First Saturday devotions will be observed at the historic Catholic Church of Mary Immaculate near Williamsburg, Greenbrier County, beginning May 5, and continuing on the first Saturday of each month through October.
Beginning at 10:30 a.m. each first Saturday, the devotions will conclude with the Saturday daily Mass and a covered dish luncheon on the grounds. Serving as hosts will be Dr. and Mrs. Larry Musselman of nearby Butler Mountain and other members of the Alleghany Highlands Council 8689 Knights of Columbus and its auxiliary, as well as members of St. Catherine of Siena parish in Ronceverte, St. Louis, King of France, Mission in Lewisburg, and St. Charles Borromeo parish in White Sulphur Springs.
Established as a chapel of the former Immaculate Conception Church in Lewisburg in 1879, the current building, built in 1902 making it the oldest Catholic church building in Greenbrier County, is the third, the first two having burnt.
Prior to the establishment of a church in the Williamsburg area, the Catholics, primarily eastern European and Irish, would gather at midnight on Saturdays at Corkrean’s Store in Williamsburg and walk the 18 miles into Lewisburg for the early Mass.
Never an independent parish, the Church of Mary Immaculate has been a chapel in the parishes of St. Catherine of Siena in Ronceverte or Sacred Heart in Rainelle. The Musselmens along with other neighbors of the church maintain the grounds, the building, and the nearby cemetery.
Officiating at the Saturday devotions will be either Father John McDonough, pastor of St. Charles Borromeo and St. Catherine of Siena parishes, or Father James Conyers, pastoral assistant, for the two parishes, along with Deacons Bill Strange of White Sulphur Springs or Thomas Soper of Ronceverte.
The church is located on Catholic Church Road, off the Williamsburg-Frankford Road west off US 219 in Frankford.
For additional information, contact the office of the Catholic Churches of the Greenbrier Valley 304-536-1813 or the Knights of Columbus 304-645-1373.
