About Us

A Brief History of St. Frances Cabrini Parish:
  • The first Mass to be celebrated in Lebanon occurred in 1915 as the Rev. John Cunningham presided at the celebration of the Eucharist in the home of John J. Martin, Sr. The future Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago, Rev. Samuel Stritch, celebrated Mass several times at the Martin home on West Spring Street around 1922.
  • It wasn’t until 1930 that Mass was regularly offered through the efforts of the Rev. Harold DesChamps who was stationed at the Cathedral in Nashville. During the next few years Mass was observed at Seagraves Funeral Home, the Chapel at Cumberland University and Castle Heights Military Academy. After World War II the library at Castle Heights served as the “home” of the growing parish community.
  • It was in 1951 that Rev. George Rohling received permission from Bishop William Adrian to search for property to build a new church. The fledgling community pooled their resources and purchased five acres from Cumberland University to build the church in 1952. The dedication Mass of the new church occurred on April 19, 1953 under the name of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini.
  • Since that time, additional property and structures have been added to the original church and the community has grown to approximately 500 households comprising 1,100 individuals. With this increase in the size of the community, the need to expand the footprint of the worship space is imminent, whether at its current site or at a new location.
Share by: