The melting pot of NC: how transplants have found community through faith

This article was written for our sponsor, the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh.

Waves of people moving to North Carolina from around the world and country have created a diversely blended community. For some, worshiping together in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh has been integral in finding friends and a support community.

This isn't just a modern phenomenon, however — this has been happening since the country's inception.

Few Catholics lived in the area in colonial times, but an influx of immigrants increased the ranks of the church during the early and mid-19th century, according to NCPedia. From there, an American Catholic identity began to develop.

North Carolina's first native-born Catholic priest, Father Thomas Frederick Price, was ordained in 1886, and after spending several years traveling among missions in the state, he settled in Raleigh, where he built a neighborhood he called Nazareth, home to a farm and orphanage.

In 1924, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh was established, and the Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, stands today in the Nazareth neighborhood, now known as Mission Valley.

In the late 1800s, the area received a large number of Catholics when many Lebanese believers moved to North Carolina, said Monsignor Jerry Lewis, the historian for the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh. A second major boost to Catholic rolls came from the military. With World War II, many men were stationed at bases across the region, from Fort Bragg to Camp Lejeune.

"A lot of the guys married Southern girls and stayed right here," said Lewis.

More believers from within the United States came when Research Triangle Park was built in 1959.

"There was a tremendous influx of people coming from the North," said Lewis.

Additionally, starting in the 1970s and 1980s, waves of immigrants from Latin American countries, strongly Catholic parts of the world, began to fill parish rosters. The number of Hispanic people is now high enough that there are Spanish-language services on Saturdays and Sundays at Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral in Raleigh, and the bishop of the diocese, Bishop Luis Rafael Zarama, is Colombian.

The bulk of the Catholic population in North Carolina is made up of transplants and immigrants. It's estimated that only 5% of the state's Catholic population is native to this area. They find connection and community through their shared faith.

"Whereas some Tar Heel Catholics can trace their ancestry back for several generations in the state, the vast majority are newcomers, members of the demographic waves that have swept over the state in recent decades," said Bill Powers, author of "Tar Heel Catholics: A History of Catholicism in North Carolina."

Powers continued, "The newcomers range from affluent, highly educated professionals attracted to universities, medical centers and corporate headquarters, to migrants from Latin America attracted by work opportunities in agriculture and industry. Despite their differences, all find in the Catholic Church an anchor of security and a link with their past as they navigate the challenges of their new home."

The church serves Catholics and all members of the area through a variety of ministries and programs. It is primarily dedicated to the mission of providing help to those in need by alleviating the effects of poverty. It seeks to support underprivileged and at-risk communities, including immigrants and those affected by natural disasters.

The Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, in particular, has a number of resources and ministries dedicated to serving minorities in the church.

"Translating this goal into practice is a work in progress. To a large extent, the more affluent transplants from the North are called upon to support programs and services for those struggling to gain a foothold in their new home. The main dimensions of assisting newcomers are worship, education and social welfare." said Powers.

"Worship needs are facilitated by the presence in the state of priests from more than a dozen countries who are able to celebrate Mass, baptize, officiate at marriages and pray with Catholics in their own language," he continued. "This diversity does not include only Spanish-speaking clergy, but priests from such diverse areas as Korea, Vietnam and Africa. Several language groups have services in their native tongue at least once a month."

In addition to multicultural work, the church also supports people through ministries focusing on faith formation, marriage and family life, human life and dignity and youth and young adults, to name a few. For example, the cathedral hosts an annual marriage anniversary to celebrate successful marriages of couples from around the diocese, Lewis said. At this year's celebration, couples from all over eastern Carolina came to celebrate their 40th, 50th and 60th wedding anniversaries.

Community is also found through gathering and worshiping together and by participating in volunteer work that lifts and helps others in need.

Through all of these ministries, the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh has become a center for a diverse community of believers who have gathered in North Carolina.

"Just as several generations ago the Catholic Church in the North was built by immigrants from Ireland, Italy and Poland, so today, the Church in North Carolina grows and prospers with newcomers from Mexico, Nigeria and the Philippines," said Powers.

This article was written for our sponsor, the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh.