|
The Mission of Our Lady of the Mount in Lookout Mountain, Georgia
was created in 1947 as a Mission of the Redemptorist Fathers’ Parish of
Saint Joseph in Dalton, Georgia; later it was transferred to the Parish of
Saint Gerard in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. The Catholics in Lookout Mountain
originally attended Mass either at Saints Peter and Paul Parish, seven miles
away in Chattanooga, Tennessee, or at Saint Joseph’s Parish, thirty-eight
miles away in Dalton, Georgia.
Prior to the establishment of a permanent mission on Lookout
Mountain, Mass was offered for several years in a log cabin, then in a private
home, and finally in the hall of the Fairyland Grade School. With the purchase
of the Stardust Club building on August 25, 1947, for $25,000, a permanent
mission was established, and Father John Murphy, C.SS.R. was appointed
priest-in-charge with the task of converting the club into a “House of
God.” At that time Lookout Mountain Mission numbered twenty-seven
families. The newly structured church was dedicated to the Mother of God, Our
Lady of the Mountain, and a beautiful statue of Our Lady was placed on the
mountain in front of the church.
Over the years since 1947, seventeen priests of the Redemptorist
Order have served the mission. Father Jack Cavanaugh served the longest, a
period of eleven years. During Father Cavanaugh’s years of service the
church sanctuary was rearranged according to Vatican II Liturgical Norms, the
downstairs of the church was made into a parish hall, and a rectory was built.
Much of this was able to be accomplished through the generosity of the late Mr.
James Hedges.
Religious education classes have been conducted through the years
for the children of the parish through the generous service of the Sisters of
Notre Dame and their lay assistant, Moira Tingle, who taught in Saint
Gerard’s School at Fort Oglethorpe.
In February 1975 Father Gerald Whelan, C.SS.R. was appointed
priest-in-charge. Under his direction a new church has been constructed to
accommodate the growth of the parish to over one hundred seventy-five families.
Now after consultation with the Presbyterial Council, according to
the prescription of Canon 515.2, the pastor of Saint Gerard’s in Fort
Oglethorpe, the pastor of Saint Joseph’s in Dalton and the Dean of the
area, it seems in the best interest of the Faithful and the Church-at-large to
accord this Mission full parish status.
Therefore, with the required canonical consultations having been
completed, I now decree the establishment of Our Lady of the Mount Parish in
Lookout Mountain, Georgia, effective November 18, 1984.
The boundaries of the Parish of Our Lady of the Mount shall be as
follows:
NORTH: The state line of Georgia and Tennessee.
WEST: The state line of Georgia and Alabama.
EAST: Georgia Highway 218, from Rossville to Highway 193. Then
from Highway 193, at Highway 218, south to Copper Heights.
SOUTH: Highway 136 from Copper Heights to the Alabama state line.
The first pastor shall be Reverend Gerald J. Whelan, C.SS.R.
Given in Atlanta, Georgia this 30TH day of November
1984. |
