Christ the King Parish was formed in 1927 with Father Francis Martin
as the first pastor. Irish and German Catholics built a church and
opened a school, directed by the Sisters of Loretto, who have continued
as a vital part of the parish faith-journey. The 1937 flood seriously
damaged these buildings and parishioners’ homes. A monthly automobile
raffle in the 1950s raised funds to expand the school; enrollment peaked
at 648 in 1957.
The parish evolved as largely African American in the 1960s. Racism
and discrimination eventually gave way as new parishioners brought their
gifts to the parish and school; Mrs. Barbara Dowell was the first
African-American teacher. Lay leadership emerged in the post-Vatican II
era, with the first parish council in 1969 and the first lay ministers
of the Eucharist, Mr. Herman Berding and Brother (later Father) Edward
Branch, C.F.X., appointed in 1970. All Saints Preparatory Academy
blended students from Christ the King into a regional school between
1990 and 1995, when shrinking enrollment forced it to close.
The Jubilee Year 2000 was marked by forgiveness of the parish debt to
the Archdiocese, and by a major grant from the Archdiocese for repairs.
Responding to the call for evangelization and to human needs, Christ
the King has developed outreach ministries beyond the church walls.
Besides constructing twenty-four units of senior housing, the parish
filled its school buildings with a pre-school, a day-care center for
mentally challenged teens and adults, a music academy for boys and
girls, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and ministries to the homebound,
hospitalized and imprisoned.
Since 2003, Christ the King has shared its pastor with Immaculate
Heart of Mary Parish and has engaged in strategic planning. With 300
parishioners, worship is warm and uplifting. Extensively trained lay
leaders with gifted clergy and religious serve the community.