St. Oliver Plunkett Catholic Church sits on Brooks Drive in Snellville, in Gwinnett County northeast of Atlanta, and has been a fixture of Catholic life in southeast Gwinnett since 1978. The parish belongs to the Archdiocese of Atlanta and is one of the churches in the archdiocese entrusted to the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette, an international congregation of priests and brothers dedicated to the ministry of reconciliation. What began as a small community of about 350 Catholics gathering for Mass in a high school auditorium has grown into a vibrant parish of more than 1,600 families, with a richly bilingual worship life and a strong tradition of service to the wider Atlanta area.
Mass Times, Confession, and Eucharistic Adoration
The parish offers a robust weekly schedule that reflects both its size and its bilingual character. The Saturday Vigil is celebrated at 5:00 p.m. in English and at 7:00 p.m. in Spanish. On Sunday, Mass is offered in English at 8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:15 a.m., and a youth-focused Life Teen Mass at 5:00 p.m., with an additional 1:15 p.m. Mass celebrated in Spanish. A Saturday morning Mass is offered at 9:00 a.m., and weekday Mass is celebrated Monday through Friday at 9:00 a.m. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is heard each Saturday from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Eucharistic Adoration is a daily part of parish life. The Blessed Sacrament is exposed from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Friday, with extended hours coordinated through the parish's perpetual adoration program. Members of the parish are invited to sign up for a weekly hour of adoration; for those who cannot commit to a regular hour, drop-in adoration is available during the posted times.
Daily Mass in English is livestreamed each weekday at 9:00 a.m. on the parish YouTube channel. Sunday livestream coverage includes the 11:15 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. English Masses and the 1:15 p.m. Spanish Mass.
Parish History: From South Gwinnett High School to 1,600 Families
St. Oliver Plunkett was established on March 15, 1978, when The Georgia Bulletin announced the creation of a new parish in Snellville. On Thursday, April 13, 1978, Father Terence Kane was appointed the founding pastor. The Archdiocese of Atlanta purchased 10.28 acres on Brooks Drive, and on Father's Day, June 18, 1978, approximately 350 Catholics gathered for their first Sunday Mass at South Gwinnett High School. Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan arrived on June 25 to formally install Father Kane.
Daily Mass and parish meetings were held at a rectory at 1318 Summit Chase Drive for the next three years. In 1979 plans were drawn up for a 14,000-square-foot parish complex, and groundbreaking took place in 1980. On June 21, 1981, the third anniversary of the parish, Archbishop Donnellan dedicated the new church. The staff grew with the ordination of John Cicala, Sr. as deacon in 1984, and Father Kane was succeeded as pastor by Father Joseph Beltran in June 1985.
In 1991, at the request of the Archbishop of Atlanta, the Missionaries of La Salette took over pastoral care of the parish. Father Tom Carroll became the third pastor and oversaw the planning and building of a larger sanctuary, which was dedicated on November 12, 2000. Since then, the La Salette Missionaries have continued to shepherd the parish, with reconciliation as their charism. Over the years the parish has grown from 350 to more than 1,600 families, a transition the parish attributes to the spirit of faithful giving and joyful witness among its members.
The Patron: St. Oliver Plunkett
The parish takes its name from Oliver Plunkett, born in Loughcrew, County Meath, Ireland, on November 1, 1625. He was ordained a priest in Rome on January 1, 1654, after studying at the Irish College. Religious persecution kept him from ministering in Ireland for many years, and he taught in Rome until 1669, when he was appointed Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of Ireland.
Archbishop Plunkett established schools, ordained priests, and confirmed thousands in his homeland until renewed persecution forced him into hiding. He was arrested in 1679 and falsely charged with treason. Unable to bring witnesses from Ireland for his trial in London, he was convicted on the basis of perjured testimony and sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn. On July 1, 1681, he publicly forgave those responsible for his death. He was beatified in 1920 and canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 12, 1975, only a few years before the parish in Snellville received his name.
