The Cathedral of Saint Patrick is the seat of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...

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. It is the

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metropo ...

of the

Diocese of Charlotte The Diocese of Charlotte (''Dioecesis Carolinana'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the Southern United States. It consists of 46 counties in western North Carolina, divided into ten vicariates ...

and is the seat of its

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

. In 1987 it was included as a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

in the Dilworth Historic District, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

History

In 1843, St. Joseph Church in Mt. Holly was built. It was to be the first Catholic church in

Western North Carolina Western North Carolina (often abbreviated as WNC) is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United ...

.Diocese of Charlotte Archives - Our Oldest Church
.

Retrieved 2009-09-17. On St. Patrick's Day 1852, the cornerstone was laid for the city of Charlotte's first Catholic church, St. Peter Church. Work was completed in 1893. St. Peter Church was under the care of the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monks from Belmont Abbey. A neighboring convent of the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...

, also in Belmont had operated a school in Charlotte known originally as St. Mary's Seminary. The name was later changed to the O'Donoghue School, and in September 1930 it was moved to the Dilworth neighborhood. It was not until the 1930s that an additional church was needed to accommodate the growing Catholic population of the region.

Construction

St. Patrick Church was built adjacent to the O'Donoghue School, in the Dilworth neighborhood.History of St. Patrick's Cathedral
. St. Patrick Parish. Retrieved 2009-09-17. John Henry Phelan of

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the seat of government of Jefferson County, within the Beaumont– Port Arthur metropolitan statistical area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston ( ...

donated the funds to build St. Patrick Church, in loving memory of his parents, Patrick and Margaret Adele Phelan. Construction of the church began on St. Patrick's Day, 1938. A Catholic

grade school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

was built on the property in 1930. A

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically o ...

and

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Angl ...

were completed in 1941, and in 1943, the school was expanded to include

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

grades. What was once the O'Donoghue School in Charlotte, NC is the oldest privately conducted school in Charlotte.

O'Donoghue School Donoghue or O'Donoghue is an anglicized form of the Irish language surname Ó Donnchadha or Ó Donnchú. Etymology The name means "descendant of Donnchadh", a personal name composed of the elements ''donn'' "brown-haired an and ''cath'' "battle" ...

was established on August 27, 1887, by the

, a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

religious order, as

St. Mary's Seminary St. Mary's Seminary and University is a Catholic seminary located within the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland; it was the first seminary founded in the United States after the Revolution and has been run since its founding by the ...

. The name was changed in 1905 to honor Dr. Dennis O'Donoghue, whose bequest made possible the large building at 531 South Tryon Street, home of the school for many years. in 1930, Father Michael McInerney designed a

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The wo ...

to be built of granite and cost $90,000. The O'Donoghue School was moved to 1125 Buchanan Street in Dilworth neighborhood in 1930. Its imposing stone building is now St. Patrick Catholic School, the oldest Catholic school operating in the

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

area. In 1955

Charlotte Catholic High School Charlotte Catholic is a diocesan high school in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States founded in 1955. The school is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte. Ch ...

was established, and in 1968 the all-girl Our Lady of Mercy High School was closed and combined with the formerly all-boy Charlotte Catholic High School, thereby reducing the grade level to K-8. In 1995, CCHS was moved to a new campus and Holy Trinity Middle School was established on the old CCHS campus. This resulted in a further reduction of grade levels to K-5 at St Pats.

Architectural features

Frank Frimmer, architect and native of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, known for remodeling

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by thei ...

churches, designed and supervised construction of the church, with its gray

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

face, 400-seat

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

, balcony and 77-foot (23.7m) tall tower. Picture of Cathedral Facade
The

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagan ...

contains relics of St. Jucundius and St. Justina, and two side chapels were crafted as shrines honoring the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother ...

and

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

Stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows, designed in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, Yonkers, and Rochester. At the 2020 census, the city' ...

, depicted the

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ang ...

St. Patrick ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

, St. Joseph's deathbed scene,

King David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

with his lyre,

St. Cecilia Saint Cecilia ( la, Sancta Caecilia), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman virgin martyr and is venerated in Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She became the patroness of music and musicians, ...

, and some events in the life of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

. The church proper has 300 ceiling tiles. During the 1990s, the church underwent some construction updates and modernizing. The balcony contains a large

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks' ...

. At some point, the name of the school was renamed O'Donoghue school. Several decades later the school was renamed St Patrick's. However, at the parking lot entrance near the road, the is a ramp with stairs leading to the gymnasium. Underneath this ramp, on the wall, the stylized brick display showing the mame of the school as "O'Donoghue" is still clearly visible and displayed.

Consecration

On September 4, 1939,

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Eugene J. McGuinness of

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different gro ...

the church under the patronage of

. It became the first church in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

to be consecrated immediately upon completion and in 1942 became a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

, with Goldsboro-native

Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ...

Arthur R. Freeman as

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

Establishment of new diocese

During the next few decades, the influx of Catholics added to the need for ministerial presence in Charlotte, and three parishes grew from St. Patrick: St. Ann, St. Gabriel and St. Vincent de Paul. On January 12, 1972,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

established the Diocese of Charlotte, and St. Patrick Church was designated the cathedral church. Msgr. Richard Allen, pastor at the time, was appointed the first

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

.History of the Charlotte Diocese
.

. Retrieved 2009-9-17.

Renovation

The cathedral experienced a period of major renovation beginning in 1979. The original exterior of the building, including memorials and windows, was preserved while the interior was radically altered. The original high altar, installed by the Benedictines, was destroyed. A new freestanding altar was installed. Artwork of local and religious significance were added during this period, as well. Additionally, the original Moller

was replaced with a new one, designed and manufactured by W. Zimmer and Sons of

Fort Mill Fort Mill, also known as Fort Mill Township, is a town in York County, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina. As of 2020 census, 24,521 people live inside the town's corporate limits. Some businesses and resid ...

, and installed in the balcony. The cathedral remained closed for six months. On June 10, 1979, Bishop Michael J. Begley of Charlotte presided over the celebration of the church's reopening. The majority of renovative efforts to restore St. Patrick Cathedral to its original condition was completed by

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

of 1996, yet periodic work has continued. The altar,

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

, statues and ambo were given new prominence, and a hardwood floor was installed. The dark oak

wainscoting Panelling (or paneling in the U.S.) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity to make ro ...

from the 1979 renovation was removed to brighten up the cathedral and make it appear as it did in 1939. Most recently,

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

brought in from Maggie Valley, NC and a

Celtic cross The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses e ...

were added outside. A permanent copper roof was installed and completed on December 7, 2000. On March 28, 2007, a 700 pound bell was raised in the bell tower. The bell was a gift from Herb and Louise Bowers and family. It was originally cast in 1875 in St. Louis, MO. The bell was blessed after the 5:30 PM Mass on Saturday, March 31, 2007. Father Paul Q. Gary served as

of St. Patrick Cathedral from July 1996 until July 2008.
Very Reverend Christopher A. Roux is currently the Rector of St. Patrick Cathedral.Diocese Parish Directory
, Contact information for St. Patrick Cathedral.

References

External links

Official Cathedral Site

Diocese of Charlotte Official Site
{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, state=collapsed Christian organizations established in 1938 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1939 Patrick Charlotte Churches in Charlotte, North Carolina Gothic Revival church buildings in North Carolina Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Historic district contributing properties in North Carolina