Early history Before and during the
American Revolutionary War, the Catholics in all of the British colonies in America were under the jurisdiction of the
Apostolic Vicariate of the London District in England. Discrimination and persecution of Catholics in the North Carolina colony was common until it became a royal colony in 1729. Anyone wanting to hold public office had to sign an oath stating that
Protestantism was the true Christian faith. With the passage of the
U.S. Constitution in 1789 after the
American Revolution, Catholics were guaranteed freedom of worship.
Pope Pius VI erected the
Prefecture Apostolic of the United States in 1784, encompassing the entire United States. Five years later, he converted the prefecture into the
Diocese of Baltimore. The Diocese of Charleston was erected by
Pope Pius VII on July 11, 1820. He removed the states of
Georgia, North Carolina, and
South Carolina from what was now the
Archdiocese of Baltimore During the early 19th century, Irish Catholic immigrants started entering North Carolina to work on the railroads and other construction projects. St. Peter's Church, founded in Charlotte in 1851, was the first permanent Catholic church in the region. Much of its funding came from Protestants, who were impressed by the preaching ability of the first priest, Jeremiah J. O'Connell.
Vicariate Apostolic of North Carolina and Belmont Abbey On March 3, 1868,
Pope Pius IX erected the Vicariate Apostolic of North Carolina, removing North Carolina from the
Diocese of Charleston. At that time, the pope appointed
James Gibbons from the Archdiocese of Baltimore as the first vicar apostolic. When Gibbons became vicar apostolic, North Carolina counted fewer than 700 Catholics. In his first four weeks in office, he traveled almost a thousand miles, visiting towns and mission stations and administering the
sacraments. He also befriended many
Protestants, who greatly outnumbered Catholics in the state, and preached at their churches. Gibbons made many converts to Catholicism. In 1872, Pius IX appointed Gibbons as bishop of the
Diocese of Richmond. The Vatican would not appoint a new vicar apostolic in North Carolina for the next 11 years.
St. Benedict's Church was the first Catholic church in Greensboro, founded in 1877. It later received funding from Sister
Katharine Drexel to guarantee seating for
African Americans. In 1876,
Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, sent a party of
Benedictine monks to western North Carolina. They bought land outside of Charlotte and started Belmont priory.
Pope Leo XIII in 1884 elevated the Belmont priory to
Belmont Abbey. At that time, the monks at Belmont elected
Leo Haid as their first abbot. In 1881, Leo XIII appointed
Henry P. Northrop as the new vicar apostolic of North Carolina. Two years later, the pope named Northrup to also serve as bishop of the Diocese of Charleston. Northrup held both positions until 1888, when the Vatican allowed him to resign as vicar apostolic and only serve as bishop of Charleston. In 1888, Leo XIII appointed Haid to replace Northrup as
apostolic vicar of North Carolina, while allow Haid to remain as abbot of Belmont. In 1910,
Pope Pius X designated Belmont Abbey as a
territorial abbey, giving it control of eight counties from the Vicariate Apostolic of North Carolina to Belmont Abbey. Haid now led two different Catholic jurisdictions in North Carolina. Haid died in 1924.
Diocese of Raleigh On December 12, 1924,
Pope Pius XI elevated the Apostolic Vicariate of North Carolina into the
Diocese of Raleigh, making it the first Catholic diocese in North Carolina. The pope appointed Monsignor
William Hafey of Baltimore as its first bishop. In 1937, Pius XI named Hafey as
coadjutor bishop of the
Diocese of Scranton. To replace Hafey as bishop of Raleigh, the pope appointed Monsignor
Eugene J. McGuinness from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia that same year. In 1944,
Pope Pius XII transferred seven counties from Belmont Abbey to the Diocese of Raleigh. Later in 1944, Pius XII named McGuiness as bishop of the
Diocese of Oklahoma City. Pius XII appointed
Vincent Waters from the Diocese of Richmond as the new bishop of Raleigh in 1944. Waters was accused by some of the diocesan clergy of holding on to idle church property worth millions of dollars while some
parishes were in debt. He also denied requests for the creation of a priests' senate; 20% of his priests sent a request to the Vatican asking for Waters' removal. He described
racial segregation as a product of "darkness," and declared that "the time has come for it to end." He also said,"I am not unmindful, as a Southerner, of the force of this virus of prejudice among some persons in the South, as well as in the North. I know, however, that there is a cure for this virus, and that is our faith."
Pope John XXIII transferred
Gaston County, Belmont Abbey's last county, to the Diocese of Raleigh in 1960. Although it remained a territorial abbey, Belmont now only had jurisdiction over its own campus. In 1962, John XXIII elevated the
Diocese of Atlanta to the Archdiocese of Atlanta. He designated the Diocese of Raleigh and Belmont Abbey as suffragans of the new archdiocese.
Diocese of Charlotte Pope Paul VI erected the Diocese of Charlotte in 1971, taking its territory from the Diocese of Raleigh. At that time, the Catholic population of the area was just over 34,000. Paul VI named Monsignor
Michael Begley from Raleigh as the first bishop of Charlotte. Paul VI in 1977 ended Belmont Abbey's status as a territorial abbey, making it now just another Catholic institution in the Diocese of Charlotte. Begley retired in 1984. As bishop, Curlin continued his ministry to the poor, ordained 28 men to the priesthood and opened numerous Churches throughout the diocese. In 1995, Curlin invited
Mother Teresa to speak at the
Charlotte Coliseum, drawing a crowd of over 19,000. That same year, Curlin stated that any priest in the diocese accused of sexual abuse of a minor would be immediately removed from ministry. Curlin served until his retirement in 2002. By that year, the diocese had grown to approximately 87,000 Catholics. In 2003, John Paul II appointed Monsignor
Peter J. Jugis,
judicial vicar of the diocese, as its fourth bishop. In October 2007, Samuel Weber celebrated this mass, the first held in the diocese since 1969, at Davis Chapel of
Wake Forest University. Jugis noted that the diocese was trying to accommodate those with an attachment to the Tridentine mass. In 2008, the Tridentine mass was celebrated for the first time in nearly 40 years at
Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro, with Jugis attending. Jugis in September 2020 opened St. Joseph College Seminary in
Mount Holly to prepare more priests for the diocese. In 2021, citing ideological uses of the Tridentine mass, Pope Francis added new restrictions on its usage. In 2021, the diocese celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. At the end of the year, Jugis formally requested that the Vatican place the Diocese of Charlotte under the patronage of
Mary, the Mother of God. Jugis in 2023 submitted his resignation as bishop of Charlotte due to a chronic kidney condition. During his term, the number of Catholics in the diocese doubled to over 530,000. In early 2024, Jugis announced plans to build a new cathedral, citing the space limitations of the current facility. Construction was scheduled to begin in 2030.
Pope Francis on April 9, 2024, appointed
Michael Martin as bishop of Charlotte. == Sexual abuse cases ==