Parish History (1974 - Present)

In the Beginning

In March 1974, the Parish Goals and Development Committee of St. Mary's Church in Greenville suggested a meeting to determine the feasibility of a new parish because of the large and growing population of Catholics in the Taylors and Greer areas. A general meeting was held at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Greer and the consensus was to establish a new parish. A search was begun for a host church where Mass could be said since it was obvious that the Episcopal Church was too small. Grace Methodist Church in Greer agreed to share their facilities and Msgr. William Croghan and Father Michael O'Connor of St. Mary's alternated saying a Saturday evening Mass there.

It soon became clear that the majority of Catholics who joined this new endeavor were from the Taylors area and Lee Road Methodist Church Agreed to let us use their sanctuary for Mass on Sundays. Father Ronald Anderson, who had recently retired and moved back to Greenville in September, 1974, joined the priests from St. Mary's in saying Mass in both Greer and Taylors. At both locations a social hour followed the Mass and it was from these gatherings that communications and friendships began that served as the basis for the new parish.

During this period arrangements were made to by 14 acres of land on Brushy Creek Road in anticipation of building a church. This was considered an ideal location since the community consisted of people from Mauldin, Spartanburg, Tryon, NC and Travelers Rest, as well as from St. Mary's and Our Lady of the Rosary in Greenville.

Father Tom Bonifante was named the first Pastor and formed a building committee to begin the planning for our present structure, When the building plans were approved, construction of the first building, the present Church, began. The contractor was our own parishioner, Henry Holseberg.

Father Tom Bonifante was succeeded by Msgr. Croghan who was the Pastor at the time of the dedication of the Church.

Lee Road Methodist Church

In 1975, if one looked for the Catholic Church in Taylors, all you would find was a piece of vacant land on Brushy Creek Road. It took several phone calls to locate the Pastor, Father Tom Bonifante. Catholics were meeting at the Methodist Church on Lee Road at this time.

The parish did not have a real name yet, just a mission of St. Mary's. "Lee Road Methodist Church" was what one read on the sign going into Mass on Sunday in their gym. When the church building was ready, it still did not have a name. There were three or four popular suggestions. Msgr. Croghan did not like the name Prince of Peace; he thought people would use POP or 'Pop' to refer to the parish. 'Blessed Trinity' was a name favored by some. One Sunday, all the members of the parish voted at the Masses, and when the ballots were counted, "Prince of Peace" became our name. In hindsight, Msgr. Croghan was right about the use of POP.

Rev. Mickey Fisher was the minister at Lee Road Methodist Church in 1975. He had a practice of having "Good News" time during his service. Msgr. Croghan (he was Father Croghan then) heard it and wanted to start it at our church. He did, and the "Good News" time that we have today is a direct result of that start. This was an early form of the business practice of benchmarking. After Msgr. Croghan's death, subsequent priests at Prince of Peace were initially reluctant to adopt the practice. Once they started (often by popular demand), they too were enthusiastic about it.

The priest's home located just outside the Prince of Peace complex today is not where the early priests lived. In 1975 the diocese owned a house on Wade Hampton Boulevard and the first priests lived there; the assistant lived in a trailer behind the house. Today, the trailer is here on this property and is used by the Knights of Columbus. You won't find the old parish house on Wade Hampton Boulevard. A developer purchased the property and it is now part of the parking lot at the Wal-Mart store!

Even after we departed the gym at Lee Road Methodist Church, we didn't fully depart. We continued to use the church facility for religious education and the gym to house our basketball program. It is incredible the total sharing of their facilities that Lee Road gave to this parish.

Humor

For those of you who did not know Father Anderson, it would help to have a description of him. He was very tall and thin, had a white goatee and mustache, and he loved music and sing. One parishioner described him as Gandolf the wizard. Father Anderson was celebrating Mass at Lee Road Methodist Church. At that time the Catholic Church was really getting into music and singing at Mass and using hymns most Catholics were not yet familiar with. After Mass one of the parishioners introduced his parents to Father Anderson. His dad told him he enjoyed his sermon, but he felt he had just spent an hour with Mitch Miller in a "Sing Along with Mitch." Father Anderson got a kick out of this.

On another occasion Father Anderson had finished wiping the chalice after communion when a big grin came across his face. He said he was thinking of Pope John Paul and his ecumenical movement - about "opening the windows and letting the fresh air in." Prince of Peace was planning its first Seder Feast - which Father had just discussed. "Here I am," he said, "a converted Baptist who became a priest, saying a Catholic Mass in a Methodist church, and getting ready to celebrate a Jewish feast. I don't think you can get more Ecumenical that that!" He could have added that this effort was organized in an Episcopal church.

Father Anderson graced our building on and off until his death in the early 1990s. He would often say the Sunday evening Mass, which was attended by many teenagers attracted to his personality and preaching. This Sunday evening tradition eventually grew into a youth program known as Teens Alive.

