St. Mary Catholic Church is currently located at 1291 East Madison Avenue in Athens, Tennessee.  Our journey here has been interesting.

St. Mary began on April 27, 1965.  That was the day Nashville Bishop William L. Adrian said yes to the possibility of establishing a Catholic church in Athens.  The first-ever Catholic Mass in Athens took place on Sunday, June 11, 1967.  That mass was celebrated in the chapel of the Quisenberry-Laycock funeral parlor.

Monsignor Francis Pack of Chattanooga and Father Paul Hostettler of St. Therese of Lisieux Parish in Cleveland scouted the area to find a location suitable for building a chapel.   They found an abandoned restaurant hidden in four and a half acres of tall weeds on Congress Parkway.  On August 1, 1967, the Diocese of Nashville purchased the restaurant and property.  Under Father Hostettler’s direction, the restaurant was converted into a church by spring 1968.

The Athens parish began as a mission of St. Therese in Cleveland, and it was originally known as the Athens Catholic Mission.  On May 12, 1968, Bishop Durick celebrated the dedication Mass at the Congress Parkway location, and he also chose the name St. Mary for the new mission.  The parish feast day is the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated in August.

In fall 1969, Bishop Durick entrusted the pastoral care of the parish to the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.  Father Matthew J. Noonan, OMI, became the first resident priest at St. Mary.   In 1973, during Father Noonan’s tenure, a chapel was erected next to the converted restaurant.  In 1976, four CCD classrooms and an office were added to the south side of the chapel.

By 1983, the parish had outgrown its space for CCD classes.  In 1985, the Mangan-Mozur Educational Building, an eight-room building, was completed.  The building was named in honor of pastor Father Patrick Mangan, OMI and Tony Mozur, the building chairman and largest donor for it.

In fall 1986 Father Thomas J. Scanlon, OMI, became the final Oblate Father to serve as pastor of St. Mary.   In July 1987, the diocese chose the first diocesan priest for the parish.  That priest was Father Hostettler, who had celebrated the first Mass in Athens 20 years earlier.

Planning for a new church began in 1996 under pastor Father Joseph Fiedorowicz, and the current 17-acre site on Madison Avenue was purchased in 1999.  The Congress Parkway church was bursting at the seams by November 3, 2001, when pastor Father David Boettner blessed a sign marking the site of the new St. Mary Church.  

Bishop Joseph E. Kurtz, pastor Father Michael Cummins, and former pastor Father Boettner were among those using shovels March 22, 2003, as the parish broke ground for its new building.   The bishop dedicated the new 11,000-square-foot church August 14, 2004.

The Mangan-Mozur Educational Building was moved from the Congress Parkway location to the new campus. The building continues to serve as the education building as well as home to the Ladies of Charity pantry.

The new church features a rose window and eight stained-glass windows representing the mysteries of the rosary.  Another feature is the "Allene Sykes Rock." This large rock was moved from the old church grounds to the new grounds.  It is located in front of the church, and there is a bench for prayer and reflection.  The grounds also have a monument to the unborn given to the parish by the Knights of Columbus, a St. Francis of Assisi statue, the Virgin Mary's Garden in front of the rectory, and trees planted in memory of loved ones.

The latest addition began on October 3, 2011, when Bishop Richard F. Sitka, Cardinal Justin F. Rigali, and pastor Father William Oruko, AJ helped the parish break ground on a new parish family life center. The bishop dedicated the new building June 30, 2012.The parish family life center has a large event hall, a conference room, and a kitchen as well as space for youth activities.



The priests of St. Mary since its founding are:  Father Paul Hostettler, 1967-69 and 1987-93; Father Matthew Noonan, OMI, 1969-77; Father Patrick Mangan, OMI, 1977-83; Father John Leddy, OMI, 1983-86; Father Thomas Scanlon, OMI, 1986-87; Father Joseph Fiedorowicz, 1993-2000; Father David Boettner, 2000-02; Father Michael Cummins, 2002-07; Father Jim Vick, 2007-09; Father William Oruko, AJ, 2009-13; Father Randy Stice, 2013-17; Father Scott Russell, 2017-18; Father Jim Haley, CPS, 2018; Father Thomas Moser, 2018; Father John Arthur Orr, 2018-24; and Father Christopher Manning, 2024 to present.