The Diocese of Charlotte (''Dioecesis Carolinana'') is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Jo ...

ecclesiastical territory, or

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...

, of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

in the Southern United States. It consists of 46 counties in western

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 ...

, divided into ten vicariates. The city of

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 ...

and the

Piedmont Triad The Piedmont Triad (or simply the Triad) is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of North Carolina anchored by three cities: Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point. This close group of cities lies in the Piedmo ...

are the largest metropolitan areas in the diocese. Charlotte is a

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandri ...

of the metropolitan

Archdiocese of Atlanta In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. The Diocese of Charlotte is led by 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 ...

who serves 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 ...

of the Cathedral of Saint Patrick in Charlotte. Peter Jugis is the current bishop. The diocese is also home to two of the three

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

s in North Carolina and the largest Roman Catholic parish in the United States: * Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville, North Carolina * Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians in Belmont, North Carolina * St. Matthew Catholic Parish in Charlotte, with over 35,000 members The total population of the Diocese of Charlotte in 2010 was approximately 4.8 million people. Of this number, 174,689 were registered Catholics (3.6% of the total population), living in over 63,000 households. This number does not include an estimated 230,000 undocumented Hispanic or Latino Catholics. The Diocese of Charlotte covers , and includes 46 counties. It encompasses three main population centers: *

Greensboro Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

, High Point, and

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

* Charlotte * The North Carolina mountain region

Vicarates

The Diocese of Charlotte has ten

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

iates. They are Albemarle, Asheville, Boone, Gastonia,

, Hickory,

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

, Salisbury, Smoky Mountain and Winston-Salem.

History

Vicariate Apostolic and Belmont Abbey

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

erected the Vicariate Apostolic of North Carolina on March 3, 1868. He removed the entire state of

from the

Diocese of Charleston The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston is an ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Roman Catholic Church in the Southern United States that comprises the entire state of South Carolina. Currently, the diocese consists of 96 parishes an ...

in South Carolina. The pope made new vicariate a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland. In 1876,

Saint Vincent Archabbey Saint Vincent Archabbey is a Benedictine monastery in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in the city of Latrobe. A member of the American-Cassinese Congregation, it is the oldest Benedictine monastery in the United States and the largest in th ...

in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, sent a party of

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 to Western North Carolina. They bought land outside of Charlotte and started a new priory. Eight years later,

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...

elevated the priory to an

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The c ...

, known as Belmont Abbey, on December 19, 1884. At that time, the monks elected Father Leo Haid as their first abbot. On February 4, 1888, Pope Leo XIII appointed Haid to also serve as

apostolic vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...

of North Carolina and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox a ...

of Messine. Haid was consecrated in Baltimore on July 1, 1888.

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of ...

later designated Belmont Abbey as a territorial abbey. He transferred eight counties in Western North Carolina (which today make up the Diocese of Charlotte) from the Vicariate Apostolic of North Carolina to Belmont Abbey. This made Belmont a suffragan of the

Archdiocese of Baltimore The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore ( la, link=no, Archidiœcesis Baltimorensis) is the premier (or first) see of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore and nine of M ...

. This decision created two particular churches united in the person of their ordinary, ''neither of which was a diocese''. This arrangement endured until Haid's death on July 24, 1924.

Diocese of Raleigh

On December 12, 1924,

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City f ...

transformed the Apostolic Vicariate of North Carolina into the

Diocese of Raleigh The Diocese of Raleigh is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church that covers the eastern half of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan ...

. It became the first Catholic diocese in the state. Twenty years later,

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

transferred seven counties from Belmont Abbey to the new diocese on April 17, 1944.

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 28 Oc ...

then transferred

Gaston County Gaston County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 227,943. The county seat is Gastonia. Dallas served as the original county seat from 1846 until 1911. Gaston County is included in the ...

from Belmont to the diocese in July 1960. These two transfers reduced the Belmont territory to the abbey grounds. However, Belmont still remained a territorial abbey; Abbot Walter Coggin remained an ordinary and participated in the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

in the 1960s . On February 10, 1962,

elevated the Diocese of Atlanta to a metropolitan archdiocese. He transferred the Dioceses of Raleigh and Savannah, along with Belmont Abbey, from the Archdiocese of Baltimore to the new province headquartered in Atlanta.

Diocese of Charlotte

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 ...

erected the Diocese of Charlotte on November 12, 1971. The new diocese, composed of territory taken from the Diocese of Raleigh, was made a

of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. Six years later, Pope Paul VI finally transferred Belmont Abbey into the Diocese of Charlotte, ending its status as a territorial abbey on January 1, 1977. When the new diocese was established, the Catholic population of the area was just over 34,000. The first bishop of the new Diocese of Charlotte was Michael Begley, a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

from the Diocese of Raleigh, installed on January 12, 1972. Begley served as bishop until his retirement in May 1984. Pope John Paul II appointed John Donoghue, a priest from the

Archdiocese of Washington The Archdiocese of Washington is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the District of Columbia and the counties of Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, ...