Church Design (Msgr. Croghan Hall, as of 7/03)

The design of the old church building is an expression of our identity as a worshipping community.  The building has seven roof supports representing the seven Sacraments. God's grace flows down through the sacraments, and gathers us together to send prayers, praise and petitions back up to God.

Stained Glass Window

For more than three years Lee Road Methodist facility was the home of the Prince of Peace Catholic community. In 1978, we found a way to thank Lee Road and their minister, Re. Mickey Fisher, for their help and to celebrate the relationship of the two Christian communities. A stained glass artist, who was a member of Lee Road Methodist Church, created two identical windows. We presented one to Lee Road Methodist Church and installed the other at Prince of Peace. This serves as a permanent reminder of the caring attitude of one Christian community to another. The window has a white dove symbolizing the Prince of Peace. The boat and cross represent the Christian journey through life. The basin with flowing water signifies the washing away of sin by Christ, a symbol chosen by the Methodists. A plaque reads "Love is Sharing." Our window is located to the right of the altar. The frame was constructed and installed by Gene Fitzgerald.

The Blue Window

In the back of the church you notice the blue stained glass window. Mr. and Mrs. Edwin L Reynolds, friends of Father Croghan, were the parents of Sister Lucy Reynolds at the Poor Clare Monastery here in Greenville. Her superior, Mother Silas, was the founder and first abbess at the Monastery. When she died, the Reynolds; commissioned a stained glass window to be made in her honor at the Trappist Monastery in Conyers, Georgia. That window is the blue window in Prince of Peace; the name of Mother Silas, OSC, is etched in the corner.

Stations of the Cross

The framed Station of the Cross were donated by Minnie Burchfield in memory of her parents, Carlo and Vita Bucossi. Originally a tapestry, they were framed individually when Father Seitz and Minnie decided they could better serve their purpose in a new form.

The Organ

The organ at Prince of Peace was originally built in New York City in 1865. Levi U. Stewart built this organ for St. James Episcopal Church in Titusville, Pennsylvania. In 1896 the organ was enlarged to 15 set of pipes, and in 1909 it was moved to Trinity Church. The organ was dismantled in 1980 when Trinity Church was closed. It was the rebuilt as a new organ incorporating the original pipes with a new mechanical key action. This rebuilt organ was installed in Prince of Peace and dedicated on August 15, 1984. It was given in memory of Monsignor William Croghan by the people of the Parish.

Baptismal Bowl

During Lent, 1981, Fr. Lehocky and the parish staff decided to add something special to a Lenten liturgy. The whole parish was asked to transfer a bit of clay from one mound to another. Afterward, all the clay that had been handled was used by a potter to form the Baptismal Bowl and a number of clay patents and chalices. Many '"hands" went into the creation of these objects.

Crosses

Throughout the rooms in the parish buildings you will see a variety of crosses. Each was donated by a parishioner who had traveled to another country and brought back a cross. These are indicative of Prince of Peace - the crosses are as varied as the parishioners who have blended to form this parish.

Education Building

The Education Building was opened in November, 1991. It was designed by Bradley Van Name, a parishioner, in conjunction with the Parish Building Committee (now Building and Grounds Committee). The pastor at the time was Fr. Paul Seitz.

Activity Center

The Prince of Peace Activity Center opened its doors in August, 1996.  Fr. Chet Moczydlowski was pastor. The “PAC” houses our athletic programs as well as many large social gatherings and  large liturgical needs. It is temporarily our worship space on Sunday mornings until completion of our new permanent church.  During these years our parish passed the 1,500 family mark and began to look seriously at long range goals.  

The New Church

In July 1998, Fr. Steven Brovey was named pastor of our parish.  Under his leadership, we have moved forward in our dream of building a new church and the Prince of Peace Catholic School.  Our new church (which seats approximately 1,500) was dedicated on September 21, 2003.  The old church has been renamed Msgr. Croghan Hall, and now serves as a multi-functional meeting/office space.  The new Prince of Peace Elementary School opened in September 2003. As it is still in its infancy (K - 5), classes are held in the existing Education Building. There are plans to build a new facility on church grounds.

                        Front Door of the New Church                                            Interior View of the New Church

Over the past 25 years, Prince of Peace has welcomed over 1,200 new members into the Catholic faith through the waters of baptism.  Together with other new parishioners, these new Christians have contributed to the continued growth of our community, which now includes almost 1,900 families.  

Logo

The first Prince of Peace logo was a crown superimposed with a dove. The crown was chosen to symbolize the royalty of Christ and the dove to symbolize peace. The logo was stitched in the pillow of the presider's chair by the Poor Clare Monastery.

Our current logo includes the parish motto and an olive branch symbolizing peace.

Priests of Prince of Peace