Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh
Encyclopedia
The Diocese of Raleigh is a Roman Catholic
diocese
that covers the eastern half of the U.S. state
of North Carolina
. The bishop is seated at Sacred Heart Cathedral
in Raleigh, North Carolina
.
, was established on December 12, 1924, by Pope Pius XI
. Before this, North Carolina was an Apostolic Vicariate
under the ecclesiastical authority of Bishop Leo Haid, O.S.B., who was both abbot of Belmont Abbey
and Vicar Apostle of North Carolina. The Holy See offered in 1910 to establish in Wilmington a diocese for North Carolina with St. Mary Catholic Church
as the cathedral, but Haid refused to relocate to the coast, a move necessary if the diocese was to be established there. North Carolina remained an Apostolic Vicariate until 1924, when Bishop Haid died. Pius XI erected the Diocese of Raleigh and assigned a secular priest as its bishop. The diocese, covering nearly 46,000 miles and holding 8,254 Catholics, comprised all of North Carolina except eight counties which had been given to Belmont Abbey in 1910 as the abbey’s own diocese, the “Abbey Nullius”. Within the diocese there were twenty-four churches with permanent pastors, forty mission churches cared for by priests of the parishes, and other “stations,” where church structures did not exist but priests came to celebrate the Sacraments. The diocese had twenty-three diocesan priests, twenty-eight priests in religious orders, and 127 religious sisters.
, a thirty-seven year old priest, became Raleigh’s first bishop. Prior to his installation on July 1, 1925, Archbishop Michael Joseph Curley
of Baltimore supervised the diocese. As bishop, Hafey traveled often, within and outside of the diocese, seeking both servants and money for the diocese. Many men and women heard his plea for help and came to the diocese as priests and religious. The financial donations Hafey received assisted the diocese, some of which purchased land for churches. In 1937, Hafey became bishop of Scranton, Pennsylvania, leaving the diocese with fifty-two parishes, fifty-three diocesan priests, twenty-six religious order priests, and 10,571 Catholics.
replaced Hafey, being installed on the sixth of January, 1938. McGuinness, a Pennsylvanian priest, had worked for the Catholic Church Extension Society
, an organization that gathered and dispersed financial aid to small, poorer dioceses. As bishop of North Carolina, McGuinness continued to seek financial aid, this time for his diocese. In 1944 he requested to be transferred to Oklahoma, and his petition was granted. He left the diocese with eighty-six parishes, eighty-three diocesan priests, fifty-nine religious priests, two hundred thirty-eight religious sisters, and 12,922 Catholics.
Waters wanted the salvation of all people and the conversion of all North Carolinians. To increase conversions, he started the Missionary Apostolate.
for whites. These two became the first integrated schools in North Carolina.
After nearly thirty years of being Raleigh’s bishop, Waters passed away from a heart attack, leaving North Carolina with seventy-eight diocesan priests, seventy-six religious order priests, and 77,834 Catholics.
, from Baltimore, Maryland, became the Raleigh Diocese's fourth bishop on May 19, 1975.
Gossman relied on the advice of others when making decisions. He encouraged “collegiality,” lay and female assistance in the Church’s duties. Gossman asked the faithful to help by living their faith daily and helping those in need. He also welcomed their assistance in diocesan positions. Religious sisters became pastoral administrators. In 1992, John Riedy became the first lay chancellor of the diocese. Gossman retired in 2006 after leading the Raleigh Diocese for over thirty years.
During Gossman’s years as bishop, the diocese expanded. The number of Catholics tripled; the diocese had 192,000 registered Catholics in 2006. Over fifty churches were established.
in 2000 since they had raised a substantial amount of money, but many people, Hispanics, northern Catholics, and military families, were immigrating to North Carolina. The diocese needed more, larger churches. Burbidge started the Home Mission Society to help raise funds for the construction of churches in the mission areas of North Carolina.
High Schools:
Elementary & Middle Schools:
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
that covers the eastern half of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. The bishop is seated at Sacred Heart Cathedral
Sacred Heart Cathedral (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Sacred Heart Cathedral, sometimes referred to as Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh. The current bishop seated at the cathedral is the Most Reverend Michael Francis Burbidge. North Carolina, until 1924, was the only state in the United States of...
in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
.
