Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church

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Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church, sometimes abbreviated OLS, is Birmingham’s second-oldest Catholic church. It was established to serve Birmingham's German-speaking Catholic community. Its first building, a small wooden church, was erected in 1889 on the southwest corner of 6th Avenue South and 14th Street South. in 1903 the cornerstone was laid for a permanent redbrick building trimmed with white stone. This was completed in 1905.

The church building burned in March 1949 and the congregation moved to 1728 Oxmoor Road in Homewood. The current church building was designed by Birmingham architect Charles McCauley, it hosted its first service on Christmas Day 1959 and the building was dedicated on January 17, 1960. Pictorial stained glass windows were added to the church in 1991. They were designed by Betti Studio of Evanston, Illinois.

The former location was rebuilt as Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church. After Our Lady of Fatima relocated to Titusville in 1971 the Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery was also relocated to the Titusville campus.

Our Lady of Sorrows Church also runs Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School, located next door to the church. The school began operation in 1951 and the school auditorium served as the church for the eight years before the current building was completed in 1959.

Pastors

External Links

References

  • Lovett, Rose Gibbons. (1980) The Catholic Church in the Deep South: The Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama, 1540-1976 Birmingham: Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama
  • Schnorrenberg, John M. and Janice Ford-Freeman (1999) Walking Tours of Birmingham Churches Conducted from 1990 to 1999. Privately printed for the Birmingham Historical Society.
  • Summe, Sheryl Spradling. (2001). Homewood: The Life of a City. Homewood, AL: Friends of the Homewood Public Library.