A new parish staffed by an order new to the archdiocese will open in northwest Georgia this summer, according to Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan.

The parish will be centered in Cartersville, the county seat of Bartow County. In addition to Bartow, it will serve Gordon, Pickens and Cherokee counties.

The La Salette Missionaries of Bloomfield, Conn., will serve the new parish.

The mission of St. Francis of Assisi has operated in Cartersville for many years and Mass is now being offered there Sundays by Father Daniel McCormick, pastor of St. Bernadette’s in Cedartown.

The mission was opened by the Redemptorist Fathers and for many years was attached to St. Joseph’s Parish in Dalton.

The mission of St. Clement, located in Gordon County, was also established by the Redemptorist Fathers and is presently attached to Dalton parish where Father Denis Dullea is pastor. This growing mission plans to break ground this week for a new church and parish hall.

Archbishop Donnellan expressed his gratitude to the La Salette fathers for bringing this new service to the mission areas. Definite dates for the opening will be announced later.