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Shortly after his installation as
Bishop of Savannah, the Most
Reverend Gerald P. O’Hara, D.D.,
investigated' the needs of the
Catholics residing in the northern
sections of 'Pulton and DeKalb
counties, -and as a result, deter
mined to establish a separate par
ish in that neighborhood for their
convenience.
At a meeting of the Diocesan
Consultors, held- in Savannah on
Thursday, May 23th, 1936, the
Bishop announced the proximate
erection of the-new parish, and
made known that-it would receive
the title of “Christ the King.” On
June loth, 1936, the'Parish of
Christ the King, Atlanta, was es
tablished. and the Rev. Joseph E.
Moylan, then in charge of the Im
maculate Conception parish, At
lanta, was appointed its first Pas
tor.
A plot of'ground was acquired,
about four acres in extent, situat
ed along the most beautiful part
of Peachtree Road, between
Peachtree Way and Wesley Road.
Already on this site there stood a
fine old mansion, originally
known as the Durant home. In j
more recent times it had become
the property of the Ku Klux Klan
and had been used by that organi
zation as its national headquar
ters. At the time of its purchase
by the new parish the property
was in other hands, and was
known as the “Wesley Apart
ments” the name being derived
from its location. .
The summer of 1936 was well
advanced when, all legal require
ments end technicalities having
been complied with, the Church
secured possession of the proper
ty. The first Mass in the new par
ish was. celebrated by Father Moy
lan on the porch of the old man
sion, from now on to be known as
the Rectory. It was the feast of
the Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin Mary.
For three Sundays thereafter,
Mass continued to be said on the
rectory porch. In the meantime,
however, the north side of the
first floor was being converted
into a temporary chapel. When
completed, this chapel accom
modated two hundred and twen
ty people. Here all the Masses
were said until Sept. 12, 1937,
when upon the completion of the
basement of the school, the Sun
day Masses were celebrated in
the latter place. The week day
services continued to be held in
the temporary chapel in the rec
tory.
As soon as possible work was
started on the new church and
school buildings. The school was
finished first, and was solemnly
blessed by the Bishop on Oct. 31,
1937. Classes were conducted in
the new building for the first time
on Nov. 29, 1937. The parish
school opened at the beginning of
the September term, 1937, in sev
eral of the rooms of the rectory
that had been temporarily con
verted into class-rooms.
In the meantime, work on the
construction of the church pro
ceeded rapidly. The corner-stone
was blessed on October 31, 1937,
the ceremony being followed by
a solemn pontifical Mass, cele-
V1JLW Ot CATHEDRAL FROM SANCTUARY
CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST THE KING
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brated by the Most Reverend
Bishop, who also preached the
sermon.
A Singular honor came to the
new parish on January 5th, 1937.
On that day, by a decree of the
Sacred Congregation of the Con
sistory, Rome, Our Holy Father,
Pope Pius XI, declared that, Here
after, the diocese would be
known as “The Diocese of Sav-
•ann’ah-Atlanta.” This same De
cree gave the Church of Christ
the King the dignity of Co-Ca-
thedral.
In July of this year with the
erection of the Atlanta Diocese
and the appointment .of Bishop
Hyland as First Bishop of Atlanta
the Co-Cathedral became the Ca
thedral of Christ The King.
A little authority is the ruina
tion of more men than all the
money in the world.
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DECEMBER 8, 1956.
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
THRES
HISTORY OF THE CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST THE KING