Hapeville Parish, School Celebrate 50th Anniversary

Published: September 30, 2004

HAPEVILLE—The 50th anniversary of St. John the Evangelist Church and School will be celebrated on Sunday, Oct. 10, with a celebration Mass at 10 a.m. at which Archbishop John F. Donoghue will preside.

Among those invited to be special guests are priests and women Religious who have served in the past as well as those who are serving now at the parish and school.

A reception will follow the Mass and memorabilia from five decades of parish and school life will be on display for people to look at and enjoy. It will be a time for people to socialize and reminisce in one another’s company and for old friends to re-establish contact with one another.

St. John the Evangelist Parish was canonically established on Jan. 15, 1954, to serve Catholics who had previously been within the parish boundaries of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception or St. Anthony of Padua Church in Atlanta and, in particular, Catholic families working at Atlanta Hartsfield Airport. When it was just a mission, the first Mass was offered on Sunday, April 27, 1952, by Father George Daly, the founding pastor, in the Hapeville Recreation Center. There were about 400 people in attendance during the three Masses.

On Sept. 7, 1953, the good news from Bishop Francis Hyland was that the Sisters of Mercy of Merion, Pa., had accepted his request to staff St. John the Evangelist School, and on Sept. 7, 1954, the school opened for its first year. While the Sisters of Mercy no longer serve at the school, St. John the Evangelist was named a National School of Excellence in 1993 and, under the guidance of principal Karen Vogtner, serves children in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

The church is located at 230 Arnold St. For more information call the church at (404) 768-5647 or the school at (404) 767-4312.