Parish History
The church began as an African-American parish in 1888 and was named St. Peter Claver in 1903, in honor of the patron Saint of Negro Missions. The present church was built in 1928. This was one of two campuses in Georgia funded by Mother Katherine Drexel (later canonized Saint Katherine Drexel), staffed by her Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (SBS), and built by Father Ignatius Lissner and the Society of African Missions Fathers (SMA). The SMA operated the parish from 1913-1970, and the SBS staffed the school from 1915-2003. In 2009, St. Peter Claver Church and School were recognized by the Georgia Historical Society as a historical site in Georgia.