History of St. Dominic Parish
The history of St. Dominic reaches into the second half of the 19th
century to a chapel and cemetery located above Holly Springs that served
Catholics in the west Mobile area and was run by Jesuit fathers from
Spring Hill College. Near the end of World War I the little church was
destroyed by fire, though the cemetery still exists on Cadiz Street. A
new chapel was built on Cottage Hill Road and was dedicated to Saints
Simon and Jude by Bishop Edward Allen in 1919. About 30 years later it
also burned, but was rebuilt. Because of continuous growth in the area,
in 1958 Archbishop Thomas Toolen announced the formation of a new parish
to be known as St. Dominic. He appointed Reverend Joseph Adams as the
founding pastor. His first Mass as pastor was celebrated in the Cottage
Hill Road chapel on October 5, 1958.
On February 7, 1959 ground was broken for the first parish building at
the present church and school location. The first Mass was celebrated
there on July 5, 1959. Among the highest priorities for the new parish
was the building and staffing of a school. By 1961 a section of the
convent and six classrooms were ready. On August 15, 1961, five Sisters
of Mercy arrived in Mobile from Newry, Ireland. September 5, 1961 marked
the first day of school with an enrollment of 262 in six grades. The
next year two more classes were opened, and there were 430 students in
kindergarten through eighth grade. Enrollment steadily increased until
1971, when, with 622 pupils, St. Dominic School was the largest Catholic
grade school in the diocese. The school continues to flourish to this
day, with 560 students in preschool through eighth grade.
An official groundbreaking ceremony took place May 19, 1974 for the
present church. It was dedicated October 28, 1975. In June 1977
Monsignor Adams was reassigned and Monsignor John O’Hara was appointed
to the parish. He served as pastor until November 1983. It was during
this time that the present parish office and rectory was built and
occupied beginning in March 1981.
Monsignor Francis Murphy was assigned to replace Monsignor O’Hara
November 30, 1983. Among the immediate priorities was building a parish
center. Ground was broken in August 1989 and the center (now called the
Murphy Center) was dedicated April 1, 1990. Numerous renovations and
upgrading of parish facilities and grounds also occurred. Even with
these capital improvements the parish became debt free, due in large
measure to good leadership, careful planning and generous parishioners.
In June 1996 Monsignor Murphy retired and continues to live in residence
at St. Dominic. Reverend William Skoneki was appointed pastor. Under Fr.
Skoneki a new convent was purchased in June 1998 and the original
convent was renovated for use as the school office. A new parish and
school gymnasium (The Skoneki Center) opened in 1998 and the church
interior was refurbished in early 1999. The Adams Center (the original
parish building on the property) was renovated in 1998 and 1999 into
school specialty classrooms. An adjacent house was also purchased and
opened as the preschool in September 1999.
Reverend Ernest Hyndman was assigned to replace Fr. Skoneki in June
2005. Fr. Hyndman had a very special connection with St. Dominic
Parish—this was his home parish.
During Fr. Hyndman’s time at St. Dominic, Hurricane Katrina struck the
Gulf Coast, heavily damaging coastal communities from Louisiana to
Alabama. Many parishioners took in relatives and friends from these
devastated areas. Fr. Hyndman welcomed these new parishioners and
organized groups to cook dinner in the Murphy Center on a nightly basis
for our new parishioners and the families who housed them. He
spearheaded food and clothing drives, obtained furniture and household
goods, and cleaning supplies for homeowners devastated by the storm. He
personally delivered these supplies to homeowners in coastal areas along
with the assistance of other parishioners. He also set up a special
victims’ fund for Hurricane Relief.
Fr. Hyndman left St. Dominic in March 2006 on medical leave granted by
the Archdiocese. Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb asked Monsignor Murphy to
temporarily administer the parish until a replacement pastor could be
appointed. Monsignor Murphy agreed to this challenge and once again
managed the parish during which time he celebrated his 60th ordination
as a priest. Reverend James Cink was assigned as pastor effective June
2006 and continues as pastor to this day.
St. Dominic Parish’s biggest asset has always been its people. Today St.
Dominic Parish has nearly 1,500 households and 5,000 members, making it
one of the largest parishes in the Archdiocese of Mobile.