About Blessed Sacrament · Birmingham, Alabama
Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church is a parish in Birmingham, Alabama's historic West End neighborhood, founded in 1911 by eleven Catholic women who wanted a church and a school in their own community. The parish belongs to the Diocese of Birmingham and worships at a 1930 Renaissance-revival church built of buff brick with a Romanesque interior — listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. Today Blessed Sacrament is distinguished in the diocese as a bilingual English-Latin parish, offering the Traditional Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form) every Sunday and on First Saturdays, alongside an English Sunday Mass. Its pastor is Rev. Jim W. Booth, the 13th pastor, who arrived in 2010 and was instrumental in anchoring a weekly Latin Mass at the parish.
- Established
- 1911
- Patron
- Blessed Sacrament (the Most Holy Eucharist / Body of Christ)
- Rector
- Rev. Jim W. Booth
- Diocese
- Diocese of Birmingham (in Alabama)
Why belong here
Blessed Sacrament offers something rare in central Alabama: a traditional Catholic parish where English and the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Mass are both celebrated every Sunday, plus weekday Masses in both forms. The parish is small but active, with weekly fellowship after the 10:45 a.m. Latin Mass on third Sundays, a Martha and Mary Band, a Latin-Mass choir, ongoing food drives supporting the Franciscan Poor of Jesus Christ, and ongoing preparation for First Communion and Confirmation through the Director of Religious Education. Tucked into a historic 1930 Renaissance-revival church on Pearson Avenue SW — itself on the National Register of Historic Places — it is a welcoming community for visitors, with a straightforward invitation to register using a parish census form found in the vestibule.
Mass times at Blessed Sacrament
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:30–3:55 p.m.
- Sunday 7:00–7:25 a.m.
- Sunday 8:30–8:55 a.m.
- Sunday 10:15–10:40 a.m.
- First Saturday 8:00 a.m. (before the 8:30 a.m. Latin Mass)
Adoration times
- First Friday: Adoration and Benediction following the 8:30 a.m. English Mass
- Morning with Mary (Saturday devotion): Adoration begins 8:30 a.m., confessions during adoration, Benediction 9:10 a.m., Latin Mass 9:15 a.m.
Welcome to Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church
Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Birmingham, Alabama, is a parish of the Diocese of Birmingham rooted in the historic West End neighborhood. The parish takes John 10:10 as its motto — 'I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly' — and welcomes visitors warmly, inviting anyone interested in joining to pick up a parish census form in the vestibule at the back of the church. Mass is offered every day of the week in either English or the Traditional Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form), making Blessed Sacrament distinctive in the Birmingham area for its bilingual English–Latin liturgical life.
Parish History
Blessed Sacrament was established in 1911 by eleven Catholic women of the West End who had been traveling into downtown Birmingham to attend Mass at St. Paul's. Their organizing energy — first as the Catholic Ladies Club (1910), then the Catholic Women's Club of West End — raised funds, recruited the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, and built the parish's first 'Little White Frame Church.' Reverend Patrick Turner celebrated the first Mass on August 7, 1911, in a room over West End Drug Store. A 1930 Renaissance-revival church, designed after the churches of Ravenna, Italy and built with faith surviving even the 1929 Stock Market Crash, became the present home of the parish.
- Jan. 17, 1910: Eleven women form the Catholic Ladies Club to build a church in West End.
- Aug. 7, 1911: First Mass offered in the Odd Fellows Hall above West End Drug Store.
- Oct. 1911: 'Little White Frame Church' completed; first High Mass sung at midnight Christmas Eve 1911.
- Sept. 2, 1913: Blessed Sacrament Academy (parish school) opens — first Catholic high school in Birmingham.
- Feb. 17, 1930: First Mass in the present church; dedicated by Bishop Thomas J. Toolen on Feb. 23, 1930.
- June 1, 1980: Parish school closes after 67 years.
- Dec. 16, 2010: Church placed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage Property.
- July 21, 2015: Church listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Our Building: A Renaissance-Revival Church on Pearson Avenue
The current church was designed by Mobile architects John J. Carey and Paul F. Dowling in a Renaissance idiom drawn especially from the churches of Ravenna, Italy — a buff-brick exterior paired with a Romanesque-style interior. Construction began in fall 1928 and the Stock Market Crash of 1929 left the interior, by necessity, largely unadorned, with frosted windows. To help complete it, Bishop Thomas J. Toolen of Mobile donated the high altar and two side altars from the 1850 interior of the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mobile. The high altar was damaged in transit, but the side altars — dedicated to the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph — survive and are preserved as relics of the former Diocese of Mobile. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 21, 2015.