, as the second bishop of Charlotte on November 5, 1984, with his installation on December 18, 1984. The population of Catholics in Charlotte continued to grow, and Bishop Donoghue declared in the early 1990s that it would be the ''Decade of Evangelization''. Donoghue was succeeded by William G. Curlin, an auxiliary bishop from the Archdiocese of Washington, on April 13, 1994. Curlin served until his retirement on September 10, 2002. By 2002, the diocese had grown to approximately 87,000 Catholics. On August 1, 2003,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed Peter J. Jugis,

judicial vicar In the Roman Catholic Church, a judicial vicar or episcopal official ( la, links=no, officialis) is an officer of the diocese who has ordinary power to judge cases in the diocesan ecclesiastical court. Although the diocesan bishop can reserv ...

of the Diocese of Charlotte, as its fourth bishop. He was consecrated on October 24, 2003. As of December 2022, Jugis is still Bishop of Charlotte.

Sexual abuse cases

On November 1, 2019, the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, ...

and Senate passed legislation extending the

statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...

for filing sex abuse lawsuits. While the state of North Carolina has no statute of limitations for criminal sex abuse cases, there still are statute of limitations in place for civil sex abuse lawsuits. On December 30, 2019, Bishop Jugis released a list of 14 priests credibly accused of sexual abuse in the diocese since 1972. On March 2, 2020, the diocese added two more names to this list. This list did not include clergy accused of sexual abuse in territory controlled by the diocese prior to 1972; these men were named in a list titled "Western North Carolina."To the People of God of Western North Carolina
Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, Accessed September 18, 2020 Former clergy who served in the diocese, but were accused of committing sex abuse "elsewhere", were listed separately as well.

Yurgel case

In 2009, Robert Yurgel, a former priest at St. Matthew's Parish, was arrested after pleading guilty to second-degree sexual offense of a minor. Yurgel had sexually abused a 14-year-old

altar boy An altar server is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, helps bring up the gifts, brings up the book ...

in 1999. In February 2009, Yurgel pleaded guilty to child molestation and was sentenced to seven years in state prison. He was dismissed from the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...

and

laicized In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the loss of clerical state (commonly referred to as laicization, dismissal, defrocking, and degradation) is the removal of a bishop, priest, or deacon from the status of being a member of the clergy. The ...

in 2000. The victim sued Yurgel and the Diocese of Charlotte. The case was settled for $1 million in damages and an additional $40,000 to pay for the victim's therapy. Yurgel was released from prison in August 2016. On December 14, 2020, a California man filed a lawsuit against the diocese, claiming that Robert Yurgel had sexually abused him when he was five to seven years old at St. Mathew's Parish in the late 1990s.

Spangenberg case

On August 14, 2018, a grand jury report released by the

Pennsylvania attorney general The Pennsylvania Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It became an elected office in 1980. The current Attorney General is Democrat Josh Shapiro. On August 15, 2016, then-Attorney General Kat ...

named 301 priests responsible for allegedly abusing over 1,000 children within six Pennsylvania dioceses over 70 years. One of them was Robert Spangenberg, a

Spiritan , image = Holy Ghost Fathers seal.png , size = 175px , caption = The seal of the Congregation depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Trinity. , abbreviation ...

priest who served in the Dioceses of Charlotte and Raleigh. Spangenberg was a pastor at St. James Parish in

Hamlet, North Carolina Hamlet is a city in Richmond County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 6,042 at the 2020 census. History The area in Richmond County which presently includes Hamlet was originally known as Sandhills. The Wilmington, Charlotte ...

, in the 1990s. David Hains, diocese spokesperson, stated that the Diocese of Charlotte never received any concerns from

Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Ghost Fathers seal.png , size = 175px , caption = The seal of the Congregation depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Trinity. , abbreviation ...

about Spangenberg's behavior in Pennsylvania, and that there had been no complaints about him in North Carolina.

West case

On March 25, 2019, the diocese announced that Monsignor Mauricio West, its

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop ...

and chancellor, had resigned from his posts. The diocese had received allegations against West of unwanted sexual advances towards an adult student at

Belmont Abbey College Belmont Abbey College is a private, Catholic liberal arts college in Belmont, North Carolina. It was founded in 1876 by the Benedictine monks of Belmont Abbey. The school is affiliated with the Catholic Church and the Order of Saint Benedict. I ...

in the 1980s. Taking a leave of absence, West denied all the accusations. The Lay Review Board of the diocese found these allegations to be credible. In November 2019, four more complaints of sexual misconduct were lodged against West. Two of the accusations came from diocese employees, the other two from Belmont students.