The La Salette Missionaries and the Spirit of Reconciliation
St. Oliver Plunkett is one of the parishes in the United States served by the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette, an order founded in 1852 in response to an 1846 apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at La Salette, France, in which Mary called her people to reconciliation with God. The order's charism is reconciliation, understood as bringing people together, supporting those in need, and sharing the love of Christ. The hammer and pincers on the La Salette cross symbolize the sins that drove those nails into the hands of Jesus and the good actions that help remove them.
The Province of Mary, Mother of the Americas, has about 120 members serving in the United States and Canada, as well as in Argentina and Bolivia, and more than 1,000 La Salette Missionaries serve in 27 countries worldwide. Their work extends from parish ministry and retreat work to chaplaincies, teaching, youth ministry, and counseling.
Within the parish, the La Salette Laity Group of St. Oliver's studies the message of La Salette and explores how the call to reconciliation can be lived out in daily life, meeting on the second Thursday of each month. La Salette Vocations are also promoted through the parish, with vocation resources made available to parishioners.
Hispanic Ministry: A Bilingual Parish
St. Oliver Plunkett is officially a bilingual parish. The Hispanic Ministry is coordinated by DEacon Jaime Agudelo and supported by a large network of lay leaders and small faith communities. In addition to the Spanish Saturday Vigil Mass and the Sunday afternoon Mass in Spanish, the Hispanic Ministry offers the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults in Spanish (RICA) for adults who need one or more of the Sacraments of Initiation, with classes meeting on Tuesdays from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in Rooms 17-18.
Sacramental preparation is offered in Spanish for Baptism (with a pre-baptismal class on the first Saturday of each month), First Communion, Confirmation, and Marriage. Confessions for the Spanish-speaking community are heard on Sundays before the 1:15 p.m. Mass or by appointment. Among the Spanish-speaking groups that meet at the parish are the Charismatic Prayer Group, the Lay School of the Cross (Escuela de la Cruz), Cursillos de Cristiandad, Apostles of the Word, BIENVENIDOS, the Guadalupe Committee, Lectors, the La Salette Prayer Cenacle, the Schoenstatt Madonna group, and Nocturnal Adoration.
The parish's Hispanic community gathers at different points of the year for celebrations of the Feast of Christ the King, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and other moments in the liturgical year, sharing faith, food, and culture.
Becoming Catholic: OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults)
The parish hosts a full OCIA program, the contemporary name for what was long known as RCIA. OCIA is the communal process through which unbaptized adults, and baptized Christians from other traditions seeking full communion, are initiated into the Catholic Church through the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist, ordinarily received at the Easter Vigil.
The OCIA team, coordinated by DEacon Mike Chavez, leads candidates through the classical stages of the process: the Pre-Catechumenate (Period of Inquiry), the Catechumenate (a longer period of formation in Catholic teaching and life), the Rite of Election, the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil, and Mystagogy (a period of reflection after reception). Sessions meet twice weekly, with Sunday gatherings built around the Liturgy of the Word at the 11:15 a.m. Mass and Tuesday evening meetings from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the JPII Center. Sponsors and team members accompany each candidate on the journey.
Sacraments
St. Oliver Plunkett celebrates all seven Catholic sacraments. The parish's own teaching pages walk parishioners through each one.
Baptism is celebrated privately on Saturdays or after Mass. Parents and Catholic godparents are asked to attend an interview with a priest, take the Baptism Preparation Class (offered via Zoom), and provide a copy of the child's birth certificate and a sponsor eligibility letter from the godparent's parish.
First Communion is normally received by students in grades 2 through 12 who have completed at least one year of weekly religious education through ROOTS, EDGE, or Life Teen. The parish teaches that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life, in which the Risen Jesus is truly and substantially present under the appearances of bread and wine through the change the Church calls transubstantiation.
Confirmation is a two-year preparation program beginning in ninth grade and concluding in tenth. Candidates select a Confirmation sponsor, complete FIAT service projects in the categories of family, church, and community, and present a Living Saint Project. The bishop confers the sacrament by the laying on of hands and the anointing with chrism.
