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Inews •ving Catholics in
Western North Carolina
Volume
in the Diocese of Charlotte
Mount
Number 28 • March
1
20,
1992
Holly Church, Nearing 150,
Withstands Test Of Time KEANE
By JOANN
Associate Editor
MOUNT HOLLY— in
If
Catholicism
North Carolina were a mighty oak,
its
towering strength would reach some 100 feet in stately
watch with a diameter of
approximately four
weather. Although
mission
of
tiny roots just beginning to It
took shape in the form
Joseph in Mount Holly, the oldest
St.
Catholic Church in the
Along the banks of the Catawba River Gaston County, the discovery of gold lured miners seeking fortune. Irish and immigrants led the way, bringing
with them the
its
t
150th birthday next year.
now maintained mostly as a historic Joseph and
St.
St.
Paul in
and rarely used,
New Bern, both dedicated in
wo oldest standing Catholic churches in North Carolina.
1
site
JOANN
Photo by
will
1843, are
KEANE
bcese To Offer Weekly Televised lass Beginning On Easter Sunday
celebrations
were
liday, television
l^ablevision telecast
:
who
viewers
circuit riding pastor. Travelling
subscribe
of Charlotte will witness the
of a Mass originating from
St.
ton assigned Father T.
Bishop John F. Donoghue will serve as as the pre-taped Masses are aired in
hernial order following the liturgical (jidar.
result
h
jilevision
of the addition of Vision
I'levision
Inter-
Network (VISN)
to
of Charlotte's lineup of chan-
Nov.
IcMTiinational
r
Mass across the airwaves
Satellite
On
VISN, a multinetwork was assigned to 1,
1991,
channel 39, providing a 24-
a day ecumenical channel of faith and
TV
lies
using a variety of
Ina,
music, documentaries, sitcom,
formats
—
talk,
magazine and feature film. VISN offers local communities 14
thing, I
ars
of "standard windows" per
|re that local
[insert their !
religious affilliates
week
—
of VISN
own programming.
Broadcast of a weekly
greatly benefits those
homes, serving as yet another Ke of evangelism sweeping the diocese. |e ten-year goal
of the Diocese is evange-
ftion, or bringing the
Good News
pe," says Msgr. John tacellor
J.
and vicar general
tion of
it
life,
does not
fulfill
the obliga-
worship for those able to attend
Mass.
Mount
Cronin to serve the
J.
have two
different
effects
of yellow fever before the work was
completed. Father Cronin
buried under
to the
A badly deteriorated roof offered
McSweeney,
in curia for the
little
pro-
from the elements, and only two
shutters remained.
Nature reclaimed the
once-pristine cemetery,
and the stone wall
For some time, Msgr. McSweeney points out, "the church was used as a hay bam. Yet, at the same time, the original furnishings were unharmed. It was simply closed up and never used." In 1976, St Joseph's was restored by crumbled.
'
Bishop Michael Begley, with Charlotte and Belmont parishioners, many of whom had ancestors buried in the cemetery. exterior, altar and pews are just as they
Mass back in 1943.
The were
Francis B.
Galligan, formerly ofGastonia, spearheaded the modest structure was
the restoration of the church, which in 1979
Scranton, and one originating
Ignatius Reynolds, secondbishopofCharles-
was designated as a National Historical site by the State of North Carolina and the U.S.
Bonnot.
The Scranton Mass is broadcast twice on Sunday: once at 6 am. and again at 1 1 :30 a.m. The Charlotte Mass will preempt the latter. While the Mass initially will be available only in the Charlotte market, Gail Hunt Telecommunications, plans to offer
Built in
1 843,
In that same year, St Paul's in New Bern was dedicated. The two churches stand as the two oldest Catholic Churches
Department of the Interior. Although churches are not ordinarily
surviving in the
register, St.
ton.
St.
considered eligible for listing in the national
state.
Joseph Church
is
primitive stone wall alongside a now-bustling state road.
The
Joseph's
affiliates in
it
Any network dimension
is
strongest
when a
blended with
local,
See Historic, Page 3
board building stands shuttered against the
to
na-
DIOCESAN SUPPORT APPEAL
says
Father Bonnot.
