NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE OF KNOXVILLE
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Century of ‘giants’: 100 years for Holy Ghost Church North Knoxville parish celebrates a vast history on the centennial of its 1926 building By Dan McWilliams
JIM RICHMOND
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‘Happy anniversary’ to Holy Ghost Bishop Mark Beckman blesses a rosary for parishioner Nick Caldarola after Mass on April 26 at Holy Ghost Church, one day after the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the 1926 edifice. Looking on is Charles Chandler, who was baptized in 1939 at the North Knoxville church. where easels displayed architect’s renderings for the renovation of Holy Ghost’s original church that stands next door (see story on page B3) in “Happy Holler,” as the neighborhood of the two buildings on Central Street is known.
‘Happy anniversary’
Father Orr was joined at the 100th-anniversary Mass on April 25 by associate pastor Father Valentin Iurochkin and parish Deacon Gordy Lowery. “Buona festa a tutti—happy, happy anniversary,” Father Orr said as he began his homily. “This June, I’ll be 25 years a priest. That means this church is 75 years older than me. I was so happy in 2008—Monsignor Mankel let me come over here, and we did a 100th-anniversary Mass
BILL BREWER
he “Cathedral of Happy Holler” experienced one of its happiest weekends ever on April 25-26 as Holy Ghost Church in North Knoxville celebrated the 100th anniversary of its 1926 building. The church of Norman Gothic design, one of the most beautiful in the diocese—or, as Holy Ghost parishioners might say, anywhere— was dedicated on April 25, 1926. Pastor Father John Orr presided at a Novus Ordo Mass in Latin on the exact day of the centennial, saying in his homily that the priests and parishioners today stand “on the shoulders of giants” who came before them in the last century. And on the following morning, Bishop Mark Beckman celebrated the 10 a.m. Mass, marking Good Shepherd Sunday, as the Fourth Sunday of Easter is called. Bishop Beckman, Knoxville’s fourth shepherd, has ties to two of the giants in Holy Ghost and diocesan history in Father Albert Henkel and Monsignor Xavier Mankel. Father Henkel was dubbed the “Bishop of Hinton Street” as he served as pastor of Holy Ghost for an amazing 38 years, and Monsignor Mankel served as pastor in Happy Holler from 1997-2014 after earlier assignments there as an associate pastor as a young priest. A dinner following the Mass on April 25 took place in Henkel Hall in Holy Ghost’s basement. Pictures of Bishop Beckman and all previous pastors of the parish, which was founded in 1908, along with Father Orr’s photo, were placed on the walls of the parish hall along with historical photos and trivia displays. It was no surprise that the high scorer in a 20-question trivia contest at the dinner was 87-year Holy Ghost parishioner Charles Chandler, baptized at the church in 1939. Music from a Holy Ghost men’s choir recording dating to the 1960s played during the dinner in the hall’s Pope John Paul II Room,
Celebratory dining Holy Ghost pastor Father John Orr (right), associate pastor Father Valentin Iurochkin, and parishioner Alice Handley enjoy a meal in Henkel Hall on April 25 following the 100th-anniversary Mass.
Holy Ghost 100th continued on page B3
Peace, unity, and love By Emily Booker
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he Knoxville Diocesan Council of Catholic Women (KDCCW) held its spring event for women of the diocese, “Peace, Unity, and Love,” on April 18 at St. Mary Church in Athens, co-hosted by the Chattanooga and Smoky Mountain deaneries. The event drew more than 240 women from all corners of the diocese for a day of praying, learning, music, and fellowship. The day began with the annual Mass of Remembrance, honoring the women of the diocese who died in the past year. Monsignor Al Humbrecht, pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Soddy-Daisy, celebrated the Mass, with Father Christopher Manning, pastor of St. Mary, and Father Dan Whitman, chaplain for the KDCCW, concelebrating. In his homily, Monsignor Humbrecht noted how the early Church still serves as a model for the Church today.
“During the Easter season, as we read through so much of the Acts of the Apostles, the experiences of the early Christian community, it’s so much modeled for us still today. Remember this past Sunday, we had one of those idealized summaries of life in the early Church, that they devoted themselves to prayer, to the teaching of the Apostles, to the common life, holding things in common and going up for the hours of prayer.” But the early Church also experienced tensions and had to find resolutions to rising problems, he noted. “The Hellenists, the Greeks, are complaining that their widows are not being given the same attention as the Hebrew widows,” he said. “So, the Twelve, rather than saying ‘Here’s the rule, here’s what we’re going to do,’ called the assembly together. Listened to the people and called the assembly together and said, ‘We’ve got an issue … so we need a solution. So, we’re going to ask you, the community, the people
EMILY BOOKER
Women’s event at St. Mary Church in Athens showcases CCW growth in the Chattanooga Deanery
‘Inspiration for the younger generation’ KDCCW president Karen Meiring presents the 2026 Knoxville Diocesan Golden Rose to Karen Amayo Castro, a parishioner of Our Lady of Fatima in Alcoa. of God, to help fix it.’” The Church selected seven men as the first deacons, dedicated to addressing the issues in their community. “I think it’s so much where we are moving in the direction in the
Church today, of listening to the people of God and then finding a direction,” Monsignor Humbrecht said. He encouraged the attendees to be active and be deliberate in listening to where God wants them to KDCCW continued on page B7