The East Tennessee Catholic
Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Alcoa will cap a yearlong celebration of its 75th anniversary on Saturday, Nov. 22.
Bishop Mark Beckman will preside at a bilingual Mass at 5 p.m., with pastor Father Peter Iorio and priests of the diocese concelebrating. A music prelude will begin at 4:30, and the Mass will be followed by a dinner and program at 6:30 at the Hilton Knoxville Airport hotel in Alcoa. The dinner will feature live entertainment and recognition of those who have been instrumental in the parish’s growth and service.
In honor of Pope Francis designating 2025 as a Year of Jubilee and a time for Catholics to renew themselves as “pilgrims of hope,” Our Lady of Fatima is calling its celebration through the year a pilgrimage. Another anniversary kicked off the milestone year on March 11 as Our Lady of Fatima marked 25 years in its current church building. A bilingual confirmation Mass and reception on May 13, a picnic and a walk on the Alcoa Greenway on June 13, a concert with members of the Knoxville Opera Chorus and local instrumentalists on July 13, and a day of adoration on Oct. 13 were among the parish’s 75th-year events.
Six events were held from May to October, with a “Fatima Pilgrimage Passport” given to all parishioners that could be stamped at each event. Those receiving all six stamps will receive special recognition on Nov. 22.
The events after March were held on the 13th of those months in commemoration of the Marian apparitions in Fatima, Portugal, that occurred on the 13th of each month from May through October 1917.
The new Our Lady of Fatima Church in Alcoa in 2000 still shows signs of construction activity as dedication day nears.
Catholics in Blount and Sevier counties attended Mass in a private home on rare occasions before September 1950 but usually drove cars or rode buses to Knoxville for Mass. A survey requested by Nashville Bishop William L. Adrian to determine the number of Catholics living in the two counties was made in summer 1950 by Father John Tierney. As a result of the survey, the Mission Parish of Maryville was established, with Father Paul Clunan appointed pastor.
On Sept. 3, 1950, the first Mass was celebrated in a funeral home in Maryville. During the search for a proper church site, succeeding Sunday Masses were celebrated in the community room at Eagleton Village. Packing cases stored in the building served as a makeshift altar. If there were not enough chairs available, attending members stood throughout the Mass.
In November 1950, a two-story house at 211 Ellis Ave. in Maryville was leased and remodeling was begun. The new parish was officially named Our Lady of Fatima. The living room and downstairs of the house were converted into the church. The kitchen became the church office. A three-room apartment was constructed for Father Clunan.
The first Mass was celebrated in the new church at 7 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 5, 1950. Shortly afterward, a meeting of the women of the parish was held and the first guild was organized. There were 38 ladies present.
The initial high Mass was celebrated in the new church on Christmas Day in 1950. The choir was composed of 10 members who were accompanied on an old donated pump organ. On Sunday, Jan. 21, 1951, Bishop Adrian dedicated the little chapel and celebrated the 10 a.m. Mass.
Parishioners were already hoping to purchase property and build a church and rectory in the near future. There were approximately 50 families attending Our Lady of Fatima at that time. Several days after the first anniversary of the church, 4 1/2 acres of land were purchased from the Aluminum Company of America. The site was centrally located and easily accessible for both Alcoa and Maryville parishioners. The tract was at the intersection of Hunt and Wright roads in Alcoa. About 80 percent of the parishioners lived in the vicinity of the property. The parish served about 80 families at that time.
Parishioners borrowed earth-moving equipment to landscape the grounds, and volunteers painted, sowed grass seed, and planted shrubs for their new red-brick church.
Bishop Adrian dedicated the church on Saturday, Dec. 6, 1952. A parishioner donated and installed a secondhand pipe organ in the new choir loft, but after the Gloria several keys on the organ refused to play and the choir sang the rest of the Mass a cappella.
Our Lady of Fatima School opened its doors in September 1955, becoming the first Catholic grade school in the area. Two Sisters of Mercy and two lay teachers completed the staff. The school was in operation until 1970.
In 1975, after numerous years of hard work and sacrifice, a very happy group of parishioners met in the church hall to participate in a mortgage-burning ceremony. Both the church and school were debt-free. In the ensuing years a rectory was also built.
Bishop Joseph E. Kurtz blesses the altar at the new church at the dedication Mass on March 11, 2000. Pastor Father Joe Brando watches at right.
By April 1986, the parish had grown to over 300 families, and Our Lady of Fatima’s rolls expanded gradually into the 1990s. Father Joe Brando became pastor in 1993 as the church was bursting at the seams, with weekend Masses often standing-room only. Options considered were to expand the existing facilities or find 25 acres of new property.
In fall 1994, the AT&T building, now the Fatima Center, at the intersection of U.S. Highway 129 and Louisville Road came on sale at a bargain price. A house that is currently the rectory, in front of the AT&T building, also went on the market, and the parish purchased both properties. In a 173-to-6 vote on May 13, 1995, parishioners elected to move to the new location after at first being evenly split on the two options given.
Renovation of both properties took place, and the sale of the old church property had to be negotiated. The old property was sold to Praise Temple, and on June 6, 1996, the last Mass was held at the Wright Road location. Everything was moved—in the rain—to temporary storage in the present Fatima Center. Weekend Masses were celebrated in the Fine Arts Center at Maryville College, and daily Masses were held in the basement of the present rectory. In August 1996, the parish moved into the Fatima Center for weekend Masses.
Construction on the new church began in September 1996. On Dec. 8, 1999, a statue of Our Lady of Fatima was placed in the niche above the entry doors of the new church, a ceremony that also took place in the rain, as had happened when the statue was removed from its niche in the old church three years before.
The new church was dedicated by Bishop Joseph E. Kurtz on March 11, 2000, and Father Alex Waraksa was installed as pastor several months later.
Father Clunan was pastor through 1957, and those who succeeded him also include Fathers John Baltz, James Murphy, Herbert Prescott, Paul Wortmann, James Murray, and Francis Schilling, and Father and now-Bishop James V. Johnston Jr.
Purchase tickets for the anniversary dinner at www.ourladyoffatima.org/75years. If cost is a barrier to attending the dinner, scholarship opportunities are available. Contact the parish office at 865-982-3672 or communications@ourladyoffatima.org.
For more information on the history of Our Lady of Fatima Parish, visit www.ourladyoffatima.org/history. The early history above was compiled by Charlotte Rowan and Betty Sodemann in April 1986, and a full history may be found at the link.