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St. Mary's first resident pastor, Father Joseph Cassidy, spearheaded the construction of the far right section of this North Broad Street church back in 1930. Photo by Michael Alexander, The Georgia Bulletin

Saint Mary, Rome

Parish History

Exterior of church, before 1998 renovation.

The seeds of Catholicism were sown in what is now Rome, Georgia, when Fernando De Soto journeyed through the territory in 1540 and encamped at the three rivers. In his company were missionary priests who celebrated Mass for the expedition.

From the 1740s until after the War Between the States, a small group of Catholics gathered whenever a missionary priest traveled through the area. Mass would be offered in the home of Colonel D. S. Printup, a Protestant gentleman who as a Civil War prisoner had been cared for by the Sisters of Mercy. In gratitude for the kindness of the sisters, he made his home available for Mass and remained a lifelong friend of Saint Mary's parish.

By the 1870s Catholics in Rome were about 30 in number. Devoted to the Faith, they undertook the daunting task of building a church. The site of the first structure was Court Street, now East First Street. The property was donated by the family of a young non-Catholic who, when stricken with typhoid fever, was cared for by Mary Kane, the ancestor of many present-day parishioners. In gratitude the family provided the land for the first Catholic church in northwest Georgia. In 1874 Bishop Gross dedicated a simple wooden structure that would serve for almost 60 years.

Award-winning garden

By the late 1920s, the Catholic community had grown steadily, served by visiting priests from Atlanta and by devoted lay people who directed prayers and devotions, taught catechism and administered to the needs of the church. Hanna Fahy, who later became Sister Peter Claver, persuaded Bishop Keyes to send a resident pastor to Rome. In 1930 Father Joseph Cassidy, a legend in the Catholic history of Georgia, was sent to Saint Mary's.

Father Cassidy quickly addressed the needs of the 50 families which had outgrown the 1874 church. The site for a new edifice on Broad Street was purchased for $10,000. The old church was sold to the Jewish congregation where the present synagogue is located. Construction plans were drawn by a Benedictine monk and architect from Belmont Abbey in North Carolina for an impressive granite structure which would become the present Saint Mary's.

On March 15, 1931, Bishop Keyes dedicated the new structure to the glory of God. By the time Father Grady was assigned to the parish in 1936, the congregation had retired the debt.

Next came the need to establish a parochial school. Father McCarthy, who substituted for Father Grady when he was on military tours, established the school in an elegant ante-bellum home overlooking the Oostanaula River. Served by the Dominican Sisters of Adrian, Michigan, the school opened in 1945 with 51 students.

Installation of new steeple in 1998 (Georgia Bulletin article)

A beloved priest, Father Pat Connell served as pastor in the 1950s. During this time the parish grew to almost 200 families with the opening of the General Electric facility in Rome. By 1959, when Father John McDonough was assigned as pastor, he found that the old school could no longer serve the needs of the parish. He undertook the building of the present school at a cost of more than $300,000. The facility opened in 1961 with nearly 200 students.

During the 1960s several pastors and assistant pastors followed in rapid succession including Father Dale Freeman, Father Eusebius Beltran and Father Joseph Beltran. Father Edward O'Connor arrived in 1969 and remained for four years. During this time the Daughters of Charity assumed the administration of the school and remained for 21 years. Father Anthony Curran and Father Michael Hogan served during the mid 1970s and Father Pat Mulhern arrived in 1977. During his tenure a new wing was added to the school consisting of a gymnasium, library, classrooms and a music room. When Father Mulhern left there were 400 families at Saint Mary's.

Father Edward Danneker served until 1990, during which time the school was expanded once again. In 1990 Father James Miceli was appointed pastor with the spiritual care of 440 families. By 1995 this number had grown to 700.