Penance (Reconciliation) is offered each Saturday afternoon. Individual confession with a priest is the ordinary means for the forgiveness of grave sins, and the parish encourages regular reception of the sacrament as a path of conversion.
Anointing of the Sick is available to anyone struggling with illness, not only those near death. The sacrament may be celebrated communally, ideally within the context of the Eucharist.
Marriage preparation begins with a meeting with a priest and the completion of a Marriage Information Form. The parish affirms marriage as a sacramental, lifelong covenant that reflects the love of Christ for the Church.
Holy Orders: men discerning a vocation to the priesthood or diaconate are encouraged to contact the parish, and the parish's Vocation Ministry supports a culture of vocational discernment.
Faith Formation for Children, Teens, and Adults
The parish runs a comprehensive religious education program for children and youth.
ROOTS serves students in Pre-K through fifth grade. Classes meet either on Wednesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. or on Sundays from 10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. The coordinator is Aimee Tolmich. Children in grades 2 through 5 are also invited to join the Children's Choir, which sings at the 9:30 a.m. Sunday Mass and rehearses on Wednesday afternoons.
EDGE is the middle school program for grades 6 through 8, meeting on Wednesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Kane-Beltran Family Center. EDGE combines catechetical teaching with small-group breakouts and periodic social, service, and spiritual events.
Life Teen is the high school program for grades 9 through 12. Students gather on Sunday evenings from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. after the 5:00 p.m. Life Teen Mass, beginning with dinner and fellowship before moving into the session. The youth minister for EDGE and Life Teen is Amy Hardin.
Tuition for the 2026-2027 religious education year is set on a sliding scale by family size, with Pre-K and Kindergarten classes offered free of charge. Sacramental preparation fees are billed separately.
For adults, the parish offers Breaking Open the Word (Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. in the JPII Center), a Women's Bible Study (Tuesday mornings at 9:45 a.m. or Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m.), and Men of the Word (bimonthly on the second and fourth Thursdays). The Holy Family Ministry is a community of couples with young children who gather twice a month for a shared meal and faith sharing, with childcare provided.
Outreach to the Wider Gwinnett and Atlanta Community
Service to others is described by the parish as the defining mark of life at St. Oliver Plunkett. The parish's outreach efforts touch every corner of the local community and stretch into downtown Atlanta.
The St. Vincent de Paul Society operates through the parish as a conference of the national Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Vincentians make home visits to families in need, addressing requests for food, rent, utilities, transportation, medical bills, and clothing. Donations to the society are collected on the last Sunday of each month, and the conference meets on the second Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in Rooms 23-24.
My Brother's Freezer is a meat distribution program run in partnership with the parish's St. Vincent de Paul conference. Frozen meat is sourced at low cost from the main SVdP office in Chamblee, which picks up inventory from grocery chains around the Atlanta area. Distribution takes place in the garage area of the Adult Education house next to the church on Thursday evenings from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on Saturday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Clients are referred by SVdP case workers and given a specified number of trips based on household size.
The Shelter Ministry coordinates the parish's commitment to the Central/Bashor Men's Shelter in downtown Atlanta during the winter months from November through March. On assigned Saturdays, parish volunteers prepare and serve the evening meal, prepare sandwiches for the next day's lunch, and stay overnight in the shelter. The ministry also runs the Christmas Giving Tree and Adopt-a-Family (Secret Santa) programs, partnering with St. Vincent de Paul to fulfill Christmas wishes for shelter families and others in need.
The Southeast Gwinnett Food Co-op is supported through donations of non-perishable food items collected on the last weekend of each month and placed in the Mercy Closet outside the Kane-Beltran Center.
Loving Stitches is a long-running ministry of parishioners who sew and assemble layettes for mothers of newborns in financial need. Each layette contains a hand-knitted or crocheted blanket, receiving blankets, an infant gown, two undershirts, two pairs of socks, diapers, bottles, pacifiers, baby powder, lotion, soap, and a washcloth. Layettes are donated to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Atlanta and, when needed, to families served by the parish's St. Vincent de Paul Society.
