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By Erika Anderson, Staff Writer
ATLANTA — In her 60th year as a parishioner of the Shrine of
the Immaculate Conception, Flora Graham figures she has been through at least
three renovations.
She arrived in Atlanta in 1941 and has been devoted to the parish
ever since. The most recent renovations that were completed in August have only
bettered the already strong spirit of the parish, she said.
“It looks beautiful. I only wish they’d put in an
elevator,” she said. Walking with a cane, Graham doesn’t get up the
stairs quite as easily as she did when she first came to the parish with her
20-month-old toddler and 3-year-old child.
Graham was one of many parishioners who were on hand Nov. 18 as
Archbishop John F. Donoghue celebrated a Mass in honor of the newly completed
renovations.
As he processed into the Shrine, along with concelebrant Msgr.
Henry Gracz, pastor, Deacon Bill Payne and Deacon Bart DeSandre, the choir led
the congregation in singing “How Firm a Foundation.”
A cornucopia in front of the altar served as a symbol of the
upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and the gratitude felt by parishioners and their
pastor for their historic church made new again.
In his homily, the archbishop spoke of the fruit of labor that St.
Paul referred to as “quiet work.”
“And that rarified product is the work we bring here to the
holy place we call our church, our parish, where we gather as one
family—it is magnified in the activities of charity which adorn the life
of this parish—it vibrates with generous energy, as the arms of this
parish reach out to the surrounding community,” he said. “It remakes
itself in every bit of work that is done to make this historic, this venerable
temple stand strong against the elements from without and against the wear and
tear from within—and it is all for the honor and name of the Mother of
God, and for the glory of that same God, whose house it is—Father, Son and
Holy Spirit.”
He spoke of the great, longstanding spirit of service at the
Shrine, the only archdiocesan church to house a night shelter. The parish also
has St. Francis Table, a Saturday soup kitchen, an active AIDS ministry and
outreach to Haiti.
“The Shrine of the Immaculate Conception has long done this
work within the society of our city,” he said. “From time to time,
our efforts perhaps slow down, or even appear to weaken—but then an
upsurge comes, talent, time and funds flow from within and without—a
face-lift of our building, and a face-lift of our souls is executed.”
“And like dressing ourselves for a new day, putting on a
fresh smile for the new people we will meet—our Church becomes ready again
to carry out the most important work known to mankind—that the will of God
and the love of His Son, should be taught, by word and deed, to all the
peoples—and not by force, but by a welcoming smile, an open arm, and an
encouraging word.”
A church full of history, the Shrine stands on the corner of
Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Central Avenue, the spot occupied by the small
original wooden church built in 1848, the first Catholic church in Atlanta. It
served mostly the families of Irish Catholics who worked on the railroad.
The church was dedicated in 1849 and named to honor the Immaculate
Conception. In 1851 Father Jeremiah O’Neill of Locust Grove, the first
settlement of Catholics in Georgia, was named pastor. Ten years later, in 1861,
Father Thomas O’Reilly, the priest who became a part of Atlanta history,
arrived at the church.
Father O’Reilly became a chaplain for Confederate troops in
the Civil War and was also known to comfort wounded Yankee soldiers. The church
became a makeshift hospital, its floors permanently stained with the blood of
wounded troops. When General William T. Sherman was burning Atlanta on his
march to the sea, it was Father O’Reilly who persuaded the general to
spare the Catholic church and four others in Atlanta as well, telling him that
Catholic troops in the Union army would rebel otherwise. He also saved
Atlanta’s city hall and courthouse.
Parishioners dedicated the Shrine’s present building in 1873
and completed construction in 1880. Father O’Reilly died in 1872, three
years after the cornerstone of the current red brick building was placed. He
and Father Thomas F. Cleary, who died in 1884, are buried in the crypt under
the church altar.
In 1945, Father O’Reilly’s likeness became a permanent
part of city history, with a memorial erected to him outside of Atlanta City
Hall in recognition of his heroic Civil War efforts.
In August 1982, the historic church, the oldest complete building
in downtown Atlanta, was left with only its shell when a fire caused by an
electrical short ripped through the building. The building was restored with a
new roof, completely new interior and new stained glass windows, and was
rededicated on May 25, 1984.
The tall towers of the Shrine are as recognizable a part of
Atlanta as the red World of Coca-Cola sign that stands across the street and
the gold dome of the Capitol, which rises in the background. The parish
celebrated its 150th anniversary in September 1998.
However, in the past few years, the Shrine had lost some of its
splendor. In 1999, when Father John Murphy, now pastor of St. Andrew’s
Church in Roswell, was pastor of the Shrine, he approached the archdiocese with
the request for funds to again restore the historic church.
A $1.4 million project was put into place that included
re-waterproofing and repainting the entire Shrine and its rectory. The
archdiocese provided $1 million, while $400,000 came from money the parish
raised. A central air conditioning and heating system was also installed in the
rectory, as well as numerous smaller projects.
“There were a significant number of local rats in the
basement offices of the rectory,” Msgr. Gracz said. “They were moved
on.”
The exterior lighting, which had aged and lost its wiring, was
restored, Msgr. Gracz said. The restoration project began in November 2000 and
was completed around August 2001, although several windows still need to be
replaced in the rectory. In the meantime, parishioners had to deal with the
hassle of construction and scaffolding.
“I remember we had to dismantle it for the pro-life Mass in
January. Sometimes the congregation would sit on the right side, sometimes they
would have to sit on the left, depending on what side of the church they were
working on,” Msgr. Gracz recalled. “The people here were wonderfully
patient.”
The Shrine serves about 325 households, but the pastor would like
to see it grow to about 600 families. A seasoned priest, with 36 years of
experience, he hopes that the renovation of the historic church will be a draw.
He also sees the heart of the church as its people.
“Anytime you walk in and the paint is peeling and the plaster
is crumbling, that’s not a good sign,” he said, while quoting St.
Paul’s words in first Corinthians that the “building is just a shell.
It’s the people who are the real church.”
“It was really rough for the people to hang together through
all this, but I think they’re really proud of what they’ve
accomplished. Now that the building is open, the church needs to continue its
growing.”
Jeffrey McIntyre, who has served as the music minister and
organist at the Shrine for the past nine years and also serves as the business
manager, said that the restorations relieve some of the worry about water
coming into the church. He said that further facets of the restoration project
include replacing several of the poorly manufactured zinc pipes in the
Shrine’s pipe organ with copper pipes. As a parishioner, he has enjoyed
the new luster of his parish.
“Having the opportunity to bring out some of the
architectural detail of the church proper was exciting,” he said, adding
that following the 1984 fire, the entire church was painted one color.
“Now there are some contrasting colors, and even those little bitty gold
contrasts make so much difference.”
Msgr. Gracz said that people come to the Shrine from about 30 zip
codes. Lauren LePlatte, originally from Trinidad, has been a parishioner for
three years. She enjoys the diversity of Atlanta’s oldest church.
“We got here and went through all the renovations, but it
looks beautiful. I remember last year in the winter being cold,” she said.
“It’s a very diverse, very welcoming community. Having our church
redone just enhances our community spirit.”
Msgr. Gracz agrees.
“Atlanta’s history at the Shrine is celebrated with a
living church, not just a museum,” he said. “We have this treasured
jewel downtown, but people won’t know unless they come.” |
