The Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

The Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is located at the corner of Central Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Atlanta, Georgia. This Christian Church offers Mass on Sundays at 8.30am and 11am, Monday through Friday at 12.10pm and at 9am on Sundays. Across the road from the church is Underground Atlanta, where visitors to the shrine can safely park their cars.

This is Atlanta's first Catholic Church and the oldest church in North Georgia with the original building having been built in 1848 by an Irish missionary called Father John Barry. The original building was damaged during the American Civil War and as a result the Catholics of Atlanta decided to erect a new church building on the same lot. Now visitors can arrange a tour of the church building by calling the office between 10am and 4.30 pm Monday to Friday.

Visitors to the shrine will see its soaring ceilings, marble altars and stained glass windows in the sanctuary. The long center aisle and wonderful pipe organ makes this a good setting for a wedding, which can be scheduled here on Saturdays at 2pm, 5pm or 7.30pm and on Sundays at 3pm or 6pm. After both the Sunday Mass services the shrine Gift Shop is opened, where parishioners and guests can purchase religious items as well as pieces of folk art.