Atlanta may seem a curious destination for Catholic travelers. As the biggest city in the Deep South and overwhelmingly Protestant, the offerings for Catholic travelers to Atlanta are indeed limited. Nonetheless, it is worth traveling to the city to experience its many unique attractions and to treat it as a launch pad to some unique Catholic destinations that are an easy day trip away.
Downtown Atlanta
Atlanta is one of the capitals of the so-called “New South” with modern museums, restaurants and a host of cultural attractions. Popular attractions include the Georgia Aquarium with its six million gallons of water; the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site covering the neighborhood where the greatest civil rights leader grew up; the World of Coca Cola; the CNN Center; the Centennial Olympic Park; the Atlanta History Center; the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library; the College Football Hall of Fame; and the ride the gondola to the top of the incredible Stone Rock Park just outside the city, for unforgettable views of Atlanta emerging from the forest canopy that surrounds it.
Immaculate Conception Shrine
While Ebenezer Baptist Church, where MLK preached, is by far the most well known church in downtown Atlanta, it is not the only one. The Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is the oldest Catholic parish in Atlanta. Up until its establishment in 1849, the small Catholic population was confined to celebrating mass in private homes. This church, and its pastor, also played a unique role during the Civil War.
The Battle of Atlanta was a critical battle fought in the summer of 1864, in which the Union forces led by General Sherman gained control of the second largest city in the Confederacy; a battle that gave Union forces in the south strategic advantage, renewed morale in the North and arguably contributed to the re-election of President Lincoln. There were close to 10,000 war dead in this campaign and the Union forces pursued a scorched earth policy, determined to burn Atlanta to the ground. Into the breach stepped, a most remarkable southern priest, Father Thomas O’Reilly, the pastor of Immaculate Conception parish. Fr. O’Reilly interceded directly with General Sherman to save the church and four other Protestant churches nearby from being burned. Perhaps scared by the threat that the Catholics among his troops would revolt at the burning of the church, Sherman agreed to O’Reilly’s request and these five buildings were spared.
Fr. O’Reilly is buried in the crypt underneath the church and the Shrine displays a number of artifacts dating from the Civil War period. There is also a marble monument to the courageous priest in front of Atlanta City Hall, which was erected in 1945 and financed by the five churches saved by his intervention. As for General Sherman, although he was not a baptized Catholic, his son became a priest!
Another church worth visiting in the downtown is the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was the first basilica in the State of Georgia. The plaque within the vestibule commemorates that St. Teresa of Calcutta attended mass here in 1995, during her visit to Atlanta in which her powerful example touched the souls of thousands in the city. St. Teresa had come to the city to open the Gift of Grace House, where her Missionaries of Charity minister to homeless women with HIV/AIDS.
Conyers – Holy Spirit Monastery
A short drive southeast outside of Atlanta is the town of Conyers, which is home to a famous Trappist community: the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. Twenty one Cistercian monks, who follow the Rule of St. Benedict, settled in Conyers in 1944 after making the journey from their monastery in Kentucky to establish a new community in what at the time was a rural outpost in the Georgia wilderness. The migration from Kentucky was in part due to a vocations boom following World War II, in which the Kentucky abbey was simply not large enough to accommodate the increase in vocations. The magnificent church in Conyers took 15 years to build, and for some time, the monks lived in a simple barn on the property. It also took several years for the monks to gain acceptance in this region of Georgia, coming under suspicion in their early years.
While the opportunity to join the monks for prayer or mass inside the massive concrete abbey is the high point of any trip to Conyers, that is not the only reason to visit. There is also a Monastic Heritage Center on the ground that is a museum-like experience giving visitors a peek into the monastic life. The monastery grounds are lined with meditation paths and a serene lakeside setting. From the monastery grounds, you can also connect to almost thirty miles of scenic trails through the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area. The monks are engaged in a number of trades to sustain their livelihood, including manufacture of stained glass, gardening of bonsai trees, and the delectable treats made in their bakery, including their biscotti, fudge and fruit cake. There is a full gift shop and cafe where you can indulge.
