OLS Church History

Church History

Pastors of The Parish

Church of the Madonna

Father Samuel A Stritch	1915 to 1916
Father J.P. Whitfield	1916 to 1932

Our Sorrowful Mother

*Father Lucius Hellster, O.F.M.*	*1938 to 1942*
*Father Natalis Wellner, O.F.M.*	*1942 to 1948*

Our Lady of Sorrows

*Father Francis P. Pack*	*1948 to 1956*
*Father Francis A. McRedmond*	*1956 to 1967*
*Father James J. Driscoll*	*1967 to 1974*
*Father James W. Murphy*	*1974 to 1979*
*Father Thomas N. Taylor*	*1979 to 1984*
*Father Joseph L. Paolozzi, Administrator*	*1984 to 1985*
*Father Joseph L. Paolozzi*	*1985 to 1987*
*Father Richard M . Gantert*	*1987 to 2000*
*Father James J. Martell*	*2000 to 2006*
*Father Bryan Timby*	*2007 to present*

† † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † † †

"Father Stritch, who was eventually elevated to the rank of Cardinal, was instructed to see about a church
and school to serve the Catholics at "Frayser Station" in 1915.

In the following year Mass was celebrated in a stable and later a borrowed building. In 1926, the
Church of the Madonna was completed on a tract of land donated by the Fracchia family.

Two Dominican Sisters from Nashville opened Madonna School which was in operation until the
Depression of the thrities.

In 1932 the Most Reverend Alphonsus J. Smith invited the Poor Clares to come and occupy the closed school
classrooms and convent. An external chapel at the site accommodated parishioners from 1932-1939.

Most Reverend William L. Adrian dedicated a new church, Our Sorrowful Mother, located near the intersection
of Highway 51 and Millington Road in 1939.

In 1945 the school reopened with an enrollment of twenty-four Catholics and twenty-four non-Catholics. It was staffed by
Sister Ruth Virginia Sampson and Sister Lucina Abell, Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Kentucky. The dedication of this
community was physically present in the parish until 1989.

The crypt of our present church was dedicated under the new name of Our Lady of Sorrows on January 19, 1950 by the
Most Reverend William L. Adrian, Bishop of Nashville.

The present church, which was built above the crypt was dedicated April 30, 1957. This same year, Frayser was
incorporated into the city of Memphis. The parish had expanded to over nineteen hundred parishioners. The school
enrollment reached five hundred.

Due to the post-war growth explosion in this area in the sixties, a six classroom wing and a two story convent were
constructed adjacent to the school. The land was donated by the Alexander family.

In the light of Vatican II, a C.C.D. program, a Parish Council, and a School Board were established. To further
implement Vatican II, laity were appointed to distribute communion and to help in planning the liturgies.

A new all purpose gym and two classrooms were dedicated February 10, 1974.

What was once a parish, originally areas serviced by O.L.S., Covington, (St. Alphonsus), Dyersburg (Holy Angels)
and Millington (St. Williams) is now four parishes. Under the guidance and efforts of the priests, the dedications
of the Sisters, the continued support of the Laity, and prayers of all, Our Lady of Sorrows still serves the spiritual
needs of the immediate community and beyond.

REFERENCES
All Purpose Gymnasium and Classroom Building
Dr. William M. Marking, 1974

Annals of Sisters of Charity of Nazareth