The Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception - Atlanta, GA - Roman Catholic Churches on Waymarking.com

The first beginnings of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the oldest church in north Georgia and Atlanta’s first Catholic Church, are told in stories of early missionaries to the area. No existing records prior to 1846 verify when or where the first Mass was celebrated in Atlanta . Conflicting stories from that period suggest various private homes or a school building as the site of that first Atlanta liturgy.

In all probability missionary priests were ministering to Atlanta by the early 1840’s. These early missionary priests followed the railroad, celebrating Mass in various railroad camps and towns throughout north Georgia . In his book History of the Diocesan Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Van Buren Colley includes the following as missionary priests who served Atlanta Catholics on a monthy basis, the Fathers: Jeremiah F. O’Neill, Jr.; John Brady and Gregory Duggan of Augusta; John Francis Shannahan of Macon; Jeremiah F. O’ Neill, Sr. of Savannah (an uncle of Fr. J.F. O’ Neill, Jr.); and Fr. Birmingham of Edgefield, SC. (Colley, pg. 9) Fr. Shannahan is credited by some sources with founding the Mission of Atlanta, but there no written record confirms this.

Atlanta Catholics completed their first church building in 1848. Not yet named, it was known simply as “the Catholic Church”. This building stood on the same site as the present Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. This first church was a simple wood frame structure similar to the construction of surrounding buildings.

Behind the altar of their new church, the parishioners hung a reproduction oil painting of Murillo’s “Immaculate Conception”. Anecdotal evidence states that this painting was chosen because of the special devotion to the Blessed Mother held by these early Atlanta Catholics. The building was dedicated in 1849 by the Right Reverend Ignatius A.Reynolds, bishop of the Diocese of Charleston .

For more on the History of the Shrine see (visit link)

Type of Church: Church Status of Building: Actively in use for worship Date of organization: 01/01/1848 Date of building construction: 01/01/1869 Dominant Architectural Style: Gothic-style Archdiocese: Archdiocese of Atlanta Diocese: Diocese of Atlanta Address/Location: Atlanta Catholic Church 48 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, SW Atlanta, GA USA 30303 Relvant Web Site: [Web Link] Associated Shrines, Art, etc.: Not listed

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