Sacred Heart Cathedral (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Encyclopedia
Sacred Heart Cathedral, sometimes referred to as Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, is the cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh
Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh
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.- Establishment :...

. The current bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 seated at the cathedral is the Most Reverend Michael Francis Burbidge. North Carolina, until 1924, was the only state in the United States of America without its own Catholic diocese. As of today, Sacred Heart Cathedral is the smallest Roman Catholic cathedral in the continental United States.
The cathedral is located in downtown 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...

 on Hillsborough Street
Hillsborough Street
Hillsborough Street is a prominent business and cultural thoroughfare through Raleigh, North Carolina. The street serves as a center for social life among North Carolina State University students. Nearby Meredith College students also frequent the street's area businesses...

. The Cathedral also hosts the Cathedral School, formally called the Sacred Heart Cathedral School, which is a Roman Catholic elementary and middle school.

Cathedral

Sacred Heart Cathedral serves as the Mother Church
Mother Church
In Christianity, the term mother church or Mother Church may have one of the following meanings:# The first mission church in an area, or a pioneer cathedral# A basilica or cathedral# The main chapel of a province of a religious order...

of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh and the throne of the current bishop
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....

 of Raleigh. The cathedral is named after the Sacred Heart of Jesus and has a statue of Jesus Christ above its entrance.

History

Roman Catholics have been present in the city of Raleigh since the 1820s, but, until 1839, only a visiting priest ministered to the city’s then tiny Roman Catholic congregation. Sometime before 1860, the congregation secured for their services a former Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

 church building on Capitol Square
North Carolina State Capitol
The North Carolina State Capitol is the main house of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Housing the offices of the Governor of North Carolina, it is located in the state capital of Raleigh on Union Square at One East Edenton Street. The cornerstone of the Greek Revival building was...

 called John the Baptist Church.

As the Roman Catholic population of Raleigh grew after the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, and the inadequate space and poor condition of the churchhouse soon became an issue. For a time in the 1870s, mass was celebrated in a meeting hall in the Briggs Hardware building on Fayetteville Street. Then, in 1879, Father James White purchased the former Brian Grimes homeplace (also known as the Pulaski Cowper mansion) on Hillsboro Street
Hillsborough Street
Hillsborough Street is a prominent business and cultural thoroughfare through Raleigh, North Carolina. The street serves as a center for social life among North Carolina State University students. Nearby Meredith College students also frequent the street's area businesses...

, and the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 of Sacred Heart Church was established. He expanded the mansion so that it could be better used as both churchhouse and rectory.

In 1899, Father Thomas Griffin was appointed pastor, a position he held for 31 years. A parochial school was established in 1909 and named the Cathedral School. The church campus was later expanded with the addition of a separate rectory and convent. The cornerstone of Sacred Heart Church was laid in 1922 and the neo-gothic stone building dedicated in October 1924.

North Carolina at that time was the only state in the United States of America without its own Roman Catholic diocese. The leadership of the faith within the state had for some time anticipated the creation of a separate diocese, and large churches had been erected in Asheville and in Wilmington
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...

 in hopes of acquiring the status of cathedral. However, these cities were at opposite ends of the state and the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

 decided that the cathedra of the bishop of the new diocese should be in a more central location, so Raleigh was chosen.

In December 1924, therefore, Sacred Heart Church became Sacred Heart Cathedral, the seat of the newly created Diocese of Raleigh, with the Most Reverend William Hafey of Baltimore as its first bishop. His ecclesiastical authority extended over the entire state of North Carolina with the exception of the eight counties under the spiritual leadership of the Belmont Abbey abbot. Bishop Eugene McGuiness of Philadelphia succeeded Bishop Hafey in 1937. He thought that the modestly appointed Sacred Heart should “look more like a cathedral”, so in 1939 the terazzo floors and the magnificent stained glass windows seen today were installed; later, he added marble altars and reredos.