Establishment
The Diocese of Raleigh, North CarolinaNorth Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, was established on December 12, 1924, by Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
. Before this, North Carolina was an Apostolic Vicariate
Apostolic vicariate
An apostolic vicariate is a form of territorial jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church established in missionary regions and countries that do not have a diocese. It is essentially provisional, though it may last for a century or more...
under the ecclesiastical authority of Bishop Leo Haid, O.S.B., who was both abbot of Belmont Abbey
Belmont Abbey, North Carolina
Mary Help of Christians Abbey, better known as Belmont Abbey, is a small community of Benedictine monks in the town of Belmont, North Carolina, outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, in the United States. Founded by Bishop Leo Haid in 1876, it is the daughter abbey to St. Vincent's Abbey in Latrobe,...
and Vicar Apostle of North Carolina. The Holy See offered in 1910 to establish in Wilmington a diocese for North Carolina with St. Mary Catholic Church
St. Mary Catholic Church (Wilmington, North Carolina)
Saint Mary Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish in Wilmington, North Carolina, in the Diocese of Raleigh.-Architecture:Its historic main church is of the Spanish Baroque style. It was designed by Spanish architect Rafael Guastavino, who is known for his work on the Biltmore Estate, Basilica...
as the cathedral, but Haid refused to relocate to the coast, a move necessary if the diocese was to be established there. North Carolina remained an Apostolic Vicariate until 1924, when Bishop Haid died. Pius XI erected the Diocese of Raleigh and assigned a secular priest as its bishop. The diocese, covering nearly 46,000 miles and holding 8,254 Catholics, comprised all of North Carolina except eight counties which had been given to Belmont Abbey in 1910 as the abbey’s own diocese, the “Abbey Nullius”. Within the diocese there were twenty-four churches with permanent pastors, forty mission churches cared for by priests of the parishes, and other “stations,” where church structures did not exist but priests came to celebrate the Sacraments. The diocese had twenty-three diocesan priests, twenty-eight priests in religious orders, and 127 religious sisters.
Bishop William Hafey
William J. HafeyWilliam Joseph Hafey
William Joseph Hafey was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Raleigh and Bishop of Scranton .-Biography:...
, a thirty-seven year old priest, became Raleigh’s first bishop. Prior to his installation on July 1, 1925, Archbishop Michael Joseph Curley
Michael Joseph Curley
Michael Joseph Curley was an Irish-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. Originally a priest and bishop in the Diocese of St...
of Baltimore supervised the diocese. As bishop, Hafey traveled often, within and outside of the diocese, seeking both servants and money for the diocese. Many men and women heard his plea for help and came to the diocese as priests and religious. The financial donations Hafey received assisted the diocese, some of which purchased land for churches. In 1937, Hafey became bishop of Scranton, Pennsylvania, leaving the diocese with fifty-two parishes, fifty-three diocesan priests, twenty-six religious order priests, and 10,571 Catholics.
Bishop Eugene McGuinness
Eugene J. McGuinnessEugene J. McGuinness
Eugene Joseph McGuinness was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Raleigh and Bishop of Oklahoma City-Tulsa .-Biography:...
replaced Hafey, being installed on the sixth of January, 1938. McGuinness, a Pennsylvanian priest, had worked for the Catholic Church Extension Society
Catholic Church Extension Society
The Catholic Church Extension Society of the United States of America is a charitable organization affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church that seeks to support the Church's activities in under-resourced and isolated communities in the United States...
, an organization that gathered and dispersed financial aid to small, poorer dioceses. As bishop of North Carolina, McGuinness continued to seek financial aid, this time for his diocese. In 1944 he requested to be transferred to Oklahoma, and his petition was granted. He left the diocese with eighty-six parishes, eighty-three diocesan priests, fifty-nine religious priests, two hundred thirty-eight religious sisters, and 12,922 Catholics.
Bishop Vincent Waters
Vincent S. Waters became the third bishop of the Raleigh Diocese. In 1945, he left the missionary territory of Virginia where he had served as a priest and came as bishop to the mission ground of the Raleigh Diocese. He had many goals.Waters wanted the salvation of all people and the conversion of all North Carolinians. To increase conversions, he started the Missionary Apostolate.
