St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church marked 83 years in Bessemer with a weekend-long celebration that coincided with the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi and culminated in Sunday Mass on Oct. 8. The parish is named for St. Francis of Assisi, the holy man who established the Franciscan Order. St. Francis, born into a wealthy family in Italy in 1181, chose to live a life of poverty.

As part of the anniversary celebration, representatives of the various ministries at St. Francis joined the processional into church for the celebratory Mass, including Secular Franciscans, the Altar Rosary Sodality, Vir Nobilis, and St. Francis Youth. In his sermon, Father Paul Asih, M.S.P., pastor of St. Francis, reminded the congregation to trust in God.

“No other offering or sacrifice compares to the sacrifice made by God’s only begotten Son on the cross. We must rely on the power and grace of God to save us. We can’t afford to lose our salvation. That is why we must trust God every day. We are all children of God. … Our prayer: ‘Give us peace and joy and hope.’”

The St. Francis of Assisi Church anniversary weekend also included a blessing of animals on Friday, followed by the parish’s first-ever family and friends picnic fundraiser on Saturday.

Parishioners Malonese Dotson-Morris, Johnnie Mae Smith, and Gwen Swain spearheaded the anniversary celebration with help from Yolanda Sullivan, Angela Wilson, and many other parishioners and friends of the church, including Crystal Dunn and her Berries by Crystal food truck.

Dotson-Morris praised the congregation for its cooperation and involvement in the family and friends picnic fundraiser. “No one said, ‘No,’ when we asked for help,” she told the gathering.

Father Asih thanked parishioners for their faithfulness and generosity and urged them to continue participating in church activities: “What you plant in God’s house, He is planting in your house at the same time. God is protecting you every day. You must work in God’s house. God will bless you in a million ways. You must be thankful.”

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church had humble beginnings. Conventual Franciscan Friars Francis Pikor and Oderic Palys arrived in Alabama in 1940 to establish a parish for African Americans living in Bessemer, southwest of Birmingham. The first location was a storefront church. Franciscan Sisters, led by Sister Mary Laurenta, arrived in 1949 to open St. Francis of Assisi Mission School. In addition to the church and the elementary school, the parish included a rectory and a convent. In 2007, Father Asih arrived in Bessemer to serve as head of the parish.