Catholic Churches in North Carolina

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Joey1976

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I am thinking about moving to North Carolina maybe the Raleigh/Durham area. I know obviously Catholic are the minority in the Carolinas but are there any good Catholic Churches. Are they orthodox, how’s the Bishop, etc? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks
 
The Bishop is new and so far appears to be more orthodox than the one who just retired. Our new Bishop has started a vocations Holy Hour once a month at the Cathedral in Raleigh, and he was just named the chariman of the Committee on Vocations of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

It is true that Catholics are still a minority in North Carolina, but there is quite a large population of Catholics in the Raleigh/Cary area. In fact, the Catholic church in Cary has close to 18,000 parishioners.

There are 19 Catholic churches in the Raleigh/Cary area. I have finally found one I really like in Raleigh.

St. Joseph’s is quite small, but very orthodox. The pastor is wonderful and gives great homilies. Silence is maintained in the church before Mass, people dress decently, and you won’t get mowed down if you genuflect when exiting the pew after Mass. Incense is used at every Mass and the altar boys all wear dress pants and dress shoes. It is not unusual to see at least a few people kneel to receive Communion.

The church building unfortunately was designed by a modern architect and really doesn’t resemble a church from the outside. The interior is ok, nice and simple. We have the traditional confessionals, and confession is offered on Weds. evenings and Sat. afternoons.

As we are in the South, the pastor has church night every Weds., beginning with an hour of Adoration while he hears confessions, then we pray the rosary, then the pastor leads a novena in latin, then we have Mass.

The only other traditional church I am familiar with is Sacred Heart in Dunn, NC. It is about an hour from Raleigh and they have a TLM Mass every Sunday afternoon. I haven’t been, but I hear it is very nice.
 
Anne1964 said:
The Bishop is new and so far appears to be more orthodox than the one who just retired. Our new Bishop has started a vocations Holy Hour once a month at the Cathedral in Raleigh, and he was just named the chariman of the Committee on Vocations of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

It is true that Catholics are still a minority in North Carolina, but there is quite a large population of Catholics in the Raleigh/Cary area. In fact, the Catholic church in Cary has close to 18,000 parishioners.

There are 19 Catholic churches in the Raleigh/Cary area. I have finally found one I really like in Raleigh.

St. Joseph’s is quite small, but very orthodox. The pastor is wonderful and gives great homilies. Silence is maintained in the church before Mass, people dress decently, and you won’t get mowed down if you genuflect when exiting the pew after Mass. Incense is used at every Mass and the altar boys all wear dress pants and dress shoes. It is not unusual to see at least a few people kneel to receive Communion.

The church building unfortunately was designed by a modern architect and really doesn’t resemble a church from the outside. The interior is ok, nice and simple. We have the traditional confessionals, and confession is offered on Weds. evenings and Sat. afternoons.

As we are in the South, the pastor has church night every Weds., beginning with an hour of Adoration while he hears confessions, then we pray the rosary, then the pastor leads a novena in latin, then we have Mass.

The only other traditional church I am familiar with is Sacred Heart in Dunn, NC. It is about an hour from Raleigh and they have a TLM Mass every Sunday afternoon. I haven’t been, but I hear it is very nice.
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You are so lucky. Sounds like my kind of church.
 
St. Joseph’s is great (but, as another poster commented, the building itself leaves something to be desired); I try to go as often as I can.

I don’t like Immaculate Conception; all the masses to which I’ve gone are fairly “modern.”

There’s also St. Thomas More, which I don’t care for much, but a friend tells me that one of the new priests does a nice mass in Spanish. (I don’t speak Spanish.)

Holy Cross is a small, fairly traditional-looking church. I prefer to go there when I can’t get to St. Joseph’s. Often I can’t get to any of these churches though, and must go elsewhere still 😦

Main point: St. Joseph’s is a very nice church in the area 🙂

EDIT: Oh, and I have been to Sacred Heart a few times for the Tridentine mass; it’s pretty standard and pretty nice. I thought the priest gave good homilies 😛 If you move nearby and want to attend a Tridentine mass, there’s the church to do it.
 
Those from the Raleigh area, how do you like living in the area? Do you recommend the area? Anything else you can tell me about the area ouwld be greatly appreciated, thanks!
 
