The History of Holy Spirit Church

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Holy Spirit Parish was established on May 28, 1964, with 250 families, from territory taken largely from the Cathedral of Christ the King Parish. Father John McDonough was the first Pastor, and he guided the fledgling Parish from his residence at the Cathedral.

In October 1964, Father McDonough was named Rector of the Cathedral, and Father Joseph Ware was appointed Pastor of Holy Spirit. He served until 1966, when Msgr. McDonough returned as Pastor. During this time a house on Lake Forest Drive was purchased as a rectory. Mass was celebrated first in the Pace Academy cafeteria, and later at Dykes High School (now Sutton Middle School).

The present property at the corner of Mt. Paran Road and Northside Drive, formerly a part of the old Fulton County stone quarry, was purchased in 1965. Two years later, in May 1967, the octagonal, multi purpose building was completed and served as Church, education center and offices. In 1971, the first rectory on the property was completed. In September 1972, Msgr. McDonough was re-assigned as Rector of the Cathedral, at which time Father Ware returned as Pastor to Holy Spirit. Father E. Peter Ludden (later Monsignor) was named Pastor in June 1975. During his tenure plans were undertaken for the construction of a separate Church and Education building. The Church was completed in March 1977, designed to seat 320 people; the Education building was completed in 1980. This phase of construction was financed, in part, by the sale of the multi-purpose building and 13 acres. At the time the Parish had 300 households. A Parish Hall was later added.

Father Alan Dillmann was assigned as Pastor in June 1981 and served until June 1987, when Father Edward J. Dillon was named Pastor. By that time the Parish had grown to 550 households.

A long-range planning study in 1988 settled on a number of priorities, which included implementation of RENEW and the development of new physical facilities to meet the projected growth in the Parish. The original estimate was that the parish would be at 1,500 households by the year 2005. Since then the growth has exceeded estimates, and the Parish is currently at 1,800 households.

The present Church was dedicated in July 1995. It seats 808 but additional seating can be added for special needs. The Goizueta Education Center houses education programs during the week and on Sundays. The Sims property was purchased in 1996, and the school property was purchased back in 1997, giving the parish a total property now is slightly more than 33 acres. The new rectory was completed in January 1998, at which time the old rectory was converted entirely to offices.

In 2002 Holy Sprit parish sold 14 acres to Holy Spirit Prepartory School/Holy Spirit College for the purpose of building a high school. The building's completion in 2004 fulfilled a dream of Monsignor Dillon to build a Catholic school to serve children in preschool through 12th grade, with a total capacity of 925 students. In addition, Holy Spirit Prep is the home to Holy Spirit College, licensed by the State of Georgia, which offers accredited college level courses for 11th and 12th grade students.