Kids & Family

Holy Family to Mark 40th Anniversary

The first Catholic church in the East Cobb area will hold a special celebration on Wednesday.

When the late Father John Mulroy started Holy Family Catholic Churchin June of 1973, he was blazing a significant trail.

He was the founding priest of East Cobb's first Roman Catholic Church at a time when faith communities beyond the area's mainline Protestant roots were being created.

Nearly 40 years later, some of the original members of the church and present parishioners will gather to celebrate Holy Family's 40th anniversary. 

A special Mass will take place Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., followed by a reception, and will include Luis Raphael Zarama, the auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta, as the principal celebrant. (See the PDF for service details.)

Holy Family services and activities took place at St. Catherine's Episcopal Church, the gym at Wheeler High School and the cafeteria at East Cobb Middle School until the parish moved into its current facility at 3401 Lower Roswell Road in 1976.

St. Joseph, St. Thomas and St. Jude, nearby Catholic faith communities, helped Holy Family financially during those early times.

Among the first parishioners were Ron and Ginny Magnuson.

"There was an excitement and enthusiasm within the parish as we worked together in ministries and activities and helped Father Mulroy with his vision for the new church building," they recalled. 

"Father Mulroy's personality, the informal locations for church services and activities and the excitement involved in working together to build a church provided a wonderful environment for the Holy Family parish."

Holy Family's membership has grown to more than 1,500 families, even as other Catholic parishes -- St. Ann and Transfiguration -- have been started elsewhere in East Cobb. 

Holy Family also has reached out by offering Masses in Spanish and Portuguese. 

"Our large church window is a vista into God's creation outside," said Rev. Darragh Griffith, Holy Family's pastor. "The richness of the Eucharist encompasses everything and it's a privilege to celebrate this gift, including God's people and nature."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Northeast Cobb