A West Mobile Parish That Grew With Its Neighborhood
Tucked along Burma Road in the heart of west Mobile, St. Dominic Catholic Parish is one of the largest Catholic communities in the Archdiocese of Mobile. With nearly 900 households and close to 2,000 members, the parish draws families from across the western part of the city to its church, school, parish center, and grounds at 4156 Burma Road. Its mission statement, displayed prominently at the entrance to its main pages, sets the tone for everything that follows: a Roman Catholic community that strives to work together to build the kingdom of God through faith-filled sacraments and worship, education, and service to God, Church, parish, and others.
Visitors are welcomed at the Sunday liturgies celebrated at 8:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 5:30 p.m., with a Saturday Vigil Mass at 4:30 p.m. The parish also keeps a full daily Mass schedule, and its doors stay open for Confession, Eucharistic Adoration, and a steady flow of formation and fellowship throughout the week.
From a Hillside Chapel to Burma Road
St. Dominic's roots stretch back further than its founding date. In the second half of the 19th century, a chapel and cemetery above Holly Springs served the Catholics of west Mobile under the care of Jesuit fathers from Spring Hill College. Near the end of World War I the little church was destroyed by fire; the cemetery still stands on Cadiz Street. A replacement chapel was built on Cottage Hill Road and dedicated to Saints Simon and Jude by Bishop Edward Allen in 1919. About thirty years later that chapel burned too, but it was rebuilt and continued to serve the growing area.
By 1958 the population boom on the Mobile peninsula prompted Archbishop Thomas Toolen to create a new parish named St. Dominic, and he appointed Reverend Joseph Adams as founding pastor. Adams celebrated his first Mass as pastor in the Cottage Hill Road chapel on October 5, 1958. Ground was broken for the current church and school on February 7, 1959, and the first Mass was held on the property on July 5, 1959. The present church was dedicated on October 28, 1975, after a groundbreaking ceremony in May 1974. Later pastors, Monsignor John O'Hara (1977 to 1983), Monsignor Francis Murphy (1983 to 1996), Reverend William Skoneki (1996 to 2005), Reverend Ernest Hyndman (2005 to 2006), Reverend James Cink (2006 to 2018), and the current pastor Reverend Patrick Driscoll, each left a mark on the grounds and the life of the parish, including the Murphy Center (1990), the Skoneki Center gymnasium (1998), and the renovated Adams Center now serving as school specialty classrooms.
Mass, the Sacraments, and Time Before the Blessed Sacrament
Daily Mass is the heartbeat of the parish. The Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday morning Masses are all celebrated at 8:00 a.m., with Wednesday's Mass at the earlier hour of 6:30 a.m. The first Saturday of every month brings an additional 8:00 a.m. Mass followed by the Rosary. The Sunday schedule offers three options - 8:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 5:30 p.m. - giving families and shift workers a range of times to gather.
Confessions are heard on Wednesday evenings from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and on Saturday afternoons from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m., with appointments available beyond those windows. Eucharistic Adoration fills Wednesdays in two forms: every Wednesday from 5:30 p.m. with repose at 6:20 p.m., and on the first Wednesday of each month an extended period from 7:00 a.m. through Benediction at 6:10 p.m.
The parish prepares members for the other sacraments as well. Baptism preparation is offered over two evenings and begins with a call to a priest. Marriage requires a minimum of six months of contact with a priest or deacon, in keeping with Archdiocesan norms. The Anointing of the Sick is arranged through a priest or the parish office whenever someone is seriously ill or in the hospital. Confirmation preparation begins with a call to the parish office as well.
St. Dominic School: A Half-Century of Mercy Tradition
Among the founding pastor's highest priorities was a parish school, and the school remains central to parish identity. On August 15, 1961, five Sisters of Mercy arrived in Mobile from Newry, Ireland, and on September 5, 1961, St. Dominic School opened its doors with an enrollment of 262 students in six grades. By the next year, 430 pupils filled kindergarten through eighth grade, and by 1971 the enrollment of 622 made St. Dominic the largest Catholic grade school in the (Arch)diocese.
Today the school serves 560 students from preschool through eighth grade. Laurie Michener serves as principal, and the school shares a long working relationship with the Sisters of Mercy, whose convent still anchors a corner of the campus. Parents and parishioners support the Monsignor Murphy Annual School Fund and the St. Dominic Catholic School Endowment Fund, both administered through the Development Office, to keep the school accessible and financially stable.
