Good Cities for Catholics?

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Check out the South in general. Faithful Catholics are getting out of ‘Dodge’ (liberal North) and heading South.
 
" Charlotte is getting to be a bona fide Catholic city, with all the transplants from traditionally Catholic areas (the northeast, midwest, etc.), a solidly orthodox and traditionally-leaning bishop, and some very, very large parishes. St Gabriel’s has perpetual adoration and St Ann’s on Park Street has several Traditional Latin Masses (EF) every week with one on Sundays, at a very convenient time, no less (12:30 pm)."

And there is also St. Matthew, the largest parish in the US.
 
Oh, if you have children, you also might consider somewhere in the Diocese of Wichita, KS. They have a very active, involved diocese, and their ability to offer Catholic education reflects that. I don’t know if that’s still the case, but there were several articles about it about 15 years ago, so I would hope that they’ve sustained and grown since then.
Before a student can gain admittance, he or she must have a parish family agreement, signed by the student, by a parent, and by the family’s pastor. The agreement promises that the family will be active stewards in the parish. Weekly Sunday Mass attendance is expected, as well as participation in religious education classes and other parish life activities. On rare occasions, when a student or a student’s parents stop participating in parish life, a pastor will withdraw the agreement, and the student will be removed from the school.

According to Voboril, many of the schools are filled to capacity, and it can be very difficult for a family to enroll children without a parish family agreement.

It happens, infrequently, according to Burris, that a family may drop out of a parish “from the standpoint of being active stewards, and not be actively involved in time, talent and treasure commitments.” Under those circumstances, a student may be asked to leave the school. “It’s a sad day for us at the school,” he said.

Nielsen said, “I’ve had examples where parents have said, ‘Well, I can’t get a parish family agreement because I’m not going to church.’ Yet, they want their child to receive Catholic education, and they might say, ‘Well, I’ll pay you $8,000 in cash.’ ” (Tuition at Bishop Carroll High School for those without the parish family agreement is approximately $7,000 per year.)

“I would put them on the waiting list. They say, ‘Well, can I just pay $8,000? That’s not a problem.’ And I would say, ‘That’s not what’s important here. What’s important is that you are an active Catholic member.’ ”

In that situation, she said, “You feel bad and wonder, Are you punishing the child?”

According to Msgr. Tom McGread, who was instrumental in the founding of stewardship in the diocese, “The big question is, What good would Catholic education do for them if they don’t get support at home? That’s the big problem.”

Many parents in Wichita and elsewhere want their children educated in Catholic schools because, according to Voboril, “they’re stronger academically, better disciplined, and they’re safer. Now I think all that is true of our schools, but people here know that if you are going to get into our schools, whatever reason you come for, our schools exist to form disciples of Jesus Christ.”

The students in the schools, according to Voboril, are an astounding 98 percent Catholic. The non-Catholic students are often the children of teachers. The great majority of teachers are also Catholic.
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Good thread. While I don’t care for larger cities, I’ll have to make a note of some of the cities mentioned here.
yankeesouth said:
Check out the South in general. Faithful Catholics are getting out of ‘Dodge’ (liberal North) and heading South.
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As someone in the liberal North, I can see why, and I’ve been contemplating it myself lately. Many of the states here have beautiful scenery, architecture, and culture (what’s left of it anyway), however the people themselves are more often than not rotten. Those realities become immediately apparent to Southerners who move here… The ones I’ve spoken to have said as much. I don’t see the situation in the North getting better any time soon, so I probably will move once I’m financially able to do so.
 
CathoRick said:
however the people themselves are more often than not rotten. Those realities become immediately apparent to Southerners who move here… The ones I’ve spoken to have said as much.
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Could you elaborate on this? What constitutes “rotten”? And what “realities” are you referring to?
 
Here’s some of my recommendations.

I used to live in Colorado, the diocese of Colorado Springs is pretty nice, with a booming Catholic population too might I add! There’s a nice Traditional Latin Mass parish run by FSSP there in the southern part of the city.

There is also an independent run parish that offers the Latin Mass in the Black Forest of Colorado Springs (this is in the northern part of the city), but I learned that one is not in communion with Rome. Interestingly, they are not affiliated with SSPX, CMRI, or SSPV, but are entirely independent, and they even have their own seminary. There’s also an independent order of Carmelite Nuns there too. A few years back the bishop of Colorado Springs tried to bring the church in the Black Forest into full communion with the Holy See, but negotiations failed sadly. What a shame, because the church there is quite beautiful!

Kansas City, KS, and MO are also nice (I presently live on the border of the Missouri side), plenty of good solid Catholic parishes, especially if you like the Traditional Latin Mass, there’s several options, from FSSP and ICKSP. Also, more diocesan run parishes are offering it too here.

It is worth noting that in recent years the Catholic population in Kansas City has been shrinking, while in Colorado Springs it has really been growing. I think Colorado Springs actually has more Catholics living there now, but we still have more priests here in Kansas City. There isn’t enough priests to meet the demand of the growing Catholic population in Colorado Springs right now. The reason for this though is Kansas City is not only a much older diocese, but we historically have been a very big Catholic city. The diocese of Colorado Springs is very new, established by JPII in 1983 I think. At that time the diocese had only about 60,000 Catholics. Today there are almost 200,000 there.

The diocese of Colorado Springs has had only 2 bishops in its near 40 year history. So fairly stable I’d say.

Next year after I get married I am planning on moving back to Colorado with my wife where we will settle in Colorado Springs.

Okay, this concludes my boring history lesson. lol
 
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StValentineFriend said:
Strictly from a Catholic perspective, which of the following six cities would you prefer to move to and why?
  • Charlotte, NC
  • Durham, NC
  • Fort Worth, TX
  • Huntsville, AL
  • Lexington, KY
  • Tyler, TX
If you accounted for other conditions (weather, jobs, housing), would your answer change?

I posted this in the Traditional Catholicism board and not Catholic Living because I was looking for particular feedback, but please move/delete if this is inappropriate.
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If I were in your shoes, I would simply pray to our Lord for guidance. Go where He wants you to go. Trust in his guidance and providence.
 
PeterT said:
If I were in your shoes, I would simply pray to our Lord for guidance. Go where He wants you to go. Trust in his guidance and providence.
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Oh yes, there’s that daily. And I was inspired to post here.
 
Convert3 said:
Of those listed I’d probably choose Charlotte. But I have no plans on moving anymore.
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Yes, I’m not terribly into large cities either…but work. If you have recommendations for smaller cities with robust economies, we’re all ears 😀
YourNameHere said:
None of these six cities appeal to me.
Can’t we please see the name of the city behind curtain number seven?
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Tampa, FL
Scott84 said:
I used to live in Colorado, the diocese of Colorado Springs is pretty nice, with a booming Catholic population too might I add! There’s a nice Traditional Latin Mass parish run by FSSP there in the southern part of the city.
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Thanks for all the details. I love Colorado, Utah, Idaho, etc. but high elevations make everyone in the family quite ill. We’d tried it and couldn’t ever adjust.
 
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