February See
TV Mass, Page 3
an exception as one
state.
simple, white-clap-
other areas of Western
is
is
of the two oldest Catholic churches in the
nestled behind a
North Carolina. tional
St.
Joseph never fell prey to serious vandalism.
consecrated anddedicated in 1844by Bishop
relations for
from the cathedral in San Antonio, Texas." The Texas Mass is bilingual, says Father
VISN
U era.
Although neglected over the years,
for the first
St Joseph's cem-
middle 1960s," said
VISN.
community
"One from
trees in
is
etery.
MassesonSunday,"saidFather Bob Bonnot director of
Mary
until the
stance altar of the pre- Vatican
tection
Holly.
and Joseph Church still standing as a reminder of time gone by. It was Father Cronin who began building the church, but he died from the after-
one of the holly
"We (VISN) do
church has a sence of awe
Violette, director of the diocesan Office of
Mass brings the
ifpture into
i«se.
While the Mass
benefit of those
incapacitated,
Bringing the lie
who
and also for the may be homebound."
enrich one's spiritual
little
and mystery in the presence of God," said Msgr. McSweeney. "The church is preserved in the format which Catholics at-
desired a
led to the raising of the parish, Saints
will
A bathroom trip
Msgr. McSweeney, referring to the Latin-
church andBishop JohnEnglandofCharles-
"The broadcast Mass
McSweeney.
lacking.
tended Mass
acres for the founding of the first church that
its
still
decade.
ture and eucharistic celebration," saysMsgr.
Mass with
A rustic cabinet contains rosa-
mines were closed by court injunction and the development of a parish was deferred for a
for a church, but in 1832, the gold
industry, the remaining Irish
life is
contains a slender
still
involves a call to nature.
"The
Finola
richness,
the liturgy of the
of Catholic
as the Irish
and the face of Jesus smiles down from the wall above. While electricity has been added over the years, some modem conveliterally
De
wide
by the circuit riding priest so many
niences are
several gold mines.
same ones used
The back room
who came to the area in
furnished a chapel, and planned hopefully
a mystical presence inside Si
ago.
of Chevalier Riva De Finola, a Frenchman
symbols and emphasis on the sacred Scrip-
integral aspect
are the
ries,
were the key to the formation of parish worship in the Gaston County area. It was the Lonergan family's donation of a few
"An
is
Though primitive in sructure, the
immigrants knelt in prayer nearly 1 50 years
years ago.
became
1
planks the floor, and the creaking
The smattering of Catholics in what would become Gaston County worshipped
1830, and
that is thf
inside has a sense of richness. Simple,
terrain.
home
McSweeney. "And
growth of the Church."
cot used
lies
lick Cathedral in Charlotte.
liilist
of-
History shows that a handful of famiEaster
in the
by horseback, one priest took on the hardship of the countless miles and rugged
By JOANN KEANE
— Beginning
of a
of how history has played a ro
true sense
pews
Catholics at
CHARLOTTE
"We sometimes fail
important to connect to our roots,"
There
Following the collapse of the mining
Associate Editor
"It is
said Msgr.
both North and South Carolina
owner of Holly,
in curia for the diocese.
wood
by a
J.
chancellor and vicar general
to recognize the historic significance
cese of Charleston, which encompassed
in the chapel contained in the palatial
Mount
McSweeney,
Joseph's.
fered
Joseph Church in
seemingly obsolete," said Msgr. John
Back in the early 19th century, North Carolina was a mission served by the Dio-
Mass
care of the
of the aged mission.
thirst for faith fulfillment
Infrequent
minimum
over the years for the
church."
state.
in
Italian
the
"So many times a building becomes
was a
In the early 1800s, Catholicism
pierce the red clay.
httle,
church, maintaining the historic importance
feet.
As the roots of the oak continue to grow
its
used very
which has been providing funds
Charlotte,
ever deeper, so does our faith history.
sapling;
it is
maintained by the Diocese of
is
1 -
April 5, 1992