GriefShare, a national grief recovery program, meets on Thursday mornings from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the JPII Center. The weekly seminar and support group is led by Linda Hedges and is open to anyone grieving the death of a loved one; newcomers may attend any session.
The Respect Life Ministry promotes a culture of life through prayer, fasting, peaceful vigil, and community outreach. The ministry participates in the 40 Days for Life campaign at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Lawrenceville, coordinates a Spiritual Adoption program for the unborn, and connects parishioners with crisis pregnancy resources, post-abortion healing programs, and local pregnancy resource centers.
St. Paul Street Evangelization brings the Catholic message to public spaces through the four-step method of Listen, Befriend, Proclaim, and Invite.
Knights of Columbus and Parish Groups
Council 13440 of the Knights of Columbus meets on the second Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Kane-Beltran Parish Center, gathering for the rosary in church at 5:30 p.m. and dinner before the business meeting. The council supports parish programs, sponsors the annual Silver Rose devotion for respect life, and offers Knights of Columbus Insurance to members and their families.
The St. Oliver Plunkett Men's Club meets on the first Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Kane-Beltran Center, supporting spiritual growth, fellowship, and parish fundraising, including the annual golf tournament. The Newcomers Committee welcomes newly registered parishioners with quarterly brunches. The Friends of Martha ministry prepares and serves funeral receptions for grieving parishioners. The African Catholic Community meets on the fourth Sunday of each month in the Media Center from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. for fellowship, and the parish also hosts the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion to the Sick and Homebound, Altar Society, Offertory Tabulation volunteers, and Parish Office Support volunteers.
Memorial Garden and Columbarium
St. Oliver Plunkett maintains an on-site Memorial Garden and Columbarium, dedicated and blessed by Archbishop Wilton Gregory on May 13, 2017. The columbarium is a granite structure with niches for the placement of urns; remains are typically interred immediately following the funeral or memorial service. A second phase of the Memorial Garden was blessed by Father Cyriac Mattathilanickal. The Code of Canon Law obliges the Catholic Church to maintain perpetual care of its burial sites, and the garden is located in a well-lit, secure area on the parish grounds. Inquiries about reserving a niche may be directed to the Business Manager, Anne Adair.
Safe Environment and VIRTUS Training
As required by the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the USCCB Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, all clergy, employees, and volunteers who work with minors or vulnerable individuals at St. Oliver Plunkett must complete the parish's Safe Environment requirements. These include a Sterling background check and attendance at a VIRTUS Protecting God's Children training session, with renewal every five years. Anne Adair serves as the parish's Safe Environment coordinator. The parish offers training in English and Spanish.
Music and Liturgy
Lucas McHenry serves as Director of Music and Liturgy, directing the Parish Choir (adults) and the Children's Choir (grades 2-8). The Adult Choir provides music at weekend Masses, and the Children's Choir sings at the 9:30 a.m. Sunday Mass, rehearsing on Wednesday afternoons. The parish also maintains a Hispanic choir that rehearses on Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. for the Saturday 7:00 p.m. Spanish Vigil Mass.
Online Giving, Communications, and Parish App
Online giving is available through Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) Giving, allowing parishioners to set up recurring or one-time gifts, manage their accounts, and receive end-of-year tax statements. Parish communications include a weekly bulletin (downloadable online), email updates through the parish's EVA account, and a parish mobile app with news, the calendar, and prayer resources. The parish calendar is maintained through the Diocesan platform and is accessible online.
Becoming Part of St. Oliver Plunkett
Newcomers are welcomed through the Newcomers Committee and invited to register as parishioners through the parish office. The parish's mission statement is to welcome those seeking a family of faith, nourish those who gather for spiritual enrichment, and serve those in need of social and material well-being, doing this through evangelistic efforts in the spirit of the discipleship to which Jesus has called the community. Visitors and newcomers are warmly invited to attend Mass, sign up for a ministry, or simply stop by the parish office at 3200 Brooks Drive SW in Snellville.