Past and present members of St. Mary’s Church in Toccoa will come together on Sunday, June 13, for a double celebration.

The 30th anniversary of Father William Calhoun’s ordination as a priest for the archdiocese of Atlanta and the 40th anniversary of the establishment of a mission in Toccoa will be marked with worship followed by a program.

Carol Womack says she is looking for old photos and bits of history concerning St. Mary’s for the anniversary newsletter to be distributed at the event. She promises that cherished mementos and photos will be returned to contributors.

She hopes everyone who has ever been a part of the parish family will attend. The Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. after which a covered dish dinner will be held in the parish hall. A presentation of parish history and the crowning of Mary are scheduled for the afternoon.

Father Calhoun, a native of Carrollton, was ordained a priest May 25, 1963, by Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan at the Cathedral of Christ the King. He studied at Morehouse College and served in the U.S. Air Force before deciding to study for the priesthood. He first studied Latin and Greek at the School of St. Philip Neri in Haverhill, Mass., before entering St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, Md.

He returned to the Air Force to serve as a chaplain from 1967 until 1974. During that time he was stationed in Korat, Thailand, near Cambodian border. Before being assigned to St. Mary’s in 1987 he was pastor at St. John Vianney Church in Lithia Springs. The Commerce Mission became part of his assignment when he was named pastor in Toccoa.

According to history, Catholicism in the Toccoa area was written by parishioner Angeline Willard for the dedication of the new church two years ago, a few Catholic families would meet at the home of Joe Malik for the celebration of the Eucharist during the 1940s. Father Michael Manning, who later became a monsignor, would come from St. Michael’s in Gainesville to celebrate Mass. From Toccoa he would go on to celebrate his third Mass of the Sabbath in Clayton. Five to 12 people usually attended Mass at the American Legion building and the Albermarle Hotel, now an apartment building on the courthouse square.

The community became a mission in 1954 and benefited from a special Mother’s Day collection taken in the diocese for building a church in North Georgia. The church was originally named Mary Mother of Our Divine Savior Catholic Church but sometime in the 1970s, parishioner agreed to shorten it to St. Mary’s. The sacraments were celebrated in the small red brick building on Rothell Road for 37 years, until 1991.

The congregation became a parish in 1964 with Father Joseph Drohan as first pastor.

The New church was dedicated by Archbishop James P. Lyke, OFM in October, 1991.