OUR LADY OF FATIMA
CATHOLIC CHURCH
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OUR LADY OF FATIMA CATHOLIC CHURCH |
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The history of this parish really was a tale of two groups that developed in a parallel fashion and eventually amalgamated. One group (using the same name Our Lady of Fatima Chapel) began in Clearwater, Florida under the auspices of what would later become the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (CMRI). The CMRI venture would eventually fizzle out as this group (the smaller of the two) joined the other much larger one.
The other and larger group began with a letter in 1973 from one Mr Joseph Mullane to Monsignor Paul Marceau. Monsignor had continued to offer the Traditional Mass and had formed a group of priests together with Fr Francis Fenton in 1973 called the ORCM or Orthodox Roman Catholic Movement. The priests offered Mass on a circuit around the United States and gradually established chapels around the US. The story of this parish is the story of one of those chapels. Until 1979 (when this church was built) the group developed in a number of rented accommodations in the New Port Richey area about 15 miles south of Spring Hill. For a while the Society of St Pius X cooperated with the ORCM until Archbishop Lefebvre forbade their cooperation. Consequently Masses were offered by the then Fr Clarence Kelly as a member of the SSPX.
Many famous leaders (a veritable who's who) of today's traditional movement came to our group on the Mass circuit from 1974 until Fr Andrew Bonet became our first resident pastor in 1978. Below are some of the photographs of priests who served our group in those years:
Representing the ORCM / SSPX group
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| Fr Francis Fenton | Bishop Clarence Kelly | Fr Daniel Jones | Bishop Robert McKenna O.P. | Fr Andrew Bonet C.R. |
Representing the CMRI group
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| Bishop Schuckhardt | Fr Thomas Fouhy | Fr Clement Kubish | Fr Denis Chicoine C.M.R.I. |
Then in 1978, a 6 acre tract was donated by the Deltona Corporation (the original developer of the Spring Hill subdivision) to the ORCM making the possibility of constructing a permanent house of worship a reality.
1978 - 1982
July 1978 - The Transferal of the Title to the Orthodox Roman Catholic Movement (O.R.C.M.)
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A Group of Faithful Pose for the transferal of the title deeds |
Fr Joseph Gorecki (Representing Fr Fenton of the ORCM)
accepts the deeds |
March 19, 1979 - The Ground-Breaking Ceremony
Fr Andrew Bonet (First Permanent Pastor
of this Church)
poses with altar servers and other parishioners
1979 - 1980 The Construction of the Church
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| One would never imagine that this sandy trail would become the Church driveway | The North Wall under construction |
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| Standing where the High Altar would eventually be placed | The Roof installed |
A Marriage Photograph showing how the
High Altar appeared until 1982
  
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Copyright© Our Lady of Fatima Spring Hill, |
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