Our Community - Diocese of Charlotte

Our Catholic Community

The Diocese of Charlotte embraces an array of peoples, rites and languages. Roman rite Masses are offered regularly in the English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Hmong languages, with periodic Masses said in Igbo (Nigerian) and Polish. The diocese has also embraced and journeyed alongside several “sui iuris” (“self-governing”) Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with the pope – including the Ukrainian Greek, Syro-Malabar, Maronite and Ethiopian/Eritrean Catholic Churches that have planted churches in western North Carolina.

As a faith community that welcomes and supports diversity, Bishop Peter Jugis calls it a sign of the Holy Spirit at work: “This is Catholicism. It is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church – and it’s all happening right here.”

African American Community

Dating back to the turn of the 20th century, African American Catholics have made vital contributions to building up the Church in western North Carolina. Several of our parishes have a strong Black Catholic presence and a special devotion to African American faith traditions even as they have become more diverse: St. Helen in Spencer Mountain, St. Benedict the Moor in Winston-Salem, St. Mary’s in Greensboro, Our Lady of Consolation in Charlotte, and Christ the King in High Point.

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African Community

Catholics from Africa have found a welcoming home in the Charlotte diocese over the past few decades – coming here from Nigeria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ghana, Liberia, Kenya, South Africa and more. Some have been forced to flee conflict or famine, while others seek higher educational opportunities and economic advancement. Our Lady of Consolation and Our Lady of the Assumption parishes in Charlotte, St. Mary’s in Greensboro, Christ the King in High Point and others in the Triad place a special focus on outreach and fellowship to these faith-filled communities. Missionary priests serving here from Cameroon, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo provide pastoral care and attention.

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Burmese (Myanmar) Community

Burmese Catholics have found a home at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church in Charlotte, one of the most diverse parishes in the diocese. There, the Charlotte Myanmar Catholic Community helps unite Catholics from Myanmar through worship and fellowship. Priests from the Archdiocese of Yangon and elsewhere regularly visit to offer Mass and the sacraments in their own language, either at the Charlotte church or in people’s homes.

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Ethiopian/Eritrean (Ge’ez or Alexandrian Rite)

Catholics from Eritrea and Ethiopia who have settled in Charlotte form the Eritrean (Ge’ez) Catholic Community of Charlotte and worship at St. Gabriel Church, located on Providence Road in Charlotte.

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Ethiopian/Eritrean (Ge’ez or Alexandrian Rite)

Hispanic Community

The Hispanic Community is comprised of many nationalities and cultures united in faith and a common language. They are Cuban exiles who sought refuge here the 1960s, farm laborers who found work here in the 1970s and 1980s, and more recently, immigrants and refugees fleeing economic and political hardship in Mexico and Central and South America. Since the diocese’s founding, parishes across western North Carolina have welcomed Hispanic Catholics, providing Spanish-language Masses, catechesis and – most importantly – a spiritual home. Today, approximately half of all baptized Catholics in western North Carolina are of Hispanic heritage.

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Hmong Community

St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Morganton and Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church in Marion have welcomed the Hmong Catholic Community, with Father Ken Whittington, pastor of the Morganton parish, regularly offering Mass in the Hmong language. Hmong immigrants have also found a home at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Greensboro – one of the most ethnically diverse parishes in the diocese.

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Indian (Syro-Malabar Church, East Syriac Rite)

The Syro-Malabar Catholic community in western North Carolina, centered in Charlotte, falls under the jurisdiction of St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago. The community was supported by and worshiped at St. Matthew Church in south Charlotte for years until a permanent church for the community, St. Mary’s Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, was built in 2017. Holy Qurbana (Mass) is said in Malayalam.

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Indian (Syro-Malabar Church, East Syriac Rite)

Korean Community

Many Korean Catholics worship at two parishes in the diocese: St. John Lee Catholic Church, located on Robinson Church Road in Charlotte; and St. Peter Yu Church, located on Romaine Street in Greensboro. The parishes are served by priests appointed through their home dioceses in South Korea. Masses are celebrated in Korean.

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Lebanese (Maronite Church, West Syriac Rite)

For Maronite Catholics living in western North Carolina, St. Stephen Maronite Catholic Mission offers weekly liturgies in English and Aramaic at St. Matthew Church in Charlotte. Father Rodolph Wakim serves as pastor of the mission – part of the Eparchy (Diocese) of St. Maron of Brooklyn, N.Y., which encompasses 16 states including North Carolina.

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Lebanese (Maronite Church, West Syriac Rite)

Roman (Latin Rite)

The Diocese of Charlotte is part of the Roman Catholic Church, the largest of 24 autonomous Catholic Churches in full communion with the pope.

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Ukrainian Greek (Byzantine Rite)

Western North Carolina has two growing Ukrainian Greek Catholic communities: St. Basil the Great Church in Charlotte and Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke Mission in Asheville. Members of St. Basil Church worship at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, located on Suther Road in Charlotte. Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke Mission members worship at St. Barnabas Catholic Church, located on Crescent Hill Road in Arden. Both celebrate Divine Liturgy (Mass) in English.

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Vietnamese Community

The diocese’s largest congregation of Vietnamese Catholics is at St. Joseph Catholic Church, located on Sandy Porter Road in Charlotte, seconded by Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church, located on Shamrock Drive in Charlotte. Vietnamese Catholics in the Triad have found a home at St. Mary’s Church, located on Gorrell Street in Greensboro, one of the most ethnically diverse parishes in the diocese. These parish communities celebrate their Catholic faith, keep alive their Vietnamese heritage and language, and build relationships with others in their parish family.

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