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History of Christ the King Parish and School
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Soon after his arrival in Tennessee, the Most Reverend William L. Adrian, Bishop of Nashville, established the Parish of Christ the King to serve the needs of the rapidly growing Catholic population in the southwestern section of the city.
The Diocese purchased property at 3001 Belmont Boulevard, which included a two-story brick house, on May 10, 1937. The Bishop wrote a letter to Father Joseph E. Leppert, dated June 14, 1937, advising him of his assignment to the new parish. Official installation of the pastor was to take place on July 26, the day after the celebration of the first Mass in the temporary chapel.
Construction of a new frame church began during the same month and was completed two months later. The brick house served as chapel, school, parish house, recreation hall, and community center until the new school was opened on September 3, 1946. With the completion of the new school, the brick house was renovated and used as a residence for the pastor. On August 11, 1953, Rt. Rev. Thomas P. Duffy, former pastor of St. Maryís Church in Nashville, was appointed pastor of Christ the King, replacing Father Leppert who had been assigned to Little Flower Church in Memphis. Plans for the construction of an addition to the school, a new rectory, and a new church were made soon after Father Duffyís appointment.
By January 1955 the addition to the school, consisting of four classrooms, lobby, and an auditorium/gymnasium, had been completed; and in April 1955 ground was broken for the new church and rectory. In December of that year, just in time for the celebration of Father Duffyís Silver Jubilee, the rectory was completed. The old two-story brick structure, which through the years  had served so many purposes, was then razed, and construction of the new church began. On the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 1956, the cornerstone of the church was laid ìto the Glory of Christ the King.î
Father Duffy died in residence on February 6, 1970. Rev. Msgr. Daniel S. Richardson was assigned Pastor of Christ the King Church on January 28, 1970. With great compassion for human suffering and frailty, Monsignor Dan quietly helped many hundreds of families and individuals whose spiritual care had been entrusted to him during his seventeen years at Christ the King. On June 30, 1987, Monsignor Dan Richardson retired as Pastor of Christ the King. Just prior to his retirement, on June 19-20, 1987, Christ the King held its Fiftieth Anniversary celebration, with dinner at Opryland Hotel on Friday evening and with Mass and a barbecue dinner on the parish grounds Saturday evening.
Rev. James K. Mallett, former Chancellor of the Diocese, became the fourth Pastor of Christ the King Church on July 1, 1987, as the parish was celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. During the next ten years, Christ the King School flourished under the leadership of its principal, Alice Siegenthaler Valiquette, and its governing board.
On the sixtieth anniversary of the parish, during a Mass celebrated by the Most Rev. Edward U. Kmiec, Bishop of Nashville, Father Mallett announced a capital project and fund raising campaign to improve the facilities of the church and school campus. After six months of campaign preparation, the parishioners pledged more than $2,750,000 on the Feast of Christ the King in 1997. The new Parish Center and extensive renovations to the school were dedicated on the Feast of Christ the King in 1999.
 The Design of Christ the King Church
Designed by John Harwood of Woolwine, Harwood and Clark, Architectural Associates and constructed by the Boone Construction Company, the church was built in the form of a Latin cross. The style was a modification of the Tudor Gothic Architecture, achieved by using flat roof areas over the transepts in order that all sight lines lead from the main entrance to the sanctuary.
The Bell Tower
The belfry tower rises to 114 feet from ground level to the northeast corner, adjoining the vestibule and houses a three thousand pound bell. The bell is operated by automatic electric motors. The tower also contains the blower and motor for the three-manual Kilgen pipe organ that was installed.
The Altars
 The main altar is of black (Portoro) Italian marble with a reredos of green marble (Verde Issorie), surmounted by a bronze crown which constitutes the ciborium or baldachino of the altar. A carved wooden crucifix, with a life-sized corpus of Jesus, is above the bronze tabernacle. The sanctuary is adorned with massive bronze
candlesticks which were especially designed for the church by De Prato Studios of Chicago and New York. This studio also supplied the marble and glass work.
The two side altars, one on each transept, are also of black Italian marble with green marble background. The south altar is graced by a statue of Our Lady of Confidence. The north altar is graced by a statue of Saint Joseph. Both statues are done in Carrara marble, designed by the Italian Studio of Da Prato.
Saint Joseph
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Our Lady of Confidence
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The Floor
The floor of the church is done in terrazzo marble laid by Franceson Company. The main aisle has ten prophetic symbols of Christ from the Old Testament, and the sanctuary has the Lamb of God from the Apocalypse flanked by symbols of the Holy Eucharist.
The Windows of Christ the King Church
The two 16-foot stained glass windows in the sanctuary take their theme from the Apocalypse, the Second Coming of Christ and the Woman clothed with the Sun.
The Beginning of the Gospel, or south side of the church at the sanctuary and continuing around the nave, are twenty-six 16-foot stained glass windows depicting the life of Christ from the Annunciation to the Ascension. In the choir loft, three 22-foot stained glass windows represent the Holy Trinity in the Creation of Man, the Redemption and the Sanctification of the Church. The twelve small windows in the aisles depict symbols of the apostles, while the ten 8-foot windows on the transepts represent five kings and five queens who were also saints.
(See the pictures to the left.)
Other Features
Of special interest in the furnishings of the church are the mosaic Stations of the Cross made in Venice, illuminated by indirect lighting set in cut stone frames.
The baptistry is set off from the main lobby of the church and is located to the south side of the front vestibule. It constitutes an appendage of the church, octagonal in shape and balancing the tower on the opposite side of the vestibule. A small foyer to the baptistery has a small stained glass window depicting the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Massive bronze gates close off the baptistry proper that is paved in Verdi Issorie marble. The baptismal font is of black marble, the cover surmounted by a bronze crown and cross. A bronze ambrey is set into the wall on the north side above of a table of Portoro marble.
The materials used on the outside of the church are local brink in order to conform on the outside with school and rectory. The interior walls are made of Indiana limestone. The 10-foot figure of Christ was made by Herbert Jogerst of Saint Meinradís Abbey in Indiana and dominates the main entrance faÁade just above the three choir loft windows (on the outside of the church).
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