By Gretchen Keiser

A mission in Roswell, Georgia that celebrated its first Mass in a community center Sept. 27, 1959, blossomed into a dedicated church on a beautiful fall day almost 23 years and a month later.

The Church of St. Thomas Aquinas in Crabapple was dedicated Oct. 24 as the permanent altar was installed in a building of redwood and Alabama fieldstone. Extra chairs were brought in for the 12:30 p.m. liturgy celebrated by Archbishop Thomas Donnellan and Father Daniel J. O'Connor, pastor, and Father Austin Fogarty, assistant pastor. The dedication was the latest chapter in a long history of booming church growth in the North Fulton area.

The seeds were planted in 1959 when the new Roswell mission, served by the Cathedral of Christ the King, celebrated Mass with Monsignor Michael Regan at the Roswell Community Center in 1959. In 1961, Monsignor Regan was succeeded by Father Harold Rainey, newly appointed chancellor. When the mission was transferred from the Cathedral to the new parish of St. Jude's in Sandy Springs, then Father Noel Burtenshaw was appointed priest-in-charge. A formal religious education program began and a building and finance committee purchased the Rucker Road property where building would eventually begin.

Made a parish in June 1972 under pastor Father Douglas Edwards, St. Tomas Aquinas continued to experience growth. From 275 families, who raised a multi-purpose building on the site, the parish has grown to 1,100 families, who broke ground for the new church in October 1979.

The design, by the architectural firm of Barker and Cunningham, includes modern elements and some traditional aspects, such as windows that incorporate the Gothic arch, a rose window from the convent chapel of the old St. Joseph's infirmary, and nearly life size Stations of the Cross. A "clear story" above the altar highlights it and provides changing light throughout the day. Three-sided seating minimizes the distance anyone will have to sit from the altar.

The construction was done by Armacher Brothers of Dunwoody and the interior furnishings are by Rambusch of New York.

The design, in addition to maximizing the beautiful, wooded site, hoped to capture the spirit of the parish, said Father Daniel O'Connor, pastor since 1973. "The philosophy of the parish is that most of us are strangers to the South and the parish family is a place we feel at home the quickest," he said. So, this church tries to bring people close to each other in worship and has a very large foyer, where people can congregate and develop friendships after Mass.