Kelleher and Farwell cases

On April 14, 2020, two sex abuse lawsuits were filed against the diocese. The plaintiffs alleged that the diocese shielded two credibly accused priests, Richard Farwell and Joseph Kelleher. The lawsuits were filed previously, but both were dismissed due to the previous

. The plaintiffs were able to sue again because of the 2019 changes to state law. * The Kelleher lawsuit was filed by a Georgia man who claimed that Kelleher sexual assaulted him multiple times when he was a teenager between 1977 and 1978. A judged dismissed the 2010 lawsuit due to the passing of the statute of limitations. Another judge dismissed a 2014 criminal case because Kelleher had been diagnosed with

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

. * The Farwell lawsuit was filed by a North Carolina man who was a teenager in 1977. He alleged that Farwell started abusing him after he went to the priest for counseling. The plaintiff file a lawsuit against Farwell in 2011, but it was dismissed due to the statute of limitations. Farwell was later accused by a second man. Farwell was later convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, sentenced to probation, and removed from ministry in 2005.

Baker case

In November 2021, the diocese was sued by man who claimed he had been sexually assaulted by Donald Baker, a diocese priest, in the 1980s. The

plaintiff A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of t ...

had made his accusation to the diocese in 2017. Baker left the ministry in 1994 and is on the list of diocese priests with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors.

Older Mass form

In December 2007, 14 priests of the diocese attended a five-day workshop on the 1962 version of the Mass, the legitimacy of whose continued public use in certain circumstances was recognized in July of that year. Father Samuel Weber OSB was the first to offer a regularly scheduled Mass in that form in the Diocese of Charlotte since 1969. He celebrated this version in October 2007 at Davis Chapel of

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

. Bishop Jugis noted that it would take some time, but that the diocese was trying to accommodate those with an attachment to this form of mass. On the following January 13, the Tridentine Latin Mass or ''usus antiquor'' (older form) was celebrated for the first time in nearly 40 years at Our Lady Of Grace Church in Greensboro, with Jugis attending.

Bishops of Charlotte

# Michael Joseph Begley (1971–1984) # John Francis Donoghue (1984–1993) # William G. Curlin (1994–2002) #

Peter Joseph Jugis Peter Joseph Jugis (born March 3, 1957) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte in North Carolina since 2003. Jugis succeeded Bishop William Curlin as bishop of the di ...

(2003–present)

Catholic News Herald

''Catholic News Herald'' is the official publication of the diocese. It has the slogan "Serving Christ and Connecting Catholics in Western North Carolina." It publishes news from the diocese, general Catholic and world news with a Catholic perspective. The newspaper was established in 1991 and publishes 26 issues per year. It also carries a regular supplement in Spanish within the publication. This publication should be differentiated from the British publication ''

Catholic Herald The ''Catholic Herald'' is a London-based Roman Catholic monthly newspaper and starting December 2014 a magazine, published in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and, formerly, the United States. It reports a total circulation of abo ...

''.

Schools

Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools (MACS)

High schools

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 ...

(Charlotte) * Christ the King Catholic High School (Huntersville) * Canongate Catholic High School (Arden)

Grades six to eight

*Holy Trinity Catholic Middle School

Pre-kindergarten through grade eight

*Our Lady of Assumption Catholic School *St. Mark Catholic School

Other preschools and elementary schools

*St. Ann Catholic School (PK, TK-5) *St. Gabriel Catholic School (K-5) *St. Matthew Catholic School (TK-5) *St. Patrick Catholic School (K-5)

Other schools in the diocese

High schools

* Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School (Kernersville)

Pre-kindergarten through grade eight

*Asheville Catholic School (Asheville) *Immaculata Catholic School (Hendersonville) *Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School (Winston-Salem) *St. Leo Catholic School (Winston-Salem) *Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School (High Point) * Sacred Heart Catholic School (Salisbury) *St. Michael Catholic School (Gastonia) *St. Pius X Catholic School (Greensboro) *Our Lady of Grace Catholic School (Greensboro)

Notable parishes

* Cathedral of St. Patrick (Charlotte) * St. Matthew Catholic Church (Charlotte) * St. Peter's (Charlotte) * Basilica of St. Lawrence (Asheville) * Basilica of Our Lady Mary Help of Christians ( Belmont) * Our Lady of Grace Church (Greensboro) * St. Benedict Catholic Church (Greensboro) * St. Philip's Roman Catholic Church (Statesville) * Sacred Heart Church (Salisbury)

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte Official Site''Catholic News Herald''
- diocesan newspaper {{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Diocese Of Charlotte

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 ...

Christian organizations established in 1971

Vicarates

History

Vicariate Apostolic and Belmont Abbey

Diocese of Raleigh

Diocese of Charlotte

Sexual abuse cases

Yurgel case

Spangenberg case

West case

Kelleher and Farwell cases

Baker case

Older Mass form

Bishops of Charlotte

Catholic News Herald

Schools

Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools (MACS)

High schools

Grades six to eight

Pre-kindergarten through grade eight

Other preschools and elementary schools

Other schools in the diocese

High schools

Pre-kindergarten through grade eight

Notable parishes

See also

References

External links