| The history of St. Mary's Catholic Church is a story about the growth and strengthening of the Catholic Church in North Georgia. It is one of many stories about God's Kingdom.
Catholic residents of Toccoa and nearby areas organized into a parish and occupied their own building in 1954, thirty seven years ago, but the origins of the parish predate that milestone by at least a decade and a half. The story begins about fifty years ago with the coming of industries and a few Catholic families into Toccoa, which was then an small rural community.
In the early 1940's in Toccoa and throughout the rural South, being a Roman Catholic was something of a social stigma. We attribute our origins as a parish to those few devout Catholic families in Toccoa who either traveled out of town or met during those times at the home of Joe Malik to celebrate the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist every Sunday. The kept the faith. Father Michael Manning, who later became Monsignor, traveled from St. Michael's parish in Gainesville to the Malik home, bringing his vestments and the altar linens in two suitcases. He would have already celebrated Mass in Gainesville. He would leave Toccoa to celebrate Mass in Clayton.
Five to twelve people attended Mass in the Malik home. The small group attended Mass in Toccoa at two other locations before 1945; the American Legion building on Doyle Street across from the Toccoa Clinic and the Albemarle Hotel, which is now Alexander Apartments, on the courthouse square.
The Catholic community in Toccoa became a mission in 1954. For at least fourteen years. Catholics in Toccoa had not had a church facility. They became beneficiaries of a special Mother's Day collection in the Diocese. Those funds were earmarked for building a church in North Georgia. That church became Mary, Mother of Our Divine Savior Catholic Church in Toccoa. (Sometime in the mid to late 1970's parishioners agreed to shorten the name to St. Mary's.) Catholics in Toccoa-Stephens County and the surrounding area celebrated the sacraments in that small red brick building on Rothell Road for thirty seven years, until 1991.
It was an all-purpose building for a small parish. The church and living quarters for the priest were under one roof. The church doubled as a hall. It was furnished with chairs instead of pews.
A curtain was drawn in front of the altar when the space was used for parish meals and socials. It was a close-knit church family. The mission was staffed until 1964 by priests of the order of Sons of the Sacred Heart, usually referred to as the Verona Fathers. The first of the Verona Fathers was Father Victor Turchetti.
The church family grew, not dramatically but steadily. The rectory was built in the mid to late 1950's. The church hall was built in the early 1970's. Each family who could afford to, donated a case of tile for the floor of the hall, which was built by parishioners.
Mary, Mother of Our Divine Savior Catholic Church became a full-fledged diocesan parish in 1964. Father Joseph Drohan was the first priest assigned to Toccoa by the diocese. For some years, the priest assigned to Toccoa also staffed the mission in Hartwell, Sacred Heart of Jesus Church. In 1982 the diocese assigned a priest full-time to Toccoa. The Commerce mission was added to the Toccoa priest's responsibilities in 1987, when Father William Calhoun was assigned to Toccoa.
About fifteen years ago, parishioners of St. Mary's foresaw a need for a larger facility, a larger hall and more space for religious education. A building and development fund was started. Between July 1, 1975 and April 30, 1976, a total of $652 had been accumulated in that fund. That was the beginning of the church we dedicated on October 6, 1991.
At least two building and development committees were formed during those years to study feasibility of building a new church. The Parish Council decided in December of 1987 that the time was right. Under capable and optimistic leadership of Father Calhoun and Marion Rice, years of planning and hoping came to fruitation. The result is testimony to God's grace in our lives and faithfulness of parishioners.
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