St. Mary's Catholic Church, Franklin Parish, LA Submitted by Rhonda Scott Lord 22-Jul-2001 Source: old newspaper clipping ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** St. Mary's Catholic Church According to some sketchy old records, St. Mary's Catholic Church may have been established as a mission church as early as 1859. In the late 1890s church meetings were held in the home of John Meyer. A priest traveled from Vidalia once a month to hold mass. In 1901, Mr. Meyer donated land at the corner of Pine and Macon Street for the site of a church. According to the diary of A.W. Moore, the foundation for the church was laid February 20, 1901. St. Mary's Catholic Church was dedicated on May 17, 1905 as a mission church served by priests from Monroe and Vidalia. Later, land was purchased on West Street from the heirs of the late Edward Parker. The old Parker home was used as the first rectory. In January 1945 the church was established as a parish in the diocise of Alexandria, and was formally incorporated September 30, 1945. In 1945 the church had its first resident priest, Rev. Fr. Richard J. Swift, S.S.J. Church was held in the building on the corner of Pine and Mason until October 23, 1949 when a fire destroyed the building. The present church building was later built on West Street adjacent to the rectory. It was formally dedicated by Rt. Rev. Charles P. Greco, Bishop of Alexandria on November 30, 1952. Through the years a new rectory has been built as well as a fellowship hall and classrooms. In 1988, a bell tower was added which can be heard throughout the town.