Print Issue: October 17, 2002

San Felipe Mission To Move To Forest Park Location

By Priscilla Greear, Staff Writer

FOREST PARK - After over 10 years of searching, San Felipe de Jesús Mission in Grant Park has found a new worship space in Forest Park.

The Hispanic immigrant congregation bought a church building formerly owned by another denomination, located at 925 Conley Road. In Grant Park, the congregation had been forced since 1999 to hold regular weekend Masses outside under a metal structure due to lack of space. The mission's administrator Father Jose Duvan Gonzalez, will celebrate the first Mass outside the new church building this Saturday, Oct. 19, at 11 a.m., which will be followed by a fiesta to celebrate the move. They're expecting around 500 members.

Members of the San Felipe de Jesus Mission, Atlanta, celebrate Mass outdoors during the summer of 2001 under an open-air shelter built by its Hispanic members. (Photos by Michael Alexander)

The day will begin with a procession of cars carrying the Blessed Sacrament and on their roofs statues of Mary, San Felipe and the cross to the new, larger church.

Father Jose Duvan Gonzalez, administrator of San Felipe de Jesus Mission, stands in his Grant Park office.

Sister Susana Trejo, RFR, who works at the mission, said that members have volunteers cleaning and making repairs on the new building over the last two months. "I'm very excited and very happy. I'm really appreciative of the work of the people because it's a lot of work they did in cleaning and repairing. They are very happy too. I think they are proud of themselves because we feel like a relief after such a long time, about 15 years outside in the Grant Park area (with) a lot of worries and difficulties."

Sister Trejo believes the church will outgrow this facility too, but that it allows more room for expansion. "I think the congregation will expand and we will need more space. We have enough land, just the building is small but maybe in the future we can build another chapel on the property."

The building will be dedicated on Nov. 30 by Archbishop John F. Donoghue.