I’ve lived in this area all of my life, so I may be a bit biased:) Raleigh is a nice city. It has grown rapidly over the past 15 years or so. There isn’t much of a nightlife if you’re into clubs and stuff like that. There is a very nice greenway system and several state parks nearby if you enjoy outdoor activities. Nice museums. Decent crime rate. Cary, which is a smaller town next to Raleigh, is consistently rated one of the safest places to live in the country.

Research Triangle Park is between Raleigh and Durham, and many people living in the surrounding towns and cities work there. Traffic leading into and out of the park is horrible morning and evening. Six lanes of bumper to bumper cars traveling 5mph for miles. My husband and I purposely chose a place to live that does not require us to commute on the highway.

The climate here is nice if you like hot weather. I don’t, so I don’t enjoy summer here much. It’s quite humid and the temperature can be in the 90s for part of the summer. We do have four distinct seasons, though. We do not get much snow, although we do tend to get ice storms. Because we are in the south, the cities do not maintain snow removal equipment, which means if we have even a tiny bit of snow or ice everything shuts down for a day or two.

Is there anything specific you would like to know about the area?
 
Anne1964 said:
I’ve lived in this area all of my life, so I may be a bit biased:) Raleigh is a nice city. It has grown rapidly over the past 15 years or so. There isn’t much of a nightlife if you’re into clubs and stuff like that. There is a very nice greenway system and several state parks nearby if you enjoy outdoor activities. Nice museums. Decent crime rate. Cary, which is a smaller town next to Raleigh, is consistently rated one of the safest places to live in the country.

Research Triangle Park is between Raleigh and Durham, and many people living in the surrounding towns and cities work there. Traffic leading into and out of the park is horrible morning and evening. Six lanes of bumper to bumper cars traveling 5mph for miles. My husband and I purposely chose a place to live that does not require us to commute on the highway.

The climate here is nice if you like hot weather. I don’t, so I don’t enjoy summer here much. It’s quite humid and the temperature can be in the 90s for part of the summer. We do have four distinct seasons, though. We do not get much snow, although we do tend to get ice storms. Because we are in the south, the cities do not maintain snow removal equipment, which means if we have even a tiny bit of snow or ice everything shuts down for a day or two.

Is there anything specific you would like to know about the area?
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How would you compare Raleigh to the other cities in North Carolina such as Greensboro and Charlotte, etc. I know you are bias but that is ok. I am a teacher and i am thinking of looking for a job in North Carolina because I know they need teachers and I want to leave Ohio. I recieved a job offer in Charleston, SC but it was so expensive to live there. I see that it appears more affordable in Raleigh when doing some apartment hunting. The reason I am looking into Raliegh is because i always heard it is rated one of ther best places in the US to live according to some magazines i have read. But I am also open to other areas in NC. Just wanted to see your opinion of Raleigh compared to the other cities in NC. Thanks!
 
Greensboro is pretty nice. It’s a bit smaller than Raleigh. I would say it’s about equal in amenities to Raleigh.

Charlotte is much larger than Raleigh and has a high violent crime rate.

If you’re looking for a job teaching in the public schools Raleigh would be a good choice. I read in the paper we have something like 6000 additional students enroll in Wake County schools each year and there are plans to build 15 additional schools in the coming years. They are also considering having more schools go to a year-round schedule.

There are also quite a few Catholic elementary schools and one high school in the Raleigh/Durham area.
 
Joey1976 said:
I recieved a job offer in Charleston, SC but it was so expensive to live there. I see that it appears more affordable in Raleigh when doing some apartment hunting. The reason I am looking into Raliegh is because i always heard it is rated one of ther best places in the US to live according to some magazines i have read.
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Puhleeze come to Charleston! We are in serious need of good teachers. I used to live in Durham, and found it just as expensive as living in some of the outlying areas of Charleston – like West Ashley, Hanahan, Summerville, etc. Downtown Chas. is pricey. Charleston metro area is a wonderful place to live – more in the way of cultural and historical interests, close to the beaches, a pretty town and good night life. AND a very orthodox bishop and quite a few good churches (tho we are definitely in the minority as Catholics in the Bible Belt.) Don’t give up on us:)
 