The Pipe Organ and the Choir Loft
Music holds a place of pride at St. Dominic. The core of the organ was built by the Wicks Organ Company as Opus 5490, a 41-rank instrument originally purchased in 2004 from Capitol Street United Methodist Church, with nine additional ranks from Wicks added to the package. Installation in the rear gallery of the church was completed in spring 2008. The four-manual nave console now controls 105 stops and 122 pipe and digital ranks, and a three-manual gallery console offers a floating Solo division. Future plans include a chancel antiphonal organ playable from either console.
Randy Bolden serves as Music Ministry Director and Organist. The St. Dominic Choir sings weekly at the 10:30 a.m. Mass and adds its voice to Christmas, Easter, and the great feasts of the church year. Cantors lead the congregation at every Mass and special service and audition for the role; they rehearse in the chapel thirty minutes before each Mass. The parish also supports a Contemporary Ensemble and is the home of the Gloria Dei Chorale, an ecumenical concert chorus dedicated to musical excellence and serving others. Online music theory and ear-training resources are linked for choir members looking to deepen their skills.
Faith Formation From Preschool Through the Jubilee Years
The Children's Religious Education program (CRE) meets at 9:15 a.m. on Sundays for PreK through eighth grade, while high school CRE meets from 3:15 to 5:15 p.m. every other week. Adult Faith Formation gathers in Meeting Rooms 1 and 2 at the same 9:15 a.m. Sunday hour, presenting itself as a lifelong journey from the womb to the tomb. Brenda Christian, Director of Religious Education, also oversees the parish's OCIA process - the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (formerly known as RCIA) - which welcomes unbaptized adults and Christians from other traditions into the Catholic Church through a four-stage formation culminating at the Easter Vigil. Inquiries begin in September, with sessions typically meeting on Tuesday evenings at 6:30 p.m.
For those called to service, the parish Stewardship brochure lists more than two dozen possibilities, including Liturgical roles (Lector, Altar Server, Gift Bearer, Usher, Choir, and Altar Care), Faith Formation roles (CRE teachers and substitutes, OCIA sponsors, Scripture Study, Vacation Bible School, Children's Liturgy of the Word), Pastoral Outreach ministries (Bereavement, Food for the Bereaved, Legion of Mary, Respect Life, Virgin Pilgrim, Vocations Cup), and Youth Ministry opportunities (Altar Server, Scouts, CYO, JR CYO, Angels on a Mission, Vacation Bible School volunteer).
Youth Ministry and the Jubilee 50+ Club
High School CYO is led by Dylan Alidor, a parish alumnus who grew up on Holly Springs Drive, attended St. Dominic through 2008 and McGill-Toolen Catholic High School through 2012, and returned to Mobile in 2021. He frames the program as offering elements of formation that a Catholic classroom cannot provide on its own, building on a long tradition of campus ministry partnerships with McGill-Toolen.
Across the generational spectrum, the Jubilee 50+ Club gathers parishioners and friends aged fifty and above on the second Thursday of each month from September through May in the Murphy Center. Founded in 1990 by Reverend Monsignor Francis Murphy and a group of parishioners, the club now counts about 130 active members drawn from St. Dominic and other parishes across the Archdiocese. Meetings include a shared meal, entertainment ranging from storytellers and Bingo to a member talent show, door prizes, and the chance to sign up for day trips, overnight trips, and longer travel. Annual dues are $20 per person and $35 per couple, and members plan to revive the international travel opportunities paused during the COVID years.
Serving Through the Storms
Parish life at St. Dominic has not been lived apart from the headlines of the Gulf Coast. In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina swept across the region, then-pastor Father Ernest Hyndman - for whom St. Dominic was home parish - organized parishioners to cook dinner in the Murphy Center every night for displaced neighbors and the families who took them in. Food and clothing drives, furniture and household goods, and cleaning supplies were collected and personally delivered to homeowners along the coast, and a special victims' fund was established. That instinct for hospitality and outreach continues today through the pastoral ministries listed above and through the Monsignor Murphy Annual School Fund and the St. Dominic Catholic School Endowment Fund, both administered by Development Director Michelle Wilson.
Practical Details for Visitors
First-time visitors can find the parish office at 4156 Burma Road and reach it by phone at (251) 661-5130 or by email at stdominicparish@stdominicmobile.org. Wheelchairs are available in the sacristy for anyone who needs one, and hearing assistance devices are kept there as well. The parish publishes weekly bulletins, monthly newsletters, and a steady stream of formation and event information, with contributions accepted online through the parish's giving platform. Parishioners who wish to register can print the parish census form, drop it in the offering plate, or bring it by the office.