By Gretchen Keiser

The two new parishes of the archdiocese will be named for a woman doctor of the church, St. Catherine of Siena, and the apostle, St. Andrew.

St. Catherine, who with St. Francis of Assisi is one of the chief patron saints of Italy, was the name chosen by the Kennesaw parish beginning in west Cobb County. The new North Fulton county parish in Atlanta chose the name of St. Andrew, brother of Simon Peter. The parishes, in areas with growing Catholic populations, were created on May 4 and among the first of decisions considered church names.

St. Catherine and St. Andrew were selected by parish ballots from lists of several names submitted by the pastors of the respective parishes. The selection is then submitted to the archbishop for approval.

Father Leo Herbert, Kennesaw pastor, said St. Catherine was chosen from among five names he submitted to the parish, which was created in response to growth in Transfiguration parish and new development in that area.

In a life of 33 years, St. Catherine dedicated herself at an early age, to Christ and became a member of the Third Order of St. Dominic. A mystic of intense spirituality, St. Catherine attracted a family of followers in fourteenth-century Italy and was a figure at the center of political battles, among them, seeking an end to conflict between Florence and her Italian allies and the papacy.

With St. Teresa of Avila, St. Catherine is one of two women proclaimed to be among the doctors of the church, a proclamation of the pope which recognizes the contribution certain ecclesiastical writers have made to the Church, not solely by their learning, but by the sanctity of their lives which illuminated faith. St. Catherine’s writings include her letters, which have been gathered in collection, and the Dialogue.

Knowledge of St. Andrew’s life comes from Gospel references and later tradition which holds that he was martyred in the first century, said Father Peter Ludden, pastor of the new Atlanta parish. A fisherman, like his brother, St. Andrew is mentioned in the Gospels among the group of four apostles closest to Jesus.

Father Ludden said he suggested St. Andrew as one of three names to the parish because of his prominence and familiarity to people as one of the apostles. The feast day on Nov. 30 occurs at a time of year when a parish celebration can be held, also, he said.

The new church of St. Andrew is approaching 100 families and leased a suite at North Ridge Business Park where Masses are held at 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 8:30 and 11 a.m. on Sundays. When the parish began, it used a Lutheran church on Roswell Road but has been in its new quarters since Aug. 16.