Parish History

Over a century ago the development and growth of the Catholic Church in St. Andrew, Florida, began. The year was 1890; the population was about 1,200. Out of the 1,200 residents, there were six or eight Catholic families. Among those few families, was a Lt. Commander (retired) Francis H. Sheppard, a lawyer and a Civil War Veteran and a devout Catholic. Commander Sheppard, in 1880, had left his home in Springfield, Missouri, with his wife, Lulu Chears, and seven children, to settle in St. Andrew. Therefore, the Sheppards were disappointed to find that St. Andrew had no church. In order to hear Mass and receive Holy Communion, the Sheppards opened their home, on Cincinnati Avenue, to missionaries, who came by boat from St. Michael in Pensacola. Mass was celebrated about twice a year, or as often as a missionary could come to the Sheppard home. The handful of Catholics living in St. Andrew at the time were very grateful to Father I. B. Baasen, pastor of St. Michael in Pensacola; and Father Francis J. Tobin, also of St. Michael, for making their semi-annual arduous boat journey to St. Andrew .

When the Sheppards settled in St. Andrew, the fact that there was no Catholic Church was only one of their problems. They were faced with many others, such as: all travel into or out of town was by boat, and transportation within the town was either by foot or horse and wagon.

But the one thorn in the commander's side that he was determined to eliminate was the fact that there was no Catholic Church. Although these Catholics were few in number and poor in purse, they were determined to have a church. So on March 30, 1888, Commander Sheppard donated four lots, located on 15th and Frankford, to Bishop Jeremiah O'Sullivan, of the Mobile Diocese, for the church. He also donated the land for the Catholic Cemetery. Both pieces of property were put to the use for which they were intended.

The cemetery location was chosen because it was high on a hill not far from the St. Andrew's Cemetery (Greenwood Cemetery today). The Catholic Cemetery was begun in the late 1880's. When founded, the cemetery stood at the extreme outer edge of the St. Andrew Bay Land Railroad and Mining Company's property. A special note of interest: It was in the Catholic Cemetery that General George Patton bivouacked his troops prior to departing for Europe during World War II.

Commander Sheppard, aside from donating the land for the church, raised funds for the building. On January 2, 1890, he got a surprise donation of $40, from the boys of the St. Andrew Brass Band - all Protestants - to help the Catholics build their church. The $40 donation was the Band's New Year's entertainment proceeds. Very pleased by this donation, Commander Sheppard wrote a letter of thanks and appreciation (dated January 5, 1890), to The St. Andrew Messenger, telling the newspaper, "We came here from various places, in which we had all suffered one thing alike - prejudice against our ancient religion - and we expected to find the same feeling in our new home. But, it has not been so." In that same letter, he also thanked various other Protestant donors, for their substantial favors and financial aid; he ended by pledging to make the church a credit to the town. On January 8, 1890, The Messenger printed Commander Sheppard's letter, for all of St. Andrew to read.

So in the same year of 1890, a small Catholic church (chapel size and known as the Catholic Church of St. Andrew), was erected at the corner of the present Foster and 15^th Streets. Even though there were not more than six or eight Catholic families in the area, nothing could keep them away from church when the missionaries came to town. Life seemed good to those few Catholic families, for they now had a church and missionaries to serve their church. For twenty-six years, Father Baasen and other missionaries journeyed to the Catholic church of St. Andrew, to celebrate Mass, to accommodate that handful of Catholic families.

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The church served its parishioners until 1916 when Bishop Edward P. Allen, of the Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham, sent Father M. Hourican who was then assigned to the Most Holy Redeemer Church in Eufaula, Alabama, to St. Andrew, to build a new church. However by this time, St. Andrew had undergone three name changes. It was called "Resort," then "Harrison," and lastly, "Panama City." Thus, Father Hourican came to Panama City and built a new Catholic church on Harrison Avenue and 6^th Street. The new church was served by Father Hourican, along with other missionary priests: Fathers J. A. Tomelin, Michael J. Keyes, and Bernard L. Platto, who came every two or three months to say Mass.

In June 1917, Bishop Allen dedicated the church on 600 Harrison Avenue, giving it the patron name of St. Dominic. Nine years later, St. Dominic had its first resident pastor: Father Charles D. Meyer. Father Meyer was now serving St. Dominic and the tiny mission of *St. James in Lynn Haven. Father Meyer also celebrated mass on a monthly basis, in Marianna, at the home of U.S. Senator and Mrs. W. H. Milton. Although the Miltons lived in Marianna, they owned a summer home called Hurricane Hall on Seaview Avenue (now known as West Beach Drive), and spent their summers in Panama City, as many out-of-town folk, coming from as far away as Atlanta, to relax on the sugar-white beaches. The Miltons and the Sheppards did their best to promote Catholicism in Northwest Florida.

*Note of interest: St. James was built on two lots donated by the St. Andrew Bay and Development Company of Lynn Haven. That Company donated land to the Baptist, Catholic, Presbyterian and Methodist, all of which built churches. All are still standing except the Catholic. Ironically both St. James and the Catholic Church of St. Andrew burned in 1929.

In June 1943, Father Meyer was succeeded as pastor by Father Andrew McGovern; and at this time our Nation was engaged in World War II. Because of the war, Panama City's population had suddenly gone from 11,610, in 1940, to 15,000 workers employed at either Tyndall Field or the U.S. Navy Base, then known as the Mine Defense Laboratory. These were hard times, and Father McGovern was quite busy with taking care of the needs of his parishioners, plus saying mass at the Navy Base, and participating in USO projects as well. This hectic routine continued until the war ended.