The interior of Sacred Heart Cathedral has undergone several renovations over the years, but in 1998 a sensitive and artistic restoration took place. Further improvements made in the following ten years returned the cathedral interior very nearly to its 1939 appearance.

The cathedral itself seats only about 350 people at a time, but there are over 3,000 parishioners.

Papal honors

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge presided at Solemn Vespers held on Sunday, January 11, 2009, to celebrate the bestowal of Papal Honors by His Holiness
His Holiness
His Holiness is the official style or manner of address in reference to the leaders of certain religious groups. In Christianity, specifically the Orthodox Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church, Armenian Orthodox Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Roman Catholic...

 Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

 on Sacred Heart Cathedral's the Reverend Monsignor David D. Brockman and Miss Kathleen Walsh.
The appointments were announced in November, with Monsignor Brockman being elevated to the title of Prelate of Honor and Miss Walsh, director of Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities is a network of charities whose aim is "to provide service to people in need, to advocate for justice in social structures, and to call the entire church and other people of good will to do the same." It is one of the largest charities in the United States...

 in the Diocese of Raleigh, receiving the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice
Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice
The Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal is an award of the Roman Catholic Church. It is also known as the "Cross of Honour". The medal was established by Leo XIII on July 17, 1888, to commemorate his golden sacerdotal jubilee and was originally bestowed on those women and men who had aided and...

.
“We are so happy that our Holy Father and the Church have recognized what we know about Monsignor Brockman and Kathleen Walsh,” Bishop Burbidge said. “What lifts us up today is not their new titles or their medals, but rather the testimony of their lives, individuals faithful to their baptismal call and to the particular vocations the Lord has entrusted to them.”
In remarks following the prayer service, Miss Walsh gratefully acknowledged the “abundant graces and gifts which have been given to me in my life.” She spoke of reaching out and reaching in and of advocating for justice. “This may sound as if it's about me,” she said, “but you know that is not true. It is about us, as we live together in Christ.”
Monsignor Brockman noted the significance of the day, the Solemnity of the Baptism of Our Lord, when Jesus entered into public ministry. He thanked Bishop Burbidge for his leadership in the Diocese and his guidance.

Hadden Golden

The Reverend Monsignor Thomas P. Hadden celebrated his fiftieth anniversary of priesthood with a Jubilee Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral on Saturday, December 20, 2008. Monsignor Hadden was ordained in Rome in 1958 as a priest of the Diocese of Raleigh upon his graduation from the North American College
Pontifical North American College
The Pontifical North American College is a Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy educating seminarians for the dioceses in the United States and providing a residence for American priests studying in Rome. It was founded in 1859 by Blessed Pope Pius IX and was granted pontifical...

 in Rome. Thirty priests concelebrated the liturgy in the presence of the Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge. The Reverend Monsignor Gerald L. Lewis was the homilist.

Current clergy

  • The Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of Raleigh
  • The Very Reverend Daniel Oschwald, Rector
  • The Very Reverend Salvatore Busichio, Vice Rector
  • Monsignor
    Monsignor
    Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...

     Thomas P. Hadden, Rector Emeritus
  • The Very Reverend Jonathan A. Woodhall, Vice Rector Emeritus

School

Cathedral School, formally Sacred Heart Cathedral School, a Roman Catholic Pre-K through eighth grade cathedral school
Cathedral school
Cathedral schools began in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education, some of them ultimately evolving into medieval universities. Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, they were complemented by the monastic schools...

, is hosted at Sacred Heart Cathedral. The school was established in 1909 and educates young Catholics and prepares them for High School. Cathedral School feeds into Cardinal Gibbons Catholic High School
Cardinal 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...

. Cardinal Gibbons Catholic High School had originally been at Sacred Heart Cathedral and was called Sacred Heart Cathedral Catholic High School. In 2007, Cathedral School received a National Blue Ribbon of Excellence Award.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK