PAGE 6 — The Georgia Bulletin, July 16, 1987
LaSalette Priests Serve Eight Parishes In Diocese
BY PAULA DAY
Approximately 43 per
cent of the priests serving
in the Atlanta archdiocese
belong to religious orders,
according to Father Peter
Ludden, chancellor of the
diocese.
“About 80 in number,-
they represent 12 different
orders and congregations
and are engaged in a great
variety of ministries,”
Father Ludden adds. With
a 60 percent growth in the
archdiocese’s Catholic
population in the past 10
years, the contributions of
these men are “enor
mous.”
For the average Cath
olic, perhaps, “a priest is a
priest.” However, priests
of religious congregations
do differ from their
diocesan brother priests in
that they take a vow of
poverty in addition to the
vows of obedience and
celibacy. They also live a
communal lifestyle with
members of their religious
congregation whenever
possible. They may live
alone in small parishes
which need only one priest.
“We have to weigh the
needs of the Church and
balance them with the
needs of the religious con
gregation,” says Father
Frederick Flaherty, M.S.,
former provincial of the
Missionaries of Our Lady
of LaSalette who is present
ly pastor of St. Matthew’s,
a one-man parish in Fair-
burn.
Each religious congre
gation may also have
a special ministry, or
charism, which distin
guishes it from other
religious communities.
The Missionaries of Our
Lady of LaSalette are one
of 12 religious congrega
tions of men serving in the
archdiocese. Known as the
LaSalettes, the congrega
tion came to Georgia in
1969 to staff St. Francis of
Assisi parish in Carters-
ville. Their ministry has
since extended to a total of
eight parishes ranging
from a small mission
church, Our Lady of the
Mountains in Jasper, to the
3,000-family parish of St.
Ann’s in Marietta.
The LaSalette fathers
consider working for recon
ciliation in today’s society
to be their charism. Father
Flaherty feels this em
phasis is appropriate.
“There’s so much divi
siveness today — in
politics, between conser
vatives and liberals — be
tween the generations. We
need to be brought together
— to emphasize what we
have in common.”
Father Flaherty points
out that while everyone
who ministers shares in the
work of reconciliation, his
congregation makes recon
ciliation its special focus
just as the Maryknoll con
gregation focuses on mis
sionary work and the Socie
ty of Jesus emphasizes the
ministry of education.
This ministry of recon
ciliation takes many forms.
“We need to reach out
more to inactive Catholics.
We need to touch them —
find out what they want
from the parish, from the
Church. Ask them what
they can do to make it bet
ter,” says Father Michael
Flanagan, M.S., pastor of
St. Clement’s Church in
Calhoun.
St. Clement’s parish has
grown from 72 registered
families to 115 in the five
and a half years Father
Flanagan has been its
pastor. New families have
come from the . Midwest,
North and Northeast.
Several northern com
panies have opened plants
in Gordon County and the
job opportunities have
drawn newcomers to the
area.
“I think the fact that the
Church was so small here
was a shock to some of
them, but I believe it has
strengthened their belief in
the tradition, in the faith, of
the Catholic Church,”
Father Flanagan adds.
Father Flanagan, 5
himself a “Yankee” from Q
Watertown, Mass., seven
miles outside of Boston, is
the son of Irish immigrants
whose mother helped sup
port the family of four as
an “upstairs maid.” He
speaks lovingly of her. He
reminds his nephews to
“listen to her because
there’s more wisdom in
that head than you’ll ever
find in books.”
St. Clement’s church sits
alone on a hill overlooking
the highway that winds
past, below. Its brick bell
tower seems to preside
over the surrounding coun
tryside. The church is
small in comparison to city
churches, and its size sug-
FATHER FREDERICK FLAHERTY, M.S.
Pastor of St. Matthew parish, Fairburn.
FUTURE HOME
OUR LADY OF THE MOUNTAINS Church, a mission church of the
parish in Canton, is administered by the LaSalette priests. The April
ground breaking for the mission’s new church, which will seat 160 peo
ple, is pictured above.
gests a kind of intimacy
where people who know one
another could possibly
pray as a family.
