St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church

The Catholic population in Metro Atlanta was blessed when the most Reverend Gerald P. O’Hara, Bishop of the combined diocese of Atlanta-Savannah, in a letter dated Sept. 17, 1952, appointed the Rev. Fr. George T. Daly as first pastor for the Catholic community in Hapeville, Georgia. This was made possible in the spring of 1952 with the encouraging results from the census survey requested by the Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Savannah – Atlanta, the most Reverend Francis E. Hyland. That survey revealed that South Metro Atlanta has more than 800 Catholic families with 101 Catholic families in Hapeville alone.  The city of Hapeville assisted the Catholic congregation by giving permission to use their recreation center for celebration of Sunday and Holyday Liturgies. The creation of St. John the Evangelist’s church began with the contribution of a valuable piece of property for the Church by Mrs. John K. Kuhn.  On May 28, 1952, the 8.5 acre property between Sunset Avenue and I-75 along Arnold Street was purchased as a gift by the Rev. Joseph R. Smith, pastor of St. Anthony’s. With hard work and several fund raisers by the determined initial Catholic congregation, building of a Catholic church progressed, encouraged on Sept. 7, 1953 with the announcement by Bishop Hyland that the Sisters of Mercy has agreed to send four sisters for the parish school. The first Mass at the newly built church was celebrated on August 8, 1954 with Rev. Fr. George T. Daly, the first pastor.  The church was consecrated by Bishop Hyland on October 10, 1954.  St. John’s school opened on September 1, 1954 with Sr. Mary Alberta, principal and Sr. Mary Jude, Sr. Mary Assumpta and Sr. Dolores Marie.  By this time, the church population had grown to about 523 families. On January 5, 1960, St. John’s was saddened by the sudden death of their first pastor, Fr. Daly.  Fr. John O’Shea was soon assigned as the second pastor of St. John’s Church. During his twelve years of service, the rectory on Sunset Avenue and the convent on Arnold Street were built and were dedicated in 1965.  In 1972, St. John’s welcomed its third pastor, Rev. Richard B. Morrow.  During his time, the parish became the center for growing Vietnamese community in Atlanta, further encouraged in 1976 when Rev. Francis Phuoung joined St. John’s.