The Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta, Georgia is the mother-church for the one million members of the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta. The Cathedral is located at what is popularly called "Jesus Junction" on Peachtree Road, between East Wesley Way and Peachtree Way, in Atlanta's uptown Buckhead district. It was partly built on the site of the demolished national headquarters of the Ku Klux Klan. At present, the parish is one of the ten largest congregations in the United States with over 5,500 families. Christ the King School also occupies the property, with an enrollment of approximately 600 students.
History
The parish of Christ the King was established in 1936. The congregation purchased approximately four acres of land for $35,000 and held early masses in the mansion that occupied the site. To construct the current cathedral, the parish demolished this structure and purchased adjacent land from the Ku Klux Klan which previously served as its headquarters. Architect Henry D. Dagit, Jr., designed the sanctuary in the Gothic Revival style with touches of Art Deco in the interior, especially on the stone reredos. The stained glass windows were originally works of the Willet Stained Glass Studios of Philadelphia. A 1939 issue of Architectural Record called it the "Most Beautiful Building in Atlanta". On January 5, 1937, when Pope Pius XI proclaimed that the Diocese of Savannah, organized in 1850, would now be known as the Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta. Christ the King parish became the Co-Cathedral with the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah. On July 2, 1956, Pope Pius XII split the Savannah-Atlanta Diocese to create the Diocese of Atlanta. The Co-Cathedral became cathedral of the new diocese and Francis E. Hyland became its first Bishop. Construction of the school also began in 1936 and it opened October 31, 1937, under the administration of the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart with a blessing by Savannah Bishop Gerald O'Hara. In 1940, the school added a high school curriculum which operated until 1958 when students transferred to the newly formed St. Pius XCatholic High School.