Father Flanagan’s par
ish covers all of Gordon
County. Only one percent of
the county is Catholic and
that one percent is “spread
thin.” By contrast, the
parish in England where he
was stationed before com
ing to Georgia had 1,000
families in an area that he
could walk across in 45
minutes.
“You can’t run it (St. Cle
ment’s) like a big parish,”
he observed. “Distances
and time don’t permit
the time very good. Would
like to have people drop by.
But I don’t have to have
lonely moments. I walk
down to the recreation area
and meet people — always
meet someone there to talk
to.”
In contrast, St. Ann’s in
Marietta is the smallest
parish, territorially, in the
archdiocese. Yet it has
3,000 families. LaSalette
Fathers Thomas Carroll
and Brian Sheridan’s
challenge is to foster a car
ing community among so
many.
St. Ann’s parish began in
August, 1978, with 240
sense.
Father Carroll’s previ
ous assignments include
teaching and admin
istrative positions in Kis
congregation as well as
parish work in Louisiana.
For 20 years he was the
congregation’s director of
its shrine in Ipswich,
Mass., north of Boston.
How did he happen to
become a Missionary of
Our Lady of LaSalette?
“When I was in the 8th
grade one of the Mis
sionaries gave a mission at
our parish. He asked if
anyone was interested in
becoming a Missionary and
FATHER THOMAS CARROLL, M.S., pastor of St. Ann’s parish in
Marietta, joins other parishioners in patriotic songs and hymns honor
ing Mary as patroness of the United States in a July 3rd Marian Year
celebration.
many things coming
together. I’d like to think
these small parishes find
their own way. People here
can take care of the parish.
While I was away on vaca
tion they cleaned the
Church, set up for Mass,
counted and banked the
collection money, looked
after the house.”
Father Flanagan speaks
with pride of the 20-
member choir who sings
every Sunday at the 11:15
Mass, and of the 15
Eucharistic ministers, as
well as the five religion
teachers and religious
education coordinator. A
husband and wife team are
organizing an adult educa
tion program for the fall.
The Knights of Columbus,
Council 9339, formed only
three years ago, has 35 ac
tive members.
“The base Christian
community model like they
have in Brazil is what I
want to try. Our Knights of
Columbus and the tele
phone calling committee
could be the start,” Father
Flanagan points out. “Al
ready when someone dies
the committee calls and
everyone bands together to
help out.”
How does he feel about
working alone? “Most of
families. As with St. Cle
ment’s, its growth is a
result of resettlement from
outside Georgia; 98 percent
of the parishioners have
moved from the upper Mid
west and the Northeast.
This uprooting has helped
them “know now the only
thing they have in common
is the Church,” observes
Father Carroll.
“The Church has become
the focal point of their lives
— educationally, socially.
We’ve tried to respond to
their needs — make them
feel a part of the parish and
people appreciate that.”
Both Father Carroll and
Father Sheridan come
from Connecticut. Father
Carroll is from Waterbury
where his 85-year-old
mother lives and actively
supports the LaSalette
community with fund- rais
ing efforts. Father Sheri
dan is from East Hartford.
They share with their
parishioners the ex
perience of being trans
planted.
“Being from the north
helps me help them adjust
to the area,” points out
Father Carroll. “What
many of them (parish
ioners) didn’t have here
was family. The Church
became their family, in a
I raised my hand.”
One pastoral need for St.
Ann’s is the Catholic educa
tion of its 2,000 children in
the religious education pro
gram. Throughout the
week, 124 volunteers teach
no more than 20 children
during 11 time tracks. This
spring 220 made their First
Communion.
During the past school
year, one of the seven
weekend Masses was a
children's liturgy where
children were ushers,
readers, commentators
and choir members. Often
the homily would be a
dialogue between the
celebrant and children us
ing Annie, a puppet, as a
teaching device.
The day chapel, located
in a wing to the right of the
main church, is dedicated
to children. With its rever
sible pews it can be used as
a “cry room.” Its stained
glass windows depict the
child saints, Agnes and
Stanislaus Kostka, as well
as Mary at the knees of St.
Ann and Jesus teaching
children. This special touch
was Father Carroll’s sug
gestion.
Because of St. Ann’s
large elementary school-
age population, Father
(Continued on page 7)
