Parish Church of St. Anna (Lehel, Munich)
Coordinates: 48°08′25″N 11°35′14″E / 48.14028°N 11.58722°E
St. Anna is a Catholic parish church Lehel, Munich, southern Germany, built in 1887-1892 under design by Gabriel Seidl. It is the main parish church of Lehel, located in the center of the quarter. In 1983, Coppell homemakers Norma Gaffney and Sandy Jadlot started talking and praying about the possibility of getting together with other local Catholics to build a Catholic Community. After initial word of mouth efforts and advertising in the local paper, 24 families responded. They quickly realized that in order to move forward they would need more interested Catholic families. They again advertised in the local newspaper as well as on local cable. On 9/16/84, the 1st organizational meeting was held in the Coppell Middle School cafeteria (now known as CMS West) to discuss next steps in the formation of a Catholic Community.
The families learned that in order for a priest to come and celebrate Mass, they had to petition the diocese for mission status. Determined to make their dreams a reality, the resolute group leased 3 frame buildings (formerly known as the 1st United Methodist Church property) on 10/11/84 in old downtown Coppell for 3 years from George Chaddick, owner of the property at the northwest corner of Coppell Rd. and W. Bethel Road. Bishop Thomas Tschoepe signed the lease. Chaddick did not request any money down and prayers were that enough people would come to pay the rent. The diocese timely granted the families’ mission request and the Coppell Catholic Community Mission was established as a mission of Mary Immaculate Parish in nearby Farmers Branch. First Mass was said at the new facility on 10/21/84 by Fr. Leon Deusman from Mary Immaculate with approximately 225 in attendance. $1200 was collected and the 1st month’s rent was paid! From that point forward, collections subsidized expenses. Fr. Duesman, along with Fr. Kilian Broderick, director of the diocesan Catholic Charities, began serving the mission on a rotating basis.