The first Catholic Church

in Fayette County has grown from 55 families in 1973 to

2,600 families in 1999.

The church feels privileged

to have had eight pastors over its 26 years, and the

current one is the Rev. John Walsh, who was born and

reared in Ireland.

The congregation has built

and re-built a sanctuary, office facilities, an

all-purpose social/education hall and a rectory with a

basement chapel to meet the needs brought on by the rapid

increase in the number of parishioners.

It has just conducted a

First Communicants ceremony in which 160 young people

took part and a confirmation class in which 172 took

part. Recent baptisms include 37 babies and recent

marriages are seven in number.

Walsh has been with Holy

Trinity since October 1996.

He was born in County Mayo,

West Ireland and reared in Claremorris. There were four

boys and two girls in his family, of which he is the

oldest and the only one to have entered the ministry.

He first began to feel

pulled into the ministry about the age of 12. Atlanta's

bishop often visited Walsh's home town, and Walsh liked

the bishop as well as what he had to say about Atlanta.

While in seminary, Walsh spent two summers here.

He is a graduate of the

Maynooth Seminary in Ireland, with a degree in theology.

He was ordained to serve the Atlanta Diocese in 1977 and

has served churches in Stone Mountain, Hapeville, Sandy

Springs, Decatur and Conyers before coming to Peachtree

City.

Walsh tries to get home

once a year and his family have all visited Atlanta at

one time or another.

Tuesdays are spent golfing

with fellow "Irish guys" and they serve as a

support group if needed.

Church services are:

Rosary, said every Monday at 7:30 p.m. - and

Wednesday in Spanish at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday Mass schedule

is Saturday Vigil at 6 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m.

and 10:30 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m. Spanish Mass and 6 p.m.,

Life teen Mass.

The church is at 101 Walt

Banks Road, just before the McIntosh High School, and it

can be reached at 770-487-7672.

<!--

-----------