Speaking of food, Old Town Conyers is a picturesque stop on your way out from the monastery. It has a charming main street, which can even double in films for New Orleans’ French Quarter, and some lovely restaurants serving up traditional southern home cooking.
Jonesboro, Georgia
About twenty minutes southwest of Atlanta is Jonesboro. Today, it is almost singularly known as the setting for the world-famous book and film, Gone with the Wind. The Road to Tara Museum captures this story and everything you need to know about this incredible American story.
Often overlooked today, Jonesboro was also the site of a major civil war battle during the advance of Sherman’s forces on Atlanta. It was here that the first Catholic chaplain to serve in an American military lost his life in battle. That chaplain was Father Emmeran Bliemel, who served with the Confederate forces. He had run onto the battlefield to tend to a dying colonel and hear his last confession; as Fr. Bliemiel was raising his hand to provide absolution, he was killed by a union shell. Initially buried in Jonesboro, he was later re-interred in northern Alabama. A memorial to Fr. Bliemel is found in front of the historic Jonesboro courthouse.
Northern Alabama – Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Ave Maria Grotto, EWTN
About two and a half hours from metro Atlanta are the towns of Cullman and Hanceville. Both of these northern Alabama towns offer unique pilgrimage sites.
In Cullman is Ave Maria Grotto, a most unique pilgrimage destination in the United States. Located in a former stone quarry on the grounds of St. Bernard Abbey (a Benedictine monastery), the grotto consists of a set of miniature replicas of famous Catholic sites from Italy, the Holy Land, and elsewhere constructed out of spare materials, concrete and stone, strictly using hand tools. Remarkably, they were constructed by an 80 year old Benedictine monk who lived at the Abbey in the 1930s. They now attract thousands of visitors annually. Visitors to the grotto are welcome to spend the night in the Abbey’s guesthouse and/or join the Benedictine monks for mass and praying the divine office throughout the day.
In nearby Hanceville, about nine miles from Cullman, is the Franciscan Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament and the grounds of the Our Lady of the Angels Monastery, founded by EWTN’s Mother Angelica. The Monastery is home to the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, the cloistered order founded in the 1960s by Mother Angelica. The shrine is set on 400 acres of farmland and its exterior is built to resemble the grand Franciscan churches that dot the Tuscan countryside. The Shrine is where EWTN typically broadcasts its Sunday mass and it is a gilded shrine to honor Jesus in the most blessed sacrament. A pilgrimage to the shrine is typically paired with a visit to the EWTN television studios in Irondale. Here, visitors are able to attend tapings of some of the live audience shows produced by EWTN. Arrangements can be made through the pilgrimage office of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
Chickamauga Battlefield & Chattanooga
Chickamaunga was the first major Union defeat in the western theater and had the second highest number of casualties in the entire Civil War after Gettysburg. It was also the first Civil War battle site in Georgia. Today, the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park provides over 10,000 acres of historic battlefields to explore as well as a few indoor exhibits, including the impressive small arms display at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitors Center.
It is a short drive across the state line to Chattanooga, Tennessee; one of America’s most scenic riverfront cities. Chattanooga is home to the only Basilica in the state of Tennessee, the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. Established in 1852, it is a lovely basilica and its side altars make available a rotating collection of relics for veneration, from the Basilica’s collection of over 80 authenticated relics.
As of July 2021, the Basilica will house the tomb of Servant of God Fr. Patrick Ryan. Fr. Ryan was a heroic local priest who died from yellow fever during a late nineteenth century outbreak in Chattanooga. While most of the city fled or isolated themselves, Fr. Ryan insisted on going door to door tending to the spiritual need of his flock and discarding the health risks it posed to him. He ultimately contracted the disease and died in the midst of the outbreak. His cause for canonization was recently opened and if successful, would make him the first native Tennessean to be canonized.
CATHOLIC CONCIERGE 
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