Cathedral of Saint Patrick (Charlotte, North Carolina) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cathedral of Saint Patrick |
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Side view of the Cathedral
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 Location in North Carolina
Location in the United States
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| 35°12′20″N 80°50′44″W / 35.2055°N 80.8456°W | |
| Location | 1621 Dilworth Road East Charlotte, North Carolina  |
| Country |  United States |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
| History | |
| Founded | 1938 |
| Consecrated | September 4, 1939 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Frank Frimmer |
| Style | Neo-Gothic |
| Groundbreaking | 1938 |
| Completed | 1939 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Limestone |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Charlotte |
The Cathedral of Saint Patrick is an important Roman Catholic Church building in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States of America. It is the main church for the Diocese of Charlotte. This means it is where the bishop of the diocese has his official chair. In 1987, the church became part of the Dilworth Historic District. This district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which recognizes important historical places.
Contents
History of the Church
The first Catholic church in Western North Carolina was St. Joseph Church. It was built in Mt. Holly in 1843. Later, in 1852, work began on Charlotte's first Catholic church, St. Peter Church. It was finished in 1893.
Benedictine monks from Belmont Abbey took care of St. Peter Church. Nearby, the Sisters of Mercy ran a school in Charlotte. This school was first called St. Mary's Seminary. It later changed its name to the O'Donoghue School. In 1930, the school moved to the Dilworth area. As more Catholic families moved to the area, a new church was needed in the 1930s.
Building the Cathedral
St. Patrick Church was built next to the O'Donoghue School in the Dilworth neighborhood. A man named John Henry Phelan from Beaumont, Texas gave money to build the church. He built it to honor his parents, Patrick and Margaret Adele Phelan. Construction of St. Patrick Church started on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1938.
A Catholic grade school was built on the same property in 1930. A rectory (where the priest lives) and a convent (where nuns live) were finished in 1941. In 1943, the school grew to include high school grades.
The O'Donoghue School is the oldest private school in Charlotte. The Sisters of Mercy started it in 1887 as St. Mary's Seminary. In 1905, it was renamed to honor Dr. Dennis O'Donoghue. He left money that helped build a large school building. In 1930, the O'Donoghue School moved to the Dilworth neighborhood. Today, this stone building is known as St. Patrick Catholic School. It is the oldest Catholic school still open in the Charlotte area.
Over the years, the school system changed. In 1955, Charlotte Catholic High School was created. In 1968, Our Lady of Mercy High School (an all-girls school) closed. Its students joined Charlotte Catholic High School. This meant St. Patrick's school taught grades K-8. In 1995, Charlotte Catholic High School moved to a new campus. Holy Trinity Middle School then opened on the old campus. This made St. Patrick's school teach grades K-5.
Design of the Church
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Frank Frimmer, an architect from Austria, designed St. Patrick Church. He was known for updating older churches. The church has a gray outer wall and a large main area called a nave that can seat 400 people. It also has a balcony and a tall tower that is 77 feet (23.7 meters) high.
The altar inside the church holds special items called relics. These are from St. Jucundius and St. Justina. There are also two small chapels built to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The church has beautiful stained glass windows made in Syracuse, New York. These windows show scenes like the Annunciation, St. Patrick, and events from the life of Jesus.
The church ceiling has 300 tiles. In the 1990s, the church was updated and modernized. The balcony holds a large pipe organ.
Near the parking lot entrance, there is a ramp and stairs leading to the gym. On the wall under this ramp, you can still see the name "O'Donoghue" made from bricks. This shows the school's old name.
Becoming a Cathedral
On September 4, 1939, Bishop Eugene J. McGuinness of Raleigh officially dedicated the church. It was named after St. Patrick. This was the first church in North Carolina to be dedicated right after it was finished. In 1942, it became a parish, which is a local church community. Monsignor Arthur R. Freeman became its first pastor.
Over the next few decades, more Catholic people moved to Charlotte. This led to the creation of three new churches from St. Patrick: St. Ann, St. Gabriel, and St. Vincent de Paul.
On January 12, 1972, Pope Paul VI created the Diocese of Charlotte. St. Patrick Church was chosen to be the main church, or cathedral, for this new diocese. Msgr. Richard Allen, who was the pastor at the time, became its first rector.
Renovations and Updates
The cathedral went through a big renovation starting in 1979. The outside of the building, including its memorials and windows, was kept the same. However, the inside was changed a lot. The original main altar was removed. A new altar was put in its place. New artwork with local and religious meaning was also added. The old Moller pipe organ was replaced with a new one. This new organ was made by W. Zimmer and Sons and put in the balcony.
The cathedral was closed for six months during this work. On June 10, 1979, Bishop Michael J. Begley led a special ceremony to celebrate the church's reopening.
Most of the work to make St. Patrick Cathedral look like it did in 1939 was finished by Easter of 1996. But smaller projects have continued. The altar, baptismal font, statues, and ambo were made more noticeable. A new hardwood floor was also installed. Dark wood panels from the 1979 renovation were removed to make the cathedral brighter.
More recently, Stations of the Cross were brought from Maggie Valley, NC and placed outside. A Celtic cross was also added. A new copper roof was put on the church and finished on December 7, 2000.
On March 28, 2007, a 700-pound bell was lifted into the bell tower. This bell was a gift from the Bowers family. It was first made in 1875 in St. Louis, MO. The bell was blessed on March 31, 2007.
Father Paul Q. Gary was the rector of St. Patrick Cathedral from 1996 to 2008. Currently, Very Reverend Christopher A. Roux is the Rector.
See also
In Spanish: Catedral de San Patricio (Charlotte) para niños
