About St. Francis of Assisi · Talladega, Alabama
St. Francis of Assisi is a small, deeply rooted Roman Catholic parish perched on a hillside in Talladega, Alabama. Founded during the post-war growth of the region's Catholic community, it carries the warm, missionary spirit of the Santa Rosa Missions. Parishioners gather for Mass, confession, and fellowship in a church that has grown from a modest hillside chapel into a 280-seat home for faith.
- Established
- 1949
- Patron
- St. Francis of Assisi
- Rector
- Father John McDonald (Administrator of the Santa Rosa Mission parishes, appointed January 2022)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama
Why belong here
A welcoming hillside parish with a remarkable missionary history, St. Francis offers intimate worship, a tight-knit community, and a tangible legacy of faith forged by generations of Catholics in east-central Alabama.
Mass times at St. Francis of Assisi
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 8:00am-8:30am
Early Worship and the Santa Rosa Missions
Before the church was built, Catholics in Talladega gathered wherever space could be found, from an opera house to a power company auditorium. In 1947, Father MacPaul Abraham formally organized the Talladega, Childersburg, and Sylacauga communities as the Santa Rosa Missions, setting the stage for a permanent parish in Talladega.
Building the Hillside Church
St. Francis of Assisi was chosen as patron, and construction began in 1949 on a hillside overlooking the city. The first Mass was celebrated on Easter Sunday 1950, and Archbishop Toolen dedicated the church in December 1951.
Growth and Renovations
Over the decades the parish grew through the dedication of the Father Abraham Building in 1986, sanctuary renovations in 1991, and a Golden Jubilee expansion that more than doubled the church's seating capacity.