About Holy Family · Blakely, Georgia
Holy Family Catholic Church (Iglesia Católica de la Sagrada Familia) is a small mission parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah located at 519 Arlington Avenue in Blakely, Georgia, the seat of Early County in southwest Georgia. Staffed and developed by the Glenmary Home Missioners, the parish serves eight rural counties from its two-church cluster with St. Luke in Cuthbert and ministers to an intentionally diverse community of about 44 families — including Vietnamese, Indian, and Anglo-American Catholic families, plus converts from the surrounding region. Worship is offered in English and Spanish (a Sunday 12:30 PM Mass), with a strong devotional life that includes Friday adoration, the Rosary after Mass, a live Christmas Nativity scene, an American Heritage Girls troop, and outreach through C-Hope (addiction and poverty ministry). The parish's bilingual motto is 'One Bread, One Body / Un Pan, Un Cuerpo.'
- Patron
- Holy Family (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph)
- Rector
- Father Neil Pezzulo, G.H.M. (Sacramental Minister and Canonical Moderator, appointed 2025)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah
Why belong here
Holy Family is a bilingual, multicultural Catholic home-mission parish where, despite its small size of around 44 families, the diversity — Vietnamese, Indian, Anglo, and converts — makes every Mass feel like a small slice of the universal Church. Visitors are welcomed personally with hot chocolate and cookies during Advent, given tours of the church on request, and invited into a family-oriented devotional life that includes Sunday Mass in English and Spanish, daily Mass on weekdays, Friday Eucharistic adoration, the Rosary after Mass, RCIA, a children's choir, Vacation Bible School, a puppet ministry, and an American Heritage Girls troop that doubles as a community-outreach tool. Deacon Scott Watford and the Glenmary team emphasize that the parish is a place Catholics, non-Catholics, and the unchurched can come to ask questions, be evangelized gently, and find pastoral accompaniment — including Anointing of the Sick and ministry to the dying — even in the most rural parts of southwest Georgia.
Mass times at Holy Family
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM at St. Luke, Cuthbert
- Friday 9:00 PM – 10:00 PM at Holy Family, Blakely
Adoration times
- Friday (added to parish schedule during 2022–2024 ministry of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Anna; specific hours not published)
Identity and Mission
Holy Family Catholic Church (Iglesia Católica de la Sagrada Familia) describes itself with the bilingual motto 'One Bread, One Body / Un Pan, Un Cuerpo' and the prayer 'Ut unum sint' — 'that they may be one.' It is a Glenmary Home Missioners parish of the Diocese of Savannah, in the Albany Deanery, located in Blakely, the seat of Early County, Georgia. The parish and its sister mission St. Luke, Cuthbert, together serve eight counties of southwest Georgia, an intentional home-mission strategy aimed at bringing the Catholic faith to areas where Catholics are a small minority.
Worship Schedule
Sunday Mass is offered in English at 10:00 AM and in Spanish at 12:30 PM. The Saturday Vigil is celebrated at 6:00 PM at St. Luke, Cuthbert (a designated mission site within the cluster). Daily Mass is at 8:30 AM Monday through Friday, with Liturgy of the Word and Communion services on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Confessions are heard 4:30–5:30 PM on Saturday at St. Luke, Cuthbert, and 9:00–10:00 PM on Friday at Holy Family.
- Saturday Vigil: 6:00 PM (English) at St. Luke, Cuthbert
- Sunday: 10:00 AM (English), 12:30 PM (Spanish)
- Monday–Friday: 8:30 AM Mass; Tues/Wed/Thurs as Liturgy of the Word and Communion
- Confession: Saturday 4:30–5:30 PM (St. Luke, Cuthbert); Friday 9:00–10:00 PM (Holy Family)
Devotions and Sacramental Life
Beyond the Sunday and weekday Mass schedule, Holy Family maintains a small but lively devotional life shaped by its Glenmary missionaries. Friday adoration, the Rosary after Mass, Communion services on non-Mass weekdays, and the Anointing of the Sick (a particular emphasis of Father Neil Pezzulo) are all part of regular pastoral care. RCIA has recently produced new Catholics through the parish's catechumenate work, including a 2024 Holy Week reception guided by the Franciscan Sisters of St. Anna.
