About Our Lady of Sorrows · Fairford, Alabama
Our Lady of Sorrows is a small Catholic mission church at 1733 Little Chestang Road in the Fairford (Little Chastang) community of Washington County, Alabama. It is one of several historic African American and Creole mission chapels served from St. Peter the Apostle Church in Chastang as part of the Archdiocese of Mobile. The mission was built in 1927–1928 by Josephite (Society of St. Joseph) priests and continues to offer Sunday Mass, a midweek weekday Mass, and periodic Eucharistic Adoration to Catholics in the sparsely settled McIntosh interior.
- Established
- 1928
- Patron
- Our Lady of Sorrows (the Blessed Virgin Mary in her Seven Sorrows)
- Rector
- Rev. Victor Ingalls (cluster pastor of the historically Black/Creole parishes including Our Lady of Sorrows Mission; appointed June 2023)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Mobile (Metropolitan)
Why belong here
Our Lady of Sorrows Mission is the closest Catholic chapel for many families in the rural Fairford/Little Chastang and McIntosh area, and it carries forward a worship tradition that reaches back to the Spanish mission era in the Chastang community. The mission offers Sunday Mass, a Wednesday weekday Mass, and Eucharistic Adoration on the third Wednesday of each month — a compact but genuine sacramental life for Catholics living in the Washington County interior. As one of the historic African American/Creole missions served by the Archdiocese of Mobile, it is also a living link to the region's pioneering Black Catholic heritage.
Mass times at Our Lady of Sorrows
Weekly Mass schedule
Adoration times
- Wednesday 4:00 PM – 4:45 PM (3rd Wednesdays of the month; Mass to follow)
Identity and Location
Our Lady of Sorrows Mission is a small Roman Catholic mission chapel in the Fairford (Little Chastang) area of Washington County, Alabama, served from St. Peter the Apostle Church in Chastang. It lies in the Archdiocese of Mobile and is reached at 1733 Little Chestang Road, McIntosh, AL 36553.
- Type: Catholic Mission (served from a parish)
- Diocese: Archdiocese of Mobile (Metropolitan)
- Parent parish: St. Peter the Apostle Church, Chastang, AL
- Address: 1733 Little Chestang Road, McIntosh (Fairford), AL 36553
History
The mission was built in 1927–1928 under the direction of Fr. Sabino Grossi, SSJ, who was appointed to St. Peter the Apostle and its missions in June 1922 and served the Chastang area until 1961. Grossi's campaign also produced St. Theresa's Church and school at West Mount Vernon (1927) and major additions at the parent parish in Chastang. A 1928 photograph of the mission's first congregation, now held by Marquette University, records that the chapel 'was built during 1927 and 1928' and was 'attended by Josephites from St. Peter's, Chastang.'
- Built: 1927–1928
- Founder: Fr. Sabino Grossi, SSJ (Josephite)
- Religious institute serving it from 1928 to 2002: Society of St. Joseph (the Josephites)
- Care transferred 2002 to the Missionary Society of St. Paul
- Since June 2023, served as part of a historic Black/Creole parish cluster in the Archdiocese of Mobile
Connection to the Broader Chastang Mission Community
Our Lady of Sorrows is one link in a chain of historic African American and Creole Catholic chapels in the Chastang/Little Chastang/Mount Vernon area that together trace a continuous Catholic presence from the Spanish colonial era. Today these missions are served as a cluster by the Archdiocese of Mobile under Fr. Victor Ingalls, who was named pastor of the group in June 2023 alongside his role as Executive Director of Multicultural Ministry.
- St. Peter the Apostle Church, Chastang (parent parish)
- Our Lady of Sorrows Mission, Little Chastang/Fairford
- St. Theresa (West Mount Vernon) — Choctaw parish, added July 2024
- Other clustered parishes: St. Francis Xavier (Toulminville), Our Mother of Mercy (Plateau), Prince of Peace (Down the Bay)
Our Lady of Sorrows — The Patron
The chapel takes its name from the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated under her title of Our Lady of Sorrows, recalling the 'Seven Sorrows' — including the prophecy of Simeon, the flight into Egypt, the loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple, the meeting of Mary and Jesus on the way to Calvary, the crucifixion, the taking down of the Body of Christ from the Cross, and the burial of Jesus. The feast was extended to the universal Latin Church by Pope Pius VII in 1814 and fixed by Pope St. Pius X on September 15.
- Feast day: September 15 (Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows)
- Shared by the Mission of Our Lady of Sorrows with the Universal Church
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Sabino Grossi, SSJ1922–1961 (St. Peter the Apostle & missions, including Little Chastang)
Josephite priest who built Our Lady of Sorrows Church and school at Little Chastang in 1927–1928.
- Fr. Joseph Van Baast, SSJ1904–1918
Earlier Josephite who served Chastang and built chapels at Mon Luis and across northern Mobile County.
- Fr. Andrew Toyinbo (Missionary Society of St. Paul)2002–
Took over care of St. Peter the Apostle and its missions after the Josephites departed.
- Fr. Victor Ingalls2023–
Current cluster pastor; also serves as Executive Director of Multicultural Ministry for the Archdiocese of Mobile.