On Palm Sunday, nearly 300 people from the North Metro Deanery made a Holy Year pilgrimage to the oldest church in the archdiocese. The pilgrims arrived at the Church of the Purification in Sharon, Georgia, in the early afternoon. Mass was celebrated at 5 p.m. followed by a family picnic.

The structure is actually the oldest remaining Catholic Church in the area. The first Catholics in the region came from Maryland and Virginia and settled in nearby Locust Grove around 1790. A log church was erected and Father John LeMoin was sent from Baltimore to be the pastor. In 1800, exiled Frenchmen from Santo Domingo joined the Locust Grove settlement and brought a priest with them, Father Sujet. When he left, the church was without a resident pastor and was served as a mission out of Augusta.

In 1821, Bishop John England was appointed pastor. In 1818, Locust Grove Academy was founded in Sharon. Many distinguished Georgians were education there, including Alexander Stephens.

By 1877, most of the congregation had moved away or had fallen victim to a Yellow Fever epidemic, so the church was moved to Sharon. The following year, the Sisters of St. Joseph came to Sharon and opened the Sacred Heart School for Boys.

Today the Church of the Purification is no longer a parish, but has the status of mission, served by Father Edward Randall, OMI, and Father William Daly, OMI, from Washington, GA.

The parishes of the North Metro Deanery are: Immaculate Hart of Mary, Cathedral of Christ the King, Corpus Christi, Holy Cross, Holy Family, Holy Spirit, Our Lady of the Assumption, St. Joseph's, St. Jude, St. Lawrence, St. Patrick, Sts. Peter and Paul, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Thomas the Apostle, and St. Thomas More.