Our School: Blessed Sacrament Academy, 1913–1980
Father Patrick Turner's very first project alongside building the church was to recruit a religious order to run a school. He invited the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (now the Sisters of the Most Holy Sacrament), and Mother Augustine returned to Birmingham in 1911 — fulfilling a tradition that she had tossed a sacred medal on the property near Elyton Station back in 1881, asking the Virgin Mary to let her return and establish a convent there. Bishop Edward P. Allen laid the cornerstone of the convent and school on October 27, 1912, and the Academy opened on September 2, 1913, with Father Turner as its first principal. The school was the first Catholic high school in Birmingham, was affiliated with the Catholic University of America, and was accredited by the Alabama Department of Education. It was converted to an elementary school in 1948 and closed June 1, 1980, after 67 years. The Academy building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 28, 1980.
- Founded 1911; opened 1913 as first Catholic high school in Birmingham
- Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (now Sisters of the Most Holy Sacrament) — first and last Catholic school operated by the order in the U.S.
- Converted to elementary school 1948; closed 1980
- Academy building added to National Register of Historic Places 1980
Sacraments
Baptisms are scheduled by appointment through the pastor. First Communion and Confirmation are prepared through the Director of Religious Education; First Communion has been scheduled annually on Gaudete Sunday, with first-confession opportunities in the weeks leading up to it. Marriage arrangements must be made with the pastor at least six months in advance, are offered to active parishioners only, and the parish specifically does not host destination weddings. The parish prays regularly for diocesan seminarians and supports vocations through the Diocese of Birmingham's Office of Vocations.
Parish Ministries and Organizations
Blessed Sacrament's ministries flow from its founding story — the Catholic Ladies Club of 1910 (later the Catholic Women's Club of West End) and the Altar Society organized in 1912 are still part of the parish's life. Active groups today include the Latin Mass choir, the Martha and Mary Band (prayer and service group), altar-server training (on First Saturdays), and parish-hall fellowship with food after the 10:45 a.m. Latin Mass on the third Sunday of each month. The parish continues an ongoing food drive benefiting the Franciscan Poor of Jesus Christ (a ministry to the homeless) and a local food bank.
- Catholic Women's Club of West End (founded 1910 as the Catholic Ladies Club)
- Altar Society (organized 1912)
- Latin Mass choir and Martha and Mary Band
- Altar-server training on First Saturdays
- Food drive for the Franciscan Poor of Jesus Christ and a local food bank
- Parish-hall fellowship after the 10:45 a.m. Latin Mass on third Sundays
Faith Formation
Faith formation for children is directed by the parish's Director of Religious Education, who coordinates preparation for First Communion and Confirmation. Recent bulletin notices show First Communion scheduled annually on Gaudete Sunday (mid-March), with First Confession opportunities provided in the weeks leading up to it and a Saturday rehearsal before the ceremony.
Outreach and Charity
The most visible current outreach effort is the ongoing food drive begun in Lent and continued year-round, benefitting the Franciscan Poor of Jesus Christ — a community with a ministry to the homeless — and a local food bank. The drive is coordinated by Shannon Dunaway and by Steve and Brandy Katona. The parish also prays for the diocesan seminarians and supports vocations events hosted by the Diocese of Birmingham's Office of Vocations.
Visiting and Joining the Parish
Visitors are warmly welcomed: 'We are glad you have attended Mass with us. To join Blessed Sacrament, please pick up a parish census form in the vestibule at the back of the church.' The parish office can be reached at (205) 785-9840 or [email protected].
Contact
Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church is located at 1460 Pearson Ave. SW, Birmingham, AL 35211. The phone number is (205) 785-9840, and the office email is [email protected]. The parish maintains a website at www.myblessedsacrament.org and a presence on Facebook linked from the contact page.
- Address: 1460 Pearson Ave. SW, Birmingham, AL 35211
- Phone: (205) 785-9840
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.myblessedsacrament.org
- Facebook: linked from official contact page
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Patrick Turner1911–
First pastor; appointed by Bishop Edward P. Allen of Mobile in August 1911; celebrated first Mass for 150 people in a room over West End Drug Store; first principal of Blessed Sacrament Academy.
- Rev. (name not specified in parish history; sources list 'Father Flynn' and 'Father White' as concelebrants at the 50th anniversary)
Pastors between Turner and Tobin are referenced in parish history; the second pastor is not named on the public history page.
- Rev. Walter J. Tobin1927–
Third pastor (appointed October 1927); commissioned the present Renaissance-style church; celebrated its first Mass on February 17, 1930.
- Father MacCarthy
Main celebrant of the 50th anniversary Mass on February 24, 1980, with Father Flynn and Father White concelebrating.
- Father Jose
Helped provide a home for the occasional celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass and the Syro-Malabar Mass at the parish.
- Rev. Jim W. Booth2010–present
Appointed permanent administrator in July 2010; named 13th pastor in 2015; arrived in time to help prepare the parish's 100th anniversary; established the Latin Mass as a permanent weekly offering in Birmingham, bringing significant revitalization to the parish.