About Immaculate Conception · Perry, Florida
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is a Roman-Latin rite parish located at 2750 S. Byron Butler Pkwy in Perry, Florida — the county seat of Taylor County, roughly 51 miles southeast of Tallahassee along US 19. It belongs to the Diocese of Pensacola–Tallahassee and serves Catholics across Perry and the surrounding Taylor County area. The parish is one of the older Catholic communities in this part of North Florida, with roots going back more than a century to the cedar and cypress lumber camps of the early 20th century. Today it offers weekend and weekday Mass, Saturday confessions and adoration, a parish hall for community use, and online giving through its website.
- Established
- 1918
- Patron
- Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Diocese
- Diocese of Pensacola–Tallahassee (parish has belonged to the diocese since its creation in 1977)
Why belong here
Immaculate Conception offers the small-town Catholic experience many parishioners look for: a tight-knit faith community where weekly Mass is celebrated Saturday evening, Sunday morning and Sunday evening, weekday Mass is offered twice a week, and Saturday afternoons combine Confession, Eucharistic Adoration and the Rosary before the vigil Mass. The parish has a history of lay involvement — from the original Cajun families who literally built their own church in 1918 to the men who constructed the 1958 parish hall and moved the original mission church seven and a half miles to its current home in 1989. With a parish hall available for community events, an active online presence through the website and Facebook, and a willingness to welcome new faces, it's a good place for Catholics in Taylor County to worship, serve and belong.
Mass times at Immaculate Conception
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Adoration times
- Saturday 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Parish Identity & Location
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is the Catholic parish serving Perry, Florida and Taylor County. It sits along South Byron Butler Parkway (US 19), about 51 miles southeast of Tallahassee, in the Roman-Latin rite of the Diocese of Pensacola–Tallahassee. The mailing address is 2750 S Byron Butler Pkwy, Perry, FL 32348, with parish office hours Monday through Friday, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
- Address: 2750 S Byron Butler Pkwy, Perry, FL 32348
- Phone: (850) 584-3169
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.immaculateperry.com
- Diocese: Pensacola–Tallahassee
- Office hours: Mon–Fri, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
History of Immaculate Conception Parish
The Catholic community of Taylor County was founded by Cajun lumber workers from Burton, Louisiana who arrived with the Burton–Swartz Cypress Company in 1914. These families — Swartzes, Burtons, Albert Roses, McPhails, Schexaildre, Hawkins, Pailles, Landrys and Louques, joined by Foleys, O'Gradys, Swearingens, Hines and McKennas from Brooks–Scanlon — built their own cedar-and-cypress church in 1918 because they had been locked out of the local 'union church.' Their employer donated the land, fearing the Catholic workers would otherwise return to Louisiana.
Surviving the Storms: The 1928 Tornado and 1935 Hurricane
Two extraordinary natural disasters tested the young mission. In 1928 a tornado completely destroyed the church and it had to be rebuilt. In 1935 a hurricane lifted the rebuilt church off its foundation and rotated it 180 degrees; Burton–Swartz and Brooks–Scanlon, both with Catholic families, helped dismantle and rebuild it once more.
- 1928 – tornado destroys original church
- 1935 – hurricane rotates rebuilt church 180 degrees on its foundation
The Oblates Arrive & a New Diocese
In 1968 the Oblates of Mary Immaculate took pastoral responsibility for Taylor, Jefferson and Madison Counties, with Fr. Gerry Flater and Fran Hassett as the first Oblates in residence. In 1977 the parish became part of the newly created Diocese of Pensacola–Tallahassee. Over the next decades, six Oblates would serve Perry in a permanent capacity.
- 1968 – Oblates of Mary Immaculate arrive
- 1977 – parish joins the new Diocese of Pensacola–Tallahassee
Growth, the Butler Property & the 1989 Church Move
Under Fr. Edwin Hayes, O.M.I. (1982) and Fr. Charles Beausoleil, O.M.I., the parish expanded and acquired the 'Butler Place' on South Byron Butler Parkway. On January 18, 1989 — over a nine-hour, seven-and-a-half-mile circuitous route along county roads — the historic 1918 church was physically relocated to the new site, watched by the whole town. Bishop J. Keith Symons broke ground on April 8, 1989, and the new parish center with classroom wing was dedicated on the Vigil of Catechetical Sunday that September.
- 1981 – Butler Place property acquired from Mrs. Louise Butler
- January 18, 1989 – old church moved ~7.5 miles to the Butler site
- April 8, 1989 – Bishop J. Keith Symons breaks ground
- September 1989 – parish center hall dedicated
Parish Life, Hall & Outreach
Beyond the liturgy, the parish maintains an active parish hall — built in 1958 and used by the community until 1989 in its first location — now redeployed as a center for parish gatherings and hall rental. The website also offers online giving, and the parish posts weekly bulletins and announcements via its Facebook page and the Discover Mass bulletins portal.
- Online donations via the parish website
- Parish hall available for rental
- Weekly bulletin posted on Facebook (Immaculate Conception Catholic Church)
Visit & Contact
Visitors are warmly welcomed. Anyone driving through Perry on US 19 will find the church on South Byron Butler Parkway; the parish office is open weekdays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, and the parish phone and email are answered during those hours.
- Office: Monday–Friday, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Phone: (850) 584-3169
- Email: [email protected]
- Web: www.immaculateperry.com
- Facebook: Immaculate Conception Catholic Church
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Bresnahan1917 (St. Albert's Mission founded)
Recorded as pastor at the dedication/confirmation of St. Albert's Mission, February 18, 1917, in the parish's first sacramental register.
- Rev. C. L. Eslander1927
Pastor; recorded First Solemn Communions at St. Albert's Mission in February 1927.
- Fr. Malonelate 1950s
Flew his own plane from Lake City to serve the faithful weekly.
- Fathers Danaher, Hanrehan, Ruiz, Edwards, Diez, O'Flaherty and Hautlate 1950s–1960s
Series of visiting priests who served the parish before resident Oblate coverage.
- Fr. Gerry Flater, O.M.I. (with Fran Hassett)from 1968
First Oblates of Mary Immaculate in residence; served Taylor, Jefferson and Madison Counties. Bought the Blanton property across from the church for CCD, socials and priest housing.
- Fr. Edwin Hayes, O.M.I.1982–1988
Former missionary in Brazil; expanded the parish and its acceptance in the civic community during his six-year pastorate.
- Fr. Charles Beausoleil, O.M.I.from 1980
Moved to Perry in 1980; acquired the 'Butler Place' property on US 19 South from Mrs. Louise Butler in 1981.
- Fr. Arthur King, O.M.I.
Succeeded Fr. Hayes; developed parish and education for two years.
- Fr. William R. Martin, O.M.I.from August 1, 1988
Former professor, dean and Superior of Oblate College, Washington, D.C.; oversaw the move of the old church and construction of the new parish complex.
- Fr. Bernard Jakubco, MCSfrom July 2008
Previously Parochial Vicar at St. Rose of Lima, Milton; became Pastor of Immaculate Conception in Perry.