The Mission of Our Lady of the Mount in Lookout Mountain, Georgia was created in 1947 as a Mission of the Redemptorist Fathers’ Parish of Saint Joseph in Dalton, Georgia; later it was transferred to the Parish of Saint Gerard in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. The Catholics in Lookout Mountain originally attended Mass either at Saints Peter and Paul Parish, seven miles away in Chattanooga, Tennessee, or at Saint Joseph’s Parish, thirty-eight miles away in Dalton, Georgia.

Prior to the establishment of a permanent mission on Lookout Mountain, Mass was offered for several years in a log cabin, then in a private home, and finally in the hall of the Fairyland Grade School. With the purchase of the Stardust Club building on August 25, 1947, for $25,000, a permanent mission was established, and Father John Murphy, C.SS.R. was appointed priest-in-charge with the task of converting the club into a “House of God.” At that time Lookout Mountain Mission numbered twenty-seven families. The newly structured church was dedicated to the Mother of God, Our Lady of the Mountain, and a beautiful statue of Our Lady was placed on the mountain in front of the church.

Over the years since 1947, seventeen priests of the Redemptorist Order have served the mission. Father Jack Cavanaugh served the longest, a period of eleven years. During Father Cavanaugh’s years of service the church sanctuary was rearranged according to Vatican II Liturgical Norms, the downstairs of the church was made into a parish hall, and a rectory was built. Much of this was able to be accomplished through the generosity of the late Mr. James Hedges.

Religious education classes have been conducted through the years for the children of the parish through the generous service of the Sisters of Notre Dame and their lay assistant, Moira Tingle, who taught in Saint Gerard’s School at Fort Oglethorpe.

In February 1975 Father Gerald Whelan, C.SS.R. was appointed priest-in-charge. Under his direction a new church has been constructed to accommodate the growth of the parish to over one hundred seventy-five families.

Now after consultation with the Presbyterial Council, according to the prescription of Canon 515.2, the pastor of Saint Gerard’s in Fort Oglethorpe, the pastor of Saint Joseph’s in Dalton and the Dean of the area, it seems in the best interest of the Faithful and the Church-at-large to accord this Mission full parish status.

Therefore, with the required canonical consultations having been completed, I now decree the establishment of Our Lady of the Mount Parish in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, effective November 18, 1984.

The boundaries of the Parish of Our Lady of the Mount shall be as follows:
NORTH: The state line of Georgia and Tennessee.
WEST: The state line of Georgia and Alabama.
EAST: Georgia Highway 218, from Rossville to Highway 193. Then from Highway 193, at Highway 218, south to Copper Heights.
SOUTH: Highway 136 from Copper Heights to the Alabama state line.

The first pastor shall be Reverend Gerald J. Whelan, C.SS.R.
Given in Atlanta, Georgia this 30TH day of November 1984.