By Thea Jarvis

It was June of 1902. Mrs. Joel Chandler Harris, whose husband's rich imagination spawned a store of Uncle Remus folk tales, was living on Gorgon Street in Atlanta's West End.

Mrs. Harris, a Catholic, was growing weary of her Sunday jaunt to Immaculate Conception Church. Four miles going from and four miles returning to her now famous "Wren's Nest" took considerable steam out of an otherwise restful Sunday.

She called together some friends from the Catholic Ladies Aid Society of West End and set about planning for a church that would be a little closer to home.

A local priest, Father O. N. Jackson, responded favorably to the ladies' suggestion and recommended to Bishop Kelly of Savannah that a new parish, named after St. Anthony of Padua, be formed. The first Mass in the parish was celebrated on June 13, 1903 -- the feast of St. Anthony -- in the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Corley on Lawton Street, SW.

The parish was formally dedicated on September 20, 1903 at a solemn Mass celebrated by Bishop Kelly. Assisting were the pastor of Atlanta's Sacred Heart Church, Father John Gunn, SM, and St. Anthony's first pastor, Father Jackson.

Not long afterwards, the parish began to outgrow the house it had bought on a lot that straddled Gordon and Ashby Streets. In 1911, ground was broken and a cornerstone laid for the distinctive golden brick structure that still dominates the Gordon and Ashby Street intersection.

In 1903, only 20 families made up St. Anthony's parish. Today, 80 years later, the congregation numbers about 430 families. The years have been good to the parish. A long line of dedicated priests, sisters and laity -- including pastors Harry Clark, James Conlin, Joseph Croke, Joseph Smith, James King, Donald Kiernan, Michael McKeever, Eusebius Beltran and John Adamski -- have led the church through turbulence and peace, change and stability.

St. Anthony's School, still operating today with a full enrollment, opened in 1912 with two Sisters of Mercy teaching first and second graders. In 1932, the chronicles of Atlanta Catholicism, St. Anthony's Catholic News, was begun, published by West End parishioners until 1962. The volumes of this city-wide publication are an invaluable source of Catholic history in Atlanta.

The church has kept current with the times. To provide care for children whose parents are employed outside the home, St. Anthony's Day Care Center operates five days a week. Offering hot, nourishing meals to local West Enders and those just passing through, St. Anthony's luncheon program serves fine home cooking at nominal prices. The parish Friendship Club draws members from around the archdiocese to participate in its extensive trips and activities for seniors.

During its jubilee year, 1982-83, St. Anthony's is proudly celebrating itself. Honoring those who came before and those who continue in the parish tradition, the community hopes to strengthen the bonds that unite them in faith.

On Sunday, November 14, St. Anthony's held a jubilee "homecoming" Mass, welcoming back old friends and new, including Bishop Eusebius Beltran of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who was pastor of St. Anthony's from 1972-78.

Other priests concelebrating the Mass with Bishop Beltran were assistant pastors Fathers Mauro Murlot and Joseph Cavallo, former parishioner Father Bruce Wilkinson, Cancer Home chaplain and St. Anthony's neighbor Father Pat Connell, Father Steve Yander, who served as deacon at St. Anthony's and present pastor, Father John Adamski.

In his homily, Bishop Beltran, who was en route to the American bishops' meeting in Washington, DC, said he came to St. Anthony's "as one who has, in a sense, come home." He joined a full house at the 11:30 Mass that enjoyed the moving, powerful sound of St. Anthony's choir and viewed the colorful display of banners draped from church ceiling lights.

Father Adamski explained the symbolism of the banner colors: red, the struggle and suffering of those who built the church community; black, the predominant racial makeup of the parish; green, the hope for the future. Red, black and green are the traditional colors of black liberation.

After Mass, the church basement was the scene of a reception that allowed guests to further experience the warmth, friendship, and remembering that was at the heart of St. Anthony's homecoming spirit.