A Conversation With. . .
Our Lady of Lourdes, 100 Years and Counting
Celebrating a tradition of social justice.
OLD FOURTH WARD — There's a saying that Sundays remain the most segregated day of the week in Atlanta. But one house of worship, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, seems to have bucked that trend, boasting a multi-racial and multi-generational congregation that draws parishioners from across metro Atlanta. It's a bit of a shift from the church's original mission since its founding almost 101 years ago. As the first church for black Catholics in Atlanta, it was founded at a time when social customs and norms of the day barred them from attending Mass at white churches. So the Rev. Ignatius Lissner a member of the the Society of African Missions, sought to build a church and enlisted the help of Jack J. Spalding, the prominent attorney who…
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