The Stella Maris Center for Faith and Culture, Inc.
A lay initiative at the service of the Catholic Church

Our Mission

The Stella Maris Center for Faith and Culture is a federal tax-exempt nonprofit organization established in 2003 and headquartered in Savannah, Georgia. Under the patronage of Our Lady, whose Latin title Stella Maris means "Star of the Sea," we have a threefold mission in the Diocese of Savannah and beyond:

• To enrich the spiritual formation of the Catholic community
• To present the Catholic faith in a compelling way to those outside the Church
• To reform our surrounding culture through the public expression of Catholic ideals.

Our Strategies

The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Savannah, Ga.

The initial focus of The Stella Maris Center includes these four projects:

• The Stella Maris Institute for Catholic Studies currently hosts two weekly Bible studies (one especially for local college students) at the parish center of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist on Lafayette Square in downtown Savannah.
      We also offer courses in theology for college credit as an extension campus of The College of Saint Thomas More in Ft. Worth, Texas.
      In addition, we sponsor occasional guest lectures, seminars, and conferences on Catholic topics; and concerts, films, plays, art exhibits and other cultural events with themes related to Catholic faith. See our calendar of events here.
• The Stella Maris Catholic Reading Room, housed in the Cathedral parish center, offers a non-circulating collection of Catholic books, tapes, and periodicals open to the public.
      In association with the Reading Room, the Center also hosts reading and film circles, whose members take part in guided discussions of particular books and films in light of Catholic faith.
• The Friends of the Georgia Martyrs. This association was formed to promote the cause of canonization of five Spanish Franciscan missionaries who brought the Catholic faith more than four centuries ago to the indigenous Guale people in what is now coastal Georgia. They gave their lives in 1597 in defense of the Catholic faith and the sanctity of marriage.
       For more information, click here.
• The Georgia Martyrs Catholic Heritage Museum. This project, still in the planning stage, will offer historical exhibits and lectures about four hundred years of Catholic life in Georgia.
      In addition, the museum will provide a Savannah Catholic Heritage Tour of area sites with historical significance for Catholics.

For more information about all these activities, including specific dates and times, email us at stellamariscenter@comcast.net.

How You Can Take Part

• Please pray for this work.
• Join us in our activities.
• Volunteer your time, labor, and talents.
• Your donations are gladly accepted and tax-deductible. (We are a 501(c)(3) organization.) Please make checks out to The Stella Maris Center and mail to the address below.
• We need new and used Catholic literature for the reading room, as well as items of historical interest (artifacts, photos, books, papers, etc.) to exhibit in the museum (as a gift or on loan).

For more information, contact:

Dr. Paul Thigpen
Executive Director
The Stella Maris Center for Faith and Culture
POB 30157
Savannah, GA 31410
Phone/fax: 912-898-7991
stellamariscenter@comcast.net