About Holy Name of Jesus · Childersburg, Alabama
Holy Name of Jesus is a Roman Catholic mission church in Childersburg, Alabama, in the Diocese of Birmingham. It serves as a mission of St. Jude Parish in neighboring Sylacauga (310 West Bay Street, Sylacauga, AL 35150), with the parish office handling all sacramental and administrative needs for both communities. Worship is offered in English on a limited weekly schedule — currently a Tuesday evening Mass and the Saturday vigil Mass — together with Saturday confessions. It is one of the smallest and most historically rooted Catholic outposts in Talladega County, founded in the late 1940s as part of the Santa Rosa Missions under Father Mac Paul Abraham.
- Established
- 1947
- Patron
- Holy Name of Jesus
- Diocese
- Diocese of Birmingham
Why belong here
Holy Name of Jesus is a small but faithful Catholic community in rural Talladega County, well suited to Catholics in Childersburg and the surrounding area who want a nearby, intimate mission church with traditional Saturday vigil and Tuesday evening Masses and regular Saturday confessions. As a mission of St. Jude Parish in Sylacauga, it is tied into the wider sacramental and pastoral life of that parish — including marriage preparation, baptisms, RCIA, and faith formation handled through the Sylacauga office — so members enjoy both a local place of worship and the full resources of a parish. Visitors and parishioners value its continuity with the original Santa Rosa Missions founded by Father Mac Paul Abraham and its simple, welcoming character in the heart of Childersburg.
Mass times at Holy Name of Jesus
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:30 PM – 4:55 PM
Identity & Patron
Holy Name of Jesus takes its name from the devotion to the Most Holy Name of Jesus, one of the oldest and most beloved devotions in Catholic tradition. The feast of the Holy Name is celebrated on January 3 in the current Roman calendar. The mission is dedicated to proclaiming and honoring the saving name of Christ in the heart of Childersburg.
History
Holy Name of Jesus was founded in the late 1940s as part of the Santa Rosa Missions, a network of Catholic mission stations in Talladega County created by Bishop Thomas J. Toolen and entrusted to Father Mac Paul Abraham. The mission was originally known as St. Rose of Lima and later took the name Holy Name of Jesus. Father Abraham shepherded the three Santa Rosa missions — St. Jude (Sylacauga), Holy Name of Jesus (Childersburg), and St. Francis of Assisi (Talladega) — for roughly twenty years.
- 1942 — Bishop Toolen organizes the North Alabama Mission Band and appoints Father Joseph Durick as director.
- 1945 — Father Mac Paul Abraham is ordained (Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans) and assigned as Father Durick's assistant.
- June 21, 1947 — Father Abraham names the mission band the 'Santa Rosa Missions.'
- Late 1940s — Holy Name of Jesus is founded in Childersburg (originally as St. Rose of Lima).
- 1970 — Father Abraham is reassigned to Tuscaloosa after ~20 years with the Santa Rosa Missions.
- 1978 — Father Abraham retires; he dies in 1993.
- November 9, 2018 — Father Abraham is memorialized with the 51st endowed chair of the Sylacauga City Schools Foundation.
Parent Parish: St. Jude, Sylacauga
Holy Name of Jesus is a Mission Church of the Parish of St. Jude in Sylacauga. All sacramental records, marriage preparation, and faith-formation administration are coordinated through the St. Jude Parish Office. The St. Jude Sunday Mass is at 11:00 AM at 310 West Bay St., Sylacauga, AL 35150.
- Parent parish: St. Jude Catholic Church, 310 West Bay St., Sylacauga, AL 35150
- Parish phone (shared): (256) 245-7741
- Parish office hours: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
- St. Jude Sunday Mass: 11:00 AM (English, Roman-Latin Rite)
Diocese of Birmingham
Holy Name of Jesus is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama. The diocese was created in 1969 when the northern counties of the former Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham were separated into a new diocese. The current diocesan bishop is Bishop Steven J. Raica. The mission is listed on the official diocesan Parish Finder.
- Diocese: Diocese of Birmingham
- Diocesan website: https://www.bhmdiocese.org/
- Parish Finder listing confirms Holy Name of Jesus, Childersburg, as a diocesan mission
- Diocesan bishop: Bishop Steven J. Raica
Location & Directions
The mission church sits in southwestern Childersburg, near the Coosa River in Talladega County. It is a short drive from downtown Sylacauga, where the parent parish office is located.
- Address: 415 5th Avenue SW, Childersburg, AL 35044
- County: Talladega County, Alabama
- From 1st St SW, go south on 8th Ave. SW three blocks; turn left (east) onto 4th St. SW for two long blocks; the church is at the corner of 5th Avenue.
- Parish phone (St. Jude office): (256) 245-7741
Santa Rosa Missions & the Legacy of Father Abraham
The Santa Rosa Missions were a remarkable Catholic missionary enterprise in central Alabama. Father Abraham's ministry shaped Catholic life across Talladega County and influenced generations of families — Italian quarry workers in Sylacauga, scattered Catholic families in Talladega and Childersburg, and many non-Catholic neighbors who knew Father Abraham through his charitable work. The 2018 Sylacauga City Schools Foundation chair in his name is a lasting civic tribute.
- Three churches founded by Father Abraham: St. Jude (Sylacauga), Holy Name of Jesus (Childersburg), St. Francis of Assisi (Talladega).
- Santa Rosa Missions named June 21, 1947.
- Only 21 Catholics across 2,100 square miles of Alabama countryside at the founding.
- Father Abraham converted from a Methodist background and was of Syrian Jewish and Lebanese Christian heritage.
- Memorialized November 9, 2018 with the 51st Sylacauga City Schools Foundation chair.
Visiting & Contact
Visitors are warmly welcomed at Holy Name of Jesus. Because the church is a mission, anyone wishing to celebrate a sacrament (baptism, marriage, anointing of the sick) should contact the St. Jude Parish Office in Sylacauga in advance. The mission phone is the St. Jude parish line, (256) 245-7741.
- Parish office: 310 West Bay St., Sylacauga, AL 35150
- Parish office hours: Mon / Wed / Thu, 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
- Phone: (256) 245-7741
- Email / official website: not publicly published; contact via the parish office
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Joseph Durick1942–c.1945
Director of the North Alabama Mission Band, appointed by Bishop Thomas J. Toolen in 1942; Father Abraham was assigned as his assistant in 1945. He oversaw the wider mission territory that included Childersburg.
- Father Mac Paul Abraham1945–1970
Ordained 1945 (Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans). Placed in charge of the Talladega County missions and named the group the Santa Rosa Missions on June 21, 1947. Founded Holy Name of Jesus in Childersburg along with St. Jude (Sylacauga) and St. Francis of Assisi (Talladega). Ministered to all three church families until reassigned to Tuscaloosa in 1970. Retired 1978; died 1993. Memorialized in 2018 with the Sylacauga City Schools Foundation's 51st endowed educational chair.