Missionary Apostolate
The Missionary Apostolate was a four part program that used the energies of his seminarians and priests to spread Catholicism. The first aspect of the Apostolate was the Summer Census. Each summer, the seminarians went to different areas of North Carolina, noting the Catholics and distributing Catholic information. The second aspect of the Apostolate was the Apostolate year, in which the newly ordained priests spent their first priestly year at an older priest’s parish, serving at the parish’s missions. The third part of the Apostolate was the Trailer Apostolate. Traveling in trailers to rural areas, the two priests remained in one place for two weeks, teaching Catholicism and celebrating the Sacraments. The diocese’s two trailers each had a chapel, living space, an area for visiting, and an outdoor altar. The fourth aspect of Missionary Apostolate was the Mission Band. Waters stationed two Raleigh priests at two separate parishes outside of the diocese where they preached and solicited donations for the Raleigh Diocese. Priests who remained within the diocese planned retreats for the North Carolina Catholics. These four aspects comprised Water’s Missionary Apostolate.Conversion Efforts
To convert the entire state, Waters encouraged each Church to convert one North Carolinian for every adult parishioner. This goal was not realized. Waters was more successful in establishing a Catholic Church in every county. At his death, seventy-five of the one hundred North Carolina counties contained churches, though many were missions, lacking a resident pastor because of the shortage of priests. Waters also wanted to increase the number and size of parochial schools. Initially successful, schools increased from fifteen to sixty-four, but following the Second Vatican Council, the number declined, though Waters was still bishop.Integration
Waters began ending segregation in the diocese in June 1953, despite resistance from the North Carolinians. Holy Redeemer Parish in Newton Grove, run by the Redemptorist priests, became the first Church of any denomination in North Carolina to be integrated. On Memorial Day Weekend of 1953, Waters himself celebrated the first integrated Mass. No riots ensued, but tension abounded and both the church and school suffered such a loss of numbers that both closed and the Redemptorists left. Later, the church reopened as Our Lady of Guadalupe and operates to this day. In 1954, St. Monica, a school for black children, joined the Cathedral SchoolSacred Heart Cathedral (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Sacred Heart Cathedral, sometimes referred to as Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh. The current bishop seated at the cathedral is the Most Reverend Michael Francis Burbidge. North Carolina, until 1924, was the only state in the United States of...
for whites. These two became the first integrated schools in North Carolina.
Traditionalist
Waters strove to preserve pious Catholic traditions. Unhappy that some religious sisters stopped wearing their habits, Waters wrote a letter in 1971 requesting that the nuns wear their habits or leave the diocese. Some religious sisters kept their habits and continued serving; others left the diocese. Waters also required that his priests wear their clerics in public. Though some people, religious and lay, disliked Water’s rigidity and traditionalism, others supported Waters as he preserved Church traditions.Growth in the Diocese
While Waters was bishop, the diocese grew. It increased physically, having received by 1960 the Abbey Nullius as its own property. The diocese covered all of North Carolina except Belmont Abbey, which remained its own diocese under the abbot’s supervision. The Raleigh Diocese also grew in numbers; by 1972, the diocese contained over 70,000 Catholics. Pope Paul VI granted Waters’ petition and split the Raleigh Diocese, establishing the Diocese of Charlotte for the west half of North Carolina. The Raleigh Diocese dropped from about 46,000 miles to its current size of about 32,000 miles, stretching from Burlington, just East of Greensboro, to the Atlantic Coast.After nearly thirty years of being Raleigh’s bishop, Waters passed away from a heart attack, leaving North Carolina with seventy-eight diocesan priests, seventy-six religious order priests, and 77,834 Catholics.
Bishop Francis Joseph Gossman
Bishop Francis Joseph GossmanF. Joseph Gossman
Francis Joseph Gossman is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Raleigh from 1975 to 2006.-Biography:...
, from Baltimore, Maryland, became the Raleigh Diocese's fourth bishop on May 19, 1975.
Gossman relied on the advice of others when making decisions. He encouraged “collegiality,” lay and female assistance in the Church’s duties. Gossman asked the faithful to help by living their faith daily and helping those in need. He also welcomed their assistance in diocesan positions. Religious sisters became pastoral administrators. In 1992, John Riedy became the first lay chancellor of the diocese. Gossman retired in 2006 after leading the Raleigh Diocese for over thirty years.
During Gossman’s years as bishop, the diocese expanded. The number of Catholics tripled; the diocese had 192,000 registered Catholics in 2006. Over fifty churches were established.