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In 1946, shortly after World War II ended, the nation was quite stable, thereby making materials and other goods that had been hard to come by now readily available, and for those who wanted to build, they could to their heart's content. Father McGovern was one of those who not only wanted to build but needed to, because the tiny church at 600 Harrison could not accommodate the 200 Catholic families that were now living in Panama City. The property was sold to the Standard Oil Company and its agent moved in to the rectory, leaving Father McGovern without a home. He rented a house two miles from the church and lived there until the new church and rectory were completed in 1947. The new St. Dominic's Church and Rectory -- located at Harrison Avenue and 11^th Street -- served the parish until new property was acquired, and the Church moved in 1977 to its present location at 3308 East 15^th Street.

In 1957, Reverend McGovern also supervised construction of St. Bernadette's Church located on Panama City Beach. Prior to that Church facility being erected, Church services during the summer seasons had been conducted in the theater. Reverend McGovern continued his dual role as Pastor of both St. Dominic and St. Bernadette Churches until ill health caused his retirement in 1958. The pastors that succeeded Reverend McGovern included Monsignor Timothy J. Pathe, Monsignor Denis Gray, Reverend John P. Owen, and Reverend John F. Colreavy. These pastors were assisted by the Reverends Joseph Kula, Francis P. Killeen, Hugh E. Dolan and Thomas Cody.

From 1960-1968, the Catholic Church in Northwest Florida underwent many changes, some of which involved St. Dominic's. In June of 1968, St. Dominic's left the Diocese of Mobile for that of St. Augustine's.

In 1969, Bishop Paul F. Tanner of the Diocese of St. Augustine purchased 10 acres of land for future use on East 15^th Street. This was to be the future home of St. Dominic's.

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In 1970 Father William A. Crowe became pastor of St. Dominic's at 11^th Street and Harrison Avenue and began planning for the new Church facilities on 15^th Street that would ultimately meet the needs of a growing Parish. The property on 15^th Street at that time was a swamp, and 100,000 cubic yards of fill dirt, donated by St. Joe Paper Company, was dumped into the site to bring it up to street level before construction could begin. On September 30, 1973, a ground breaking ceremony for the construction of a Parish Hall was held and by September 1974 the Hall was completed and available for Parish activities.

November 6, 1975, Bishop Rene H. Gracida was installed as the first Bishop of the new Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, in which St. Dominic's was annexed. In August 1976, the Rectory was completed and the first Mass in the new Parish Hall was celebrated on March 20, 1977; seven days later Bishop Gracida dedicated the Religious Education Center. The move to the new location on East 15^th Street was completed in 1979, and the new church was dedicated on November 13, 1981.

On November 21, 1981, Bishop Gracida ordained Fr. Thomas Crandall at St. Dominic's. This was the first ordination ever to be celebrated both in Panama City and at St. Dominic's.

The first TV Mass was broadcast from the new St. Dominic's on July 3, 1983. We continue to broadcast the 10 A.M. Sunday Mass live on WMBB Channel 13. The televised Mass reaches viewers in north Florida, southeast Alabama, and south Georgia.

On October 7, 1985, Bishop J. Keith Symons dedicated the mission church Our Lady of the Rosary in Bayou George, which was built by the parishioners of St. Dominic's.

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On October 7, 1987, Bishop Symons dedicated St. Dominic's replica of the Lourdes Grotto, located behind the Church.

The new Catholic Social Services (now Catholic Charities) building at 2934 E. 11^th Street was dedicated on December 8, 1988. The land for the building, as well as the money to build it, was provided by the parishioners of St. Dominic's.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, a mission church in Mexico Beach, was dedicated on December 10, 1989 by Bishop Symons, Msgr. William A. Crowe, and Fr. Benedict Klucinee.

St. Barnabas House, a shelter for homeless families, was dedicated on December 15, 1993 by Bishop John Smith. St. Barnabas House shelters homeless families for two or three months, enabling them to get back on their feet. This structure was also financed by the parishioners of St. Dominic's.

St. Dominic's entered Cyberspace on August 23, 1995, when St. Dominic's Home Page was uploaded onto the World Wide Web on WS Network's Web Server in Montgomery, Alabama.

A new Parish Office Building was constructed and completed in October 1995. Prior to this, the office had been located in the Rectory. The new building contains two conference rooms and a kitchen area, in addition to offices for the priests and support staff.

On April 27, 1997, Msgr. Crowe celebrated his 50th Jubilee of his Ordination to the Priesthood. The Mass was celebrated by Bishop John Ricard. Many of the clergy were in attendance along with numerous guests and parishioners.

In January 1998, construction began on six retirement apartments, which are rented to parishioners. Since then several more apartments have been added.

On January 13, 2002, Monsignor Crowe announced his retirement due to health concerns, and Fr. Peter Zalewski was appointed as the Parish Administrator.

On April 28, 2002, our parish family honored Monsignor Crowe with a party for his dedication, support of our parishioners and many, many accomplishments. Not only was this a day to reminisce and honor Monsignor, it was also the 55th Anniversary of his First Mass.

On August 8, 2002, our beloved Pastor Emeritus of St. Dominic Parish entered peacefully in God's kingdom. How fitting that he was called by Our Lord on St. Dominic's Feast Day. He was eighty-three years old.

Monsignor gave a lifetime of ministry to the Church. When he took his vows fifty-five years ago, he did not take them lightly. He was an exemplary, devout, deeply committed and humble pastor and priest, who touched many lives. He was instrumental in accomplishing many projects throughout our community and Northwest Florida. We owe much to Monsignor -- he dedicated himself unselfishly to the temporal and spiritual well-being of the parish, leading it in the direction of growth and service.

Bishop John H. Ricard officially appointed Fr. Peter Zalewski, Pastor of St. Dominic Parish, on November 21, 2002.

As of October 2003, St. Dominic's had over 1,330 registered families. We have over 35,000 square feet of buildings where there is a ministerial or social activity going on almost every day of the week.