- Friday Eucharistic Adoration
- Rosary after Mass
- Anointing of the Sick and pastoral care for the dying
- RCIA
- Confession (Saturday at St. Luke; Friday at Holy Family)
Glenmary Home Missioners Team
The parish is staffed by the Glenmary Home Missioners, a Cincinnati-based Catholic society of priests, brothers, and lay missionaries devoted to planting the Catholic Church in rural and small-town America. The Blakely/Cuthbert team has historically included a Glenmary pastor, Glenmary brothers, and a deacon, supported by diocesan clergy for the sacraments. Father Mike Kerin, G.H.M., served as pastor of Holy Family and St. Luke through April 21, 2025, when he was reassigned to Clay and Overton Counties, Tennessee. Father Neil Pezzulo, G.H.M., was named Sacramental Minister and Canonical Moderator for both parishes and Glenmary Outreach Minister for Stewart and Quitman Counties, Georgia. Deacon Scott Watford has served as pastoral coordinator since 2020.
- Father Neil Pezzulo, G.H.M. — Sacramental Minister and Canonical Moderator (2025–)
- Father Mike Kerin, G.H.M. — Pastor (through April 2025; reassigned to Tennessee)
- Deacon Scott Watford — Pastoral Coordinator (since 2020)
- Br. Jason Muhlenkamp, G.H.M. — Glenmary brother on the team
- Br. Levis Kuwa, G.H.M. — Glenmary brother on the team
- Father John Brown, G.H.M. — former pastor (later assigned to Holy Trinity, Williamston, NC)
Franciscan Sisters of St. Anna from Kenya
Beginning in December 2023, Holy Family became home to two Catholic sisters from 12,000 miles away: Sisters Imelda Ngwitu and Ancilla Abonyo of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Anna, based in Kenya. Glenmary reached out to their congregation as part of the mission's outreach efforts and sponsored their U.S. religious-worker visas, a process that took nearly two years. Within a week of arrival they joined Holy Family's American Heritage Girls troop, which gave them an immediate introduction to Blakely. They added Friday adoration, the Rosary after Mass, Communion services, a children's choir, Vacation Bible School, and a puppet ministry to parish life. Sister Ancilla guided an RCIA candidate through Holy Week 2024; Sister Imelda has continued, working with C-Hope (the Glenmary-affiliated addiction and poverty ministry) and visiting a Stewart County detention center as chaplain. Sister Ancilla later moved on from ministry through Holy Family.
- Sister Imelda Ngwitu, F.S.S.A. — ministering since December 2023; C-Hope; detention-center ministry; ESL tutoring
- Sister Ancilla Abonyo, F.S.S.A. — arrived December 2023; catechesis/RCIA; later moved on from Holy Family ministry
Outreach and Community Life
Holy Family's outreach is done largely off church property — at community centers, in neighborhoods, and at nursing homes — reflecting Glenmary's emphasis on mission-of-presence. The American Heritage Girls troop operates out of the church and has become a lay-led outreach network that includes non-Catholics; a nursing-home visit ministry began as a troop activity and has since transitioned to lay leadership. Deacon Scott has observed that 'a lot of the attitude that is presumed to be anti-Catholic, I don't think really is' — visitors are welcomed with hot chocolate, cookies, and a tour of the church, especially during Advent.
- Live Christmas Nativity scene on Christmas Eve
- American Heritage Girls troop (multi-denominational)
- Nursing-home visit ministry (now lay-led)
- Home visits to the sick, including non-Catholics, with Communion calls
- Advent Bible studies
Religious Education and Youth
Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, the parish puppet ministry, and a children's choir have all been part of the Sisters' and parishioners' catechetical work with children. The annual Christmas Eve live Nativity is part of the religious-education program, with children taking turns portraying Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds and parishioners building the stable. The Sisters have emphasized that 'the best way of reaching out is through the children… When we leave this mission, we will have planted the faith that will last forever.'