kaygee said:
Puhleeze come to Charleston! We are in serious need of good teachers. I used to live in Durham, and found it just as expensive as living in some of the outlying areas of Charleston – like West Ashley, Hanahan, Summerville, etc. Downtown Chas. is pricey. Charleston metro area is a wonderful place to live – more in the way of cultural and historical interests, close to the beaches, a pretty town and good night life. AND a very orthodox bishop and quite a few good churches (tho we are definitely in the minority as Catholics in the Bible Belt.) Don’t give up on us:)
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Hi thanks for responding. I really wanted to move and take the job. I just recently told the principal that I could not come because i couldn’t find an apartment for a descent price. Here wants me to reconsider though. Do you know of any apartments in good areas to live that are affordable. I did not come down there to look, i just looked on the internet and apartment guides. I didn’t find anything under like $600 for a one bedroom. I wanted to find something in the $400-525 range. Cause i have monthly student loans and you know the teachers salaries 😉 I saw some cheaper apartments in the Raleigh area. But if you kow of any good places and apartments in Charleston could you let me know. Cause if i could find one i think i still may be able to take that job if they have not found someone yet. Thank you very much!!!
 
Joey,

If you find something in the 400-525 a month price range you had better grab it. Because I think that you are really looking at 550-700. Unless a card board box behind the super market works for you.

Church wise though, sounds like a great spot for someone of a more traditional bent.
 
Trident59 said:
Joey,

If you find something in the 400-525 a month price range you had better grab it. Because I think that you are really looking at 550-700. Unless a card board box behind the super market works for you.

Church wise though, sounds like a great spot for someone of a more traditional bent.
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Do you mean in Charleston or Raleigh? I know the ones in Charleston are like 600 and up and the $600 ones are like the bad ones. But i have already found apartments in Raleigh for my price range.
 
If you’re interested in eastern Catholicism, SS. Cyril and Methodius in Cary, NC is a very orthodox and Orthodox parish (especially among Ruthenian parishes, which tend to be fairly latinized). It’s right outside Raleigh, and it’s the only Byzantine-rite church in the state. I believe there’s also a Maronite parish in Fayetteville.

Charlestonians: I’m not lucky enough to live there, but I stopped by Stella Maris on Sullivan’s Island this past weekend…what an amazing chapel! THAT’S what a Roman Catholic parish should look like, both inside and out. Have any of you ever been to the 5:00pm TLM on Sunday?
 
Anne1964 said:
We do have four distinct seasons, though. We do not get much snow, although we do tend to get ice storms.
Is there anything specific you would like to know about the area?
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I am sorry to inform you that you in fact do not have 4 distinct seasons. I live in iowa. We have 90-100 degree weath in July and august and -10 to -20 degree weather in the winter. Having snow means more than one foot and somthing that covers the grass until March or even into april. It is not uncommon here for several feet of snow per year. Spring starts out horribly cold and ends with 70-90 degreeweather. I lived in the south and missed the fact that there really was only two seasons. Cool season and Hot season. Here in the upper midwest it is Green from the end of APril to August then orange, yellow and brown until Thanksgiving then white white white until March then Grey and brown until APril. That is what 4 seasons is. 4 sesons means you cannot walk on the concrete barefoot in july and your car wont even turn over in january unless it is plugged in to a block heater. (I am sure southerners have no idea what a block heater is.)
 
Hi, Joey!

Did you get my pm with the link to the Charleston paper? Been awhile since I’ve been in the apt. market (married homeowner now). I’ll ask around at work tomorrow to see what and where there is anything decent in your range. When I moved here, our 3 BR apt. was comparable in $$ to (and better in amenities) to the 1 BR I had alone in Durham 11 years earlier. And back then, Raleigh was more expensive than Durham.

K.G.
 
kaygee said:
Hi, Joey!

Did you get my pm with the link to the Charleston paper? Been awhile since I’ve been in the apt. market (married homeowner now). I’ll ask around at work tomorrow to see what and where there is anything decent in your range. When I moved here, our 3 BR apt. was comparable in $$ to (and better in amenities) to the 1 BR I had alone in Durham 11 years earlier. And back then, Raleigh was more expensive than Durham.

K.G.
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Thanks for asking around for me i appreciate it. The Charleston paper online only had one apartment listed. It was mostly houses in the real estate section of the classifieds. Thanks tho. Let me know if you hear anything. Thanks!!!
 
St. Matthews of Charlotte is the only one I’ve been to in NC, and it is pretty nice! Most people find it easier to move to Fort Mill or Rock Hill in SC and drive to work in Charlotte since it cost way less to live just across the border…just a thought.
But anywhere you go in NC is likely to be very beautiful, so no worries there.
 
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