workshops specializing in the problems created by the impact of the Civil Rights Act in Southern communities.

Catholic Hospitals

An important part of the work of the Church in North Georgia has been performed by the excellent hospitals operated by religious. St. Joseph’s Infirmary, under the care of the Sisters of Mercy, has long been an Atlanta institution, and it now operates in greatly expanded facilities and boasts a new Chapel of the Holy Trinity dedicated in 1964. St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens, under the direction of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, moved into a new building last year. A unique example of Christian mercy is found in Our Lady of Perpetual Help Free Cancer Home in Atlanta, which is cared for by the Dominican Sisters from Hawthorne, N.Y.

The Medical Mission Sisters, who have run the Catholic Colored Clinic, built the Holy Family Hospital in Southwest Atlanta which was dedicated in September 1964. The National Medical Association in August 1964 recognized the excellence of Catholic hospital services in this area by presenting Archbishop Hallinan with a Scroll of Honor for “application of Christian principles in hospital practices.” Last year the archbishop appointed Father Patrick J. Connell, resident chaplain at the Cancer Home, as Secretary for Health and Hospitals in the archdiocese.

First Death Among Clergy

The first death of a diocesan priest since the founding of the diocese came on January 5, 1960 when Rev. George Daly died at St. Joseph’s Hospital. Father Daly had been founder and pastor of St. John the Evangelist parish in Hapeville.

On February 17, 1961 the diocese was shaken by the sudden death of Msgr. Cornelius L. Maloney, then pastor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary parish, diocesan superintendent of schools, and director of Catholic Social Services.

Another shock came when death took Rev. James P. Boyce on February 12, 1962. He was 33 years old. Father Boyce had served as first chancellor to Bishop Hyland until he was appointed pastor of St. Joseph’s in Athens.

Georgians lost their first vicar, who had served for 24 years among them, when Archbishop Gerald P. O’Hara died July 16, 1963. He was then apostolic delegate to Great Britain, a post which he assumed in 1954, after having served as apostolic delegate to Ireland from 1950. Prior to this time, he had been the last papal representative in Rumania. Archbishop O’Hara is well remembered in Atlanta in connection with the dedication of the Cathedral of Christ the King. He invited the then Exalted Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan to attend the dedication. The Klan had owned the property on which the Cathedral was built and had its headquarters in what is now the Cathedral rectory.

Msgr. James E. King, who had observed his 40th anniversary of ordination at the same time as Msgr. Joseph G. Cassidy in May, 1963, died on October 19, 1965. He was rector Emeritus of St. Anthony’s, of which he had been pastor in 1952. Georgia was the scene of his priestly endeavors from his ordination.

Trappist Monastery

The Trappist Monastery of Our Lady of the Holy Ghost, in Conyers, has played an important role in the spiritual development of the Diocese of Atlanta. On December 12, 1957 Bishop Hyland solemnly bestowed the abbatial blessing on Dom Augustine Moore, O.C.S.O., successor to Dom Robert McGann who had died on October 10. One of the most impressive achievements of the Trappist monks has been the building of a new and spacious abbey. As the work neared completion and the community made ready to move into the new quarters, Bishop Hyland blessed the beautiful new building on December 7, 1960 and the monks held a three-day open house for all who wished to visit the abbey. Thousands of people streamed to the remote Trappist cloister to admire the monks’ handiwork and to share vicariously in their dedicated lives.

Early in 1960 the bishop blessed the new Ignatius House, located on the former Schroder estate overlooking the Chattahoochee River. This retreat center under the care of the Jesuits began scheduling weekly three-day retreats.

Spanish-Speaking Apostolate

A Catholic International Sunday presided over by Bishop Hyland in January 1960, was designed to bring together all the Catholics of foreign origin residing in the diocese. The large number of Spanish-speaking Catholics living here prompted a triduum in Spanish two months later at Sacred Heart Church.

In October of that year Rev. Roderic Petrie, O.F.M., was assigned to the Immaculate Conception Church and instituted a monthly Communion Sunday and breakfast, as well as a Spanish sermon after one of the Masses there and confessions heard in Spanish was celebrated at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in February, 1965.

Serra Club/Theresians

Laymen of the Atlanta area have been helping to encourage vocations to the diocesan priesthood as members of the Serra Club of Metropolitan Atlanta. Each year they present the bishop with a check to help pay for the education of seminarians. In addition, they have sponsored contests among parochial school pupils to suggest religious vocations, and helped the Youth Council with its annual Vocation Rally. Just last month the women of the diocese were introduced to the Theresian Program to bring new life, new thinking, and new purpose to the vocation effort, specifically to the fostering of vocations to the sisterhood.

K.C. National Convention

The Knights of Columbus, national Catholic laymen’s fraternal organization, held its 78th national convention in Atlanta August 16-18, 1960 - the largest Catholic gathering ever held in Georgia up to that time. In May, 1963 the Knights of Columbus opened a new Catholic Center at 2620 Buford Highway, Atlanta, replacing their former Peachtree Road home.