Bishop Michael Burbidge
Michael F. Burbidge, Philadelphia’s auxiliary bishop, became the fifth bishop of the Raleigh Diocese. Burbidge, still bishop in 2011, is known for his faithfulness to the Church and his familiarity with the people of his diocese. In the fall of 2007, he started the Diocese of Raleigh Home Mission Society.Diocese of Raleigh Home Mission Society
The diocese had stopped receiving donations from the Catholic Church Extension SocietyCatholic Church Extension Society
The Catholic Church Extension Society of the United States of America is a charitable organization affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church that seeks to support the Church's activities in under-resourced and isolated communities in the United States...
in 2000 since they had raised a substantial amount of money, but many people, Hispanics, northern Catholics, and military families, were immigrating to North Carolina. The diocese needed more, larger churches. Burbidge started the Home Mission Society to help raise funds for the construction of churches in the mission areas of North Carolina.
Size of the Diocese in 2010
In 2010, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh contained ninety-six parishes, missions, and stations; seven Catholic centers on college campuses; seventy active diocesan priests and forty-nine active religious priests; sixty-four religious sisters; forty-seven religious men; 217,000 registered Catholics; and 240,000 unregistered Hispanics.Education in the Diocese
The Diocese of Raleigh currently has two high schools, as well as a lay-run high school, and many lower schools. Of these include;High Schools:
- Pope John Paul II High School, Greenville
- Cardinal Gibbons High SchoolCardinal Gibbons High School (Raleigh, North Carolina)Cardinal Gibbons High School is a private coeducational college-preparatory Catholic high school in Raleigh, North Carolina. Cardinal Gibbons and St. Thomas More Academy are the only Catholic high schools in Raleigh, and two of three high schools in the Diocese.Cardinal Gibbons was founded in 1909...
, Raleigh - St. Thomas More AcademySt. Thomas More AcademySt. Thomas More Academy is a private, co-educational, college preparatory high school operated by Catholic laymen. It is operated independent of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh. It serves students and their families in the Raleigh, North Carolina area...
, Raleigh
Elementary & Middle Schools:
- St. Mary Magdalene Catholic School, Apex
- St. Michael the Archangel Catholic SchoolSt. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church (Cary, North Carolina)St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church & School is a Roman Catholic church and lower school located in Cary, North Carolina in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh. It is the largest parish in the Diocese of Raleigh, and the largest Catholic parish in the state of North Carolina.-Church:St....
, Cary - St. Thomas More Catholic School, Chapel Hill
- Immaculata Catholic SchoolImmaculata Catholic School (Durham, NC)Immaculata Catholic School is a primary and middle school located in Durham, North Carolina. It is a ministry of Immaculate Conception Church and part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh.-School:...
, Durham - St. Peter's Catholic School, Greenville
- St. Paul Catholic SchoolSt. Paul's Roman Catholic Church (New Bern, North Carolina)St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic church at 510 Middle Street in New Bern, North Carolina within the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh....
, New Bern - Cathedral SchoolSacred Heart Cathedral (Raleigh, North Carolina)Sacred Heart Cathedral, sometimes referred to as Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh. The current bishop seated at the cathedral is the Most Reverend Michael Francis Burbidge. North Carolina, until 1924, was the only state in the United States of...
, Raleigh - St. Raphael the Archangel Catholic SchoolSt. Raphael the Archangel Catholic ChurchSaint Raphael the Archangel Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic Jesuit church located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Out of the Roman Catholic parishes in Raleigh, Saint Raphael's has the largest Hispanic population within its congregation. St. Raphael's is part of the Roman Catholic...
, Raleigh - Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic SchoolOur Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church (Raleigh, North Carolina)Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church & School is a Roman Catholic church and lower school in Raleigh, North Carolina. Our Lady of Lourdes parish is a member of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh.-History of church and school:...
, Raleigh - The Franciscan School, Raleigh
- St. Catherine of Sienna Catholic School, Wake Forest
- St. Mary Catholic SchoolSt. Mary Catholic Church (Wilmington, North Carolina)Saint Mary Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish in Wilmington, North Carolina, in the Diocese of Raleigh.-Architecture:Its historic main church is of the Spanish Baroque style. It was designed by Spanish architect Rafael Guastavino, who is known for his work on the Biltmore Estate, Basilica...
, Wilmington