- Sunday School
- Vacation Bible School
- Children's choir
- Puppet ministry
- Live Nativity scene (Christmas Eve)
Diocese of Savannah
Holy Family is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah, in the Albany Deanery. The diocese traces its origin to Pope Pius IX's erection of the see on July 19, 1850, separating it from the Diocese of Charleston. It covers the southern portion of Georgia, with the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist (dedicated 1876) in Savannah as the episcopal seat. Holy Family and St. Luke, Cuthbert, are listed in the diocese's parishes directory, with a URL of http://holyfamilyblakely.diosav.net.
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah
- Deanery: Albany
- Diocesan website: https://diosav.org
Sacred Liturgy Resources and Eucharistic Revival
The parish publishes 'Magnify and Rejoice' resources for the National Eucharistic Revival in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese on its home page, together with Bishop Barron's reflections, a calendar, and links to the Diocese of Savannah and to the Glenmary Home Missioners. Daily Mass readings (English and Spanish) appear automatically on the homepage, and the parish posts Readers and Gift Bearers schedules for the Sacred Liturgy.
- Magnify and Rejoice — English / Spanish / Vietnamese
- Bishop Barron's daily reflections on the homepage
- Today's Readings (English and Spanish)
- Readers and Gift Bearers schedule
How to Find Us
The church sits on Arlington Avenue in Blakely, about half a mile north of the Early County courthouse on U.S. 27 Business; turn right onto Arlington, then left into the parking lot. The parish can be reached by phone at (229) 723-3339. The mailing address is 519 Arlington Avenue, Blakely, GA 39823 (the diocesan directory also lists 533 Arlington Avenue, ZIP 39823). Visitors are encouraged to call ahead to confirm which church in the Holy Family/St. Luke cluster is hosting the Mass or confession they intend to attend.
- Address: 519 Arlington Avenue, Blakely, GA 39823
- Phone: (229) 723-3339
- Diocesan directory also shows 533 Arlington Avenue, 39823
- Directions: ~½ mile north of the Early County courthouse on Business US 27; east on Arlington Avenue
Annual Catholic Appeal and Parish Stewardship
Holy Family and St. Luke, Cuthbert, jointly met 100% or more of the 2024 Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA) goal of the Diocese of Savannah — a notable achievement for a parish of only about 44 families and a sign of the close cooperation between the two mission churches.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Mike Kerin, G.H.M.through ~2018–2025
Glenmary Home Missioner; long-tenured pastor of Holy Family, Blakely, and St. Luke, Cuthbert. Celebrant at parish funerals (e.g., Robert Frank Daley, March 16, 2022). Reassigned April 21, 2025 to be director, chaplain, and pastoral coordinator of Catholic communities in Clay and Overton Counties, Tennessee, under Bishop J. Mark Spalding of Nashville.
- Father Neil Pezzulo, G.H.M.2025–
Native of Schenectady, New York; ordained 1999. Joined Glenmary in the early 1990s. Served in Arkansas (11 years), was Glenmary's first vice president 2011–2019, and was pastor in Tennessee (Union and Grainger Counties, 2020–2025). Named Sacramental Minister and Canonical Moderator for Holy Family, Blakely, and St. Luke, Cuthbert, effective 2025; also Glenmary Outreach Minister for Stewart and Quitman Counties, GA.
- Deacon Scott Watford2020–
Permanent deacon; Glenmary employee; pastoral coordinator for the Holy Family/St. Luke mission in the absence of a canonical pastor; supervises Glenmary mission staff on-site.
- Father John Brown, G.H.M.
Glenmary priest with 40 years' membership whose most recent assignment before Holy Trinity, NC was pastor of Glenmary's Holy Family mission in Blakely, GA (reported 2018, Catholic Telegraph).