Bishop Answers Prejudice

1960 was a presidential election year. Because one of the candidates was a Catholic (John F. Kennedy), there had been many statements, often from churchmen of other faiths, impugning the ability of a Catholic to be a loyal chief executive. These charges were most disturbing to many Catholics and were unjust in the extreme to the Church, which always teaches the moral duty of patriotism and obedience to lawful authority. On the eve of the presidential election, before the result could possibly be known, Bishop Hyland caused to be read in all the churches of the diocese a letter urging the faithful to forgive the attacks on faith and loyalty to their country. He pointed with justifiable pride to the fact that there had been no politics in any Catholic pulpit, and expressed the hope that never again would anyone feel impelled to cast any doubt on the loyalty of American Catholics, “Let us bear neither malice nor ill will toward anyone,” he wrote, “....Let us extend the hand of Christian friendship to all.”

Bishop Hyland Resigns

On October 11, 1961 the faithful of the diocese were saddened to learn that Bishop Hyland had resigned as ordinary of the Diocese of Atlanta. The announcement was made by the apostolic delegate in Washington that, due to ill health, Pope John XXIII had granted the request of Bishop Hyland in permitting him to resign. In a letter of farewell to the faithful, Bishop Hyland stated that he did not want to have any ceremonies of farewell. However, all of the priests of the diocese gathered at the Monastery of the Holy Ghost in Conyers and said goodbye to the bishop. The issue of THE BULLETIN printed just prior to his departure listed the buildings erected, renovated and converted to church use while Bishop Hyland was in Georgia. This impressive number totaled 55.

Metropolitan Province Erected

On February 12, 1962 the apostolic delegate in Washington, D.C., announced that a Metropolitan Province had been formed for the Diocese of Raleigh, Charleston, Savannah, St. Augustine and Miami with Atlanta designed as the center. Atlanta was made an archdiocese and Bishop Paul J. Hallinan of Charleston, S.C., was designated as first archbishop of Atlanta.

The vigor and vitality which had marked the growth of the Church in north Georgia received new impetus under the inspired and inspiring direction of its new head. Its parishes have been “in the vanguard of the vernacular” and many new raise their voices in congregationally sung prayer and liturgy.

In May 1963, Archbishop Hallinan had an audience with Pope John XXIII in Rome, returning there in August for preliminary work for the second session of Vatican II, which opened September 8. September of 1964 found him back in Rome for the third session of Vatican II, and the following year he attended the fourth and final session which closed on December 8, 1965.

The Spirit of Vatican II

Ecumenism first manifested itself here when Operation Understanding was launched by the Atlanta Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Men and “open house” was held Sunday, November 10, 1963 at all the churches of the archdiocese for visits by those who are not Catholic.

The following fall a three-day conference on the Liturgy, again under the aegis of the ACCM, was held at Christ the King Cathedral, closing on Sunday afternoon with the first sung Mass in the new liturgy, in English, with the celebrant facing the congregation, and the people singing as they approached the priest, standing, to receive communion.

A Reconstituted Commission on Sacred Liturgy was formed in July, 1964 and, in December of that year, a Reconstituted Archdiocesan Religious Unity Commission came into being.

“Workshops on Vatican II” were held during February and March of this year at St. Joseph’s Infirmary auditorium, and continued weekends at Ignatius House during April until the weekend preceding the Lay Congress set for May 20-22. There elected delegates from the parishes in the archdiocese will vote on recommendations previously discussed in meetings at the parish level. The purpose is to provide a channel for lay opinion, initiative and participation to implement the spirit of Vatican II.

Expansion Program

At the beginning of 1965 an Archdiocesan Expansion Program was announced. Though the goal of this drive was almost twice that of the diocese’ 1963 fund-raising drive for $1,200,000, this effort, like the earlier one, went over the top -$2,102,500 being pledged.

Two of the projects for which these funds are being raised have already come into being: the Village of St. Joseph for dependent boys and girls, which was dedicated in March 1966; also a new Newman Center and Spalding Chapel at the University of Georgia in Athens.

The Official Catholic Directory of the Archdiocese of Atlanta lists Newman Clubs at Agnes Scott College, Atlanta University, Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State College, Oglethorpe College, the University of Georgia, North Georgia State College at Dahlonega, Brenau College in Gainesville and Georgia State College for Women at Milledgeville.

Episcopal Vicars

This new office and title authorized by the Second Vatican Council was conferred in March 1966 on Msgr. Joseph E. Moylan, Episcopal Vicar for the Clergy, Msgr. Joseph G. Cassidy, Episcopal Vicar for Sisters, and Msgr. Patrick J. O’Connor, Episcopal Vicar for Vocations.

The Emerging Layman

Just as the Church in Georgia emerged a half-century ago from the aura of suspicion and fear of the unknown largely through the efforts of devout laymen who wanted others to know and love their faith, so the emerging layman of today will take his faith into the community for all to evaluate the principles by which he lives and come to know his church through his daily witness to the faith he holds dear.