hen the Vincentian Fathers came to East Alabama at the request of
Bishop Allen of Mobile in 1910, they selected
Opelika as their headquarters because "no city of the South has better railroad facilities, is more convenient for
transportation, and has better connection with the surrounding country." 1 "From this little town",
wrote Father Joseph McKey to his friends up North, "the priests will radiate through their assigned territory of
ten counties covering six thousand square miles." 2. One of the towns visited from the beginning
was Lanett where there was the third largest number of Catholics in the mission district -- 12 in the town and 2 in
the outskirts, out of 114 in the vast overall territory. 3
n 1913, Mass was celebrated once a month in Lanett4 and in 1915 it had its own church. Catholics
from West Point and LaGrange were part of the congreation; indeed, LaGrange was thus served until 1937 when it
was assigned its own priest5 and Lanett's first pastor, Father Eugene Snyder, made occasional visits
there.6.
he cornerstone laying of Holy Family Church was noted by an obviously local newpaper: "After services at
Lanier's Hall Sunday morning, the congregation marched to the site of the new Catholic Church on Croft Hill
where the brick work of the edifice has been completed, and Father J. P. McKey, of Opelika, with impressive
ceremony assisted by Mr. Decker, the contractor, and Jim Merna, laid the cornerstone of the first Catholic Church
for the Twin Cities."7 Merna's father, William Merna, Sr., was the true pioneer of the Lanett Catholic
community. When Mass was first offered once a month, the Merna parlor was the gathering place; on the other
three Sundays he took his family by train to hear Mass in Montgomery, 90 miles away.8 It is
therefore noted with justice that "the date of 1915 is not a correct timing of the beginning of the Holy Family
Church, as long before the present church was built, members met in homes for Mass with priests coming by train
from as far away as Montgomery to hold the Mass."9 This could not have been frequently,
however, due to the scarcity of priests and the distance involved; indeed, such is evident from the Merna family's
regularly scheduled trips to Montgomery.
oly Family Church, built "on the highest elevation of the village" was formally dedicated by Bishop Allen on April 11, 1915. Celebrant of the Mass was Father J. P. Molyneaux, second superior of the Vincentians in Alabama, and the sermon was preached by Father William Kerrigan of the Mobile Diocese who was president of the McGill's Institute in Mobile.10 On the morning of the dedication 10 children made their First Communion at the 7 o'clock Mass. On that day also, two present members of the parish, Sue Simmons and Ethel Mulherin, began their lifelong commitment to Holy Family.11 The new church was hailed as true to its name, "a monument of undying family love" because of the generosity of two other sisters, Susanna Heraty and Mary Rossiter of Germantown, Philadelphia, who built it "in memory of their dear departed brother, Mr. J. P. Hand."12 The good women also donated "altar candlesticks and candelabra, silver and gold chalice, ciborium and ostensorium."13 The sanctuary lamp was the gift of Father Shannon, pastor of St. Francis Xavier Church, Philadelphia.14
ather Molyneaux died on November 8 that same year at the Hotel Dieu, the Daughters of Charity Hospital in New Orleans; he was mourned as a father to his people, a wise and loving superior, the builder of two churches, Holy Family, Lanett, and St. Vincent's, Salem.15 He also apparently built well, for when a cyclone devastated West Point on May 28, 1920, the Lanett church was the least damaged in the area, repairs coming to a total of $2.50.
he parish's first official pastor and longest in point of service was Father Eugene Snyder who served from 1927 to 1945. He was succeeded by the first resident pastor, Father John Kind (1945-1952). They were followed by Father Paul Loeffler (1952-1956), Joseph Hill (1956-1960), James Salway (1960-1970), Francis McCormack (1970-1978), Joseph Symes (1978-1980), Gerard Conroy (1980-1982), William Casey (1982-1988), Walter Menig (1988-1994), and Martin McGeough, the present pastor.
he Opelika house diary records on March 13, 1947, that "Father King left our happy midst to take up residence at Lanett."17 Parish growth to 80 souls had dictated the move. The house and property adjoining the church had been purchased and renovated to "provide office and living quarters for the resident priest and a hall for the parish."18 Known for years as the Coffee house, home of the Coffee family, the new parish house was originally the Claude Melton house.19 Three days after Father King's arrival, the parishioners in true neighborly fashion gave him a linen shower. The following week, March 24, 1947, Bishop Toolen blessed Holy Family rectory, spoke to the parishioners assembled in the curch and made them a gift of $500.20
y 1951 the number of parishioners had risen to 150.21 The Vincentian Sisters of Charity came every Saturday from Mother Mary Mission in Phenix City to instruct the children in their faith and their efforts were supported by the Daughters of Charity who came every summer from New Orleans to conduct a four-week religious summer school.22 These latter were succeeded in future years by Daughters of Charity of the Emmitsburg Province. Two Daughters of Charity from the Evansville Province have served the parish as Directors of Religious Education. They were Sister Therese and Sister Arlene. Presently the parish is served in this capacity by Deacon Donald Canonica.
ather King's missionary efforts included a fifteen minute talk every Saturday for years over the local radio station,23 and the establishment of a permanent mission in Roanoke, where on January 28, 1950, he offered the first Mass attended by 13 people in the home of Top Sergeant Courtney, local recruiting officer for the Air Force.24 Father Paul Loeffler later procured a house which he renovated to serve as the present church of the Immaculate Conception.25
ather Salway furnished Holy Family with new Stations of the Cross and a new baptismal font.26 Shortly after Father McCormack arrived in Lanett, he remodeled the interior of the church with new carpeting and pews and a new altar. Just before he left in 1978, an expansion of the church to double its capacity was completed at a cost of $45,000 (the original church had cost $4,500!).27 In 1984, a confessional/reconcilation room was installed.
oly Family Parish's extensive area and unusual state border location gives it a unique distinction which was noted -- not necessarily with ecclesiastical or canonical precision -- by a Columbus newpaper reporter in 1977:
"Due to increase in church membership, the dioceses in Alabama and Georgia have been divided. The dividing line in both states cuts in half the section included in Holy Family. Because of this, Holy Family Catholic Church in Lanett is one of the few in four counties, two states, and four dioceses, Savannah, Atlanta, Mobile, and Birmingham."28
- The Marian, 1910.
- Benefactor's Certificated, St. Mary's Mission House, Ala.
- ASMMH.
- The Marian, 1913.
- St. Mary's Mission, 1946.
- Virginia Smith, Ledger-Enquirer East Alabama TODAY, March 24, 1977.
- Newspaper Clipping, unidentified, n.d., prob. early in 1915, since the average time between the cornerstone laying and dedication of the mission churches was two months.
- Virginia Smith, op. cit.
- Ibid.
- ASMMH, Press Release, Sunday, April 11, 1915.
- Virginia Smith, op. cit.
- ASMMH, Press Release, Sunday, April 11, 1915.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- ASMMH.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Harris Nader, quoted in Ledger-Enquirer East Alabama TODAY, September 28, 1978.
- ASMMH.
- Joseph F. Konen, op. cit.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- ASMMH.
- Virginia Smith, Ledger-Enquirer East Alabama TODAY, September 28, 1977.
- ACM.
- Virginia Smith, Ledger-Enquirer East Alabama TODAY.
- Virginia Smith, Ledger-Enquirer East Alabama TODAY, March 24, 1977.
