A Brief History of Our Parish

The Beginnings: Fr. Michael Carey's Foresight

In 1962, Cary was a town of fewer than 5,000 residents with an extremely sparse Catholic population. But Fr. Michael Carey, then the pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Raleigh, believed that this small town was a likely area for future growth. Large corporations were moving into the area to form the future Research Triangle Park and vast woodlands were ripe for home development. With this foresight, Fr. Carey urged the Bishop to purchase property at what is now the comer of Maynard Road and Walnut Street. An intermediary had to broker the sale because of the anti-Catholic sentiment prevalent in the 1960s.

Construction of the original Church began on September 29, 1962, with a groundbreaking ceremony. Fr. Carey celebrated the first Mass at Cary High School auditorium, where the participants gathered the collection by literally passing a parishioner's hat! Mass continued to be celebrated at Cary High until the church building was dedicated on March 16, 1963.

At that time, St. Michael comprised 64 families, less than 100 people. Many of the parishioners were transplants to North Carolina. And they were truly the Church. In this time preceding Vatican II, the pioneering families of St. Michael were active in all phases of the Church, from "keeper of the keys" to handling financial affairs, holding CCD meetings in homes, and even suggesting sermon topics to visiting priests.

A Mission Church: 1962-1967

Fr. Carey was an enthusiastic supporter throughout these early stages, as were the many visiting priests-notably Fr. Robert Lawson. Fr. Lawson, a curate at Sacred Heart Cathedral and a North Carolina native, took a personal interest in St. Michael and initiated programs such as the lector/commentator sessions. By 1966, there were 95 families and activities ranged from CYO, to Boy Scouts, social gatherings, Parish Advisory Board, and the first Confirmation ceremony. The winds of change were blowing as additional parts of the Mass were changed from Latin to English. Still, the lack of a priest in residence was unsettling to the founding families. By January 1967, the mission Church had grown to 170 families and a part-time pastor, Fr. Fred Koch, was assigned to St. Michael. Fr. Koch was also the editor ofthe NC Catholic newspaper and the Director of the Diocesan Missionary Apostolate.

St. Michael Becomes a Parish

In March 1967, the diocese recognized St. Michael the Archangel as an independent parish. The laity continued to be primarily responsible for parish affairs, and there was a strong desire for a full-time, resident pastor. Thus, in 1967 the parish began plans and fund-raising efforts for a rectory addition. Meanwhile the parish continued to grow spiritually by means of weekend retreats, CCD teacher training, Cursillos, and Bible study. In 1968, Fr. Carey was invested as a Monsignor, and Fr. Koch celebrated his 25th year of Ordination. The congregation numbered 867 members.

The following year, 1969, the rectory was completed and Fr. Koch-although still part­time-became St. Michael's first pastor in residence. This development allowed for the permanent reservation of the Blessed Sacrament in the Church, a banner day for the parish. Other highlights at the close of the 1960s were the formation of a social justice committee, ecumenical sharing in summer Bible schools with the Lutheran Church, and the first strummings of the folk guitar group.

Father Koch's Years

The year 1970 added lots of "firsts" including a Parish Mission, a Golf Tournament, and participation in an ecumenical Cary Thanksgiving Service. Fr. Michael Shugrue took up residence at St. Michael while working on diocesan assignment (1970-71), and also gave Fr. Koch some much-needed assistance. Later, Fr. Shugrue returned to St. Michael to fulfill diocesan duties and was named a Monsignor.

During the remainder ofFr. Koch's tenure as pastor (1970-75), St. Michael grew from 1,133 to 2,200 parishioners. This growth necessitated adding a fourth Sunday Mass, enlarging the church building and parking lots, and building a Parish Center.

These facility improvements were completed by the end of 1974, strengthening the burgeoning congregation and providing space for spiritual and social activities. In the early 1970s, the parish was introduced to Eucharistic Ministers, the Charismatic Movement, and adult religious seminars. The first parish kindergarten was begun and the first parish pictorial directory was published.

The "Fr. Koch years" ended in January 1976 when he was transferred, leaving a legacy of priestly caring.

St. Michael Is Assigned a Full-Time Pastor

Msgr. James McSweeney, Fr. Koch's successor, became St. Michael's first full-time pastor, a long sought goal of parishioners.

There were some natural "growing pains" for pastor and parishioners as Msgr. McSweeney guided the congregation from its independent status to one governed by a pastor/administrator. The Church underwent extensive renovations (removing altar rails, constructing a reconciliation room, and moving the tabernacle to a side alcove), many of them to conform with Vatican II liturgical guidelines. The parish continued to grow with spiritual, social, and outreach activities. Fr. William Pitts, a resident priest, assisted on weekends. St. Michael also hired its first full-time Pastoral Associate and Consultant, Sister Dolores "Dolly" Glick.

In July 1977, Fr. Francis Tait succeeded Msgr. McSweeney as pastor. During Fr. Tait's five-year tenure, the parish grew from 690 to almost 1000 families. This huge growth spurred the establishment of a mission church in Apex, the genesis for St. Andrew. In addition to helping fund the new mission, Fr. Tait was able to retire the debt on the new parish buildings. Significant staff members were hired during this period (1977-1982).

New Staff Member Positions

In the early 1980's a professional music director and a director of religious education were hired. The rectory was blessed with our first associate pastor in residence, Fr. Albert Tittinger. Fr. Bill Kowal succeeded Fr. Tittinger in 1980 and stayed for four years. Sr. Fran Gorsuch served as a Youth Director and Sr. Denise Lablonte was a Pastoral Associate.

The 1980s: Father Charlie's Years

The pastor for most of the 1980s was a feisty, ex-merchant marine, Father H. Charles Mulholland. During Father Charlie's tenure (1982-1989), the congregation's faith was strengthened by means of programs such as Christ Renews His Parish, Renew, and the Charismatic Prayer Group. An ecumenical spirit with other Cary churches thrived, along with social outreach programs such as the Hunger Group, which helped to feed the poor worldwide. On the structural level, the sanctuary underwent major renovations, and an Early Childhood Center was added. Fr. Charlie also promoted the purchase of property in Morrisville for future development. The later sale of this property aided the completion of our present Parish Center building. In 1982, the Apex mission became St. Andrew's Church and our boundaries were redrawn to reflect the change.

Sr. Maria Rhoads became the Pastoral Associate for Fr. Charlie and worked nine years at St. Michael, developing numerous ministries including the refugee family relocation and Meals­on- Wheels programs. Fr. Charlie was also aided by a series of assistant clergy including Fathers William Kowal, lohn Durbin, Bob Whalen, S.l., and Bob Weisenbaugh, S.l., each of whom contributed his unique gifts and talents.

St. Michael celebrated the Silver Anniversary of its church dedication in 1988 with the burial of a Time Capsule. Unfortunately, it was not waterproof and the documents needed to be dried out when they were unearthed years later.

By 1987, it was apparent that the exploding growth at St. Michael would necessitate either a significant church addition or a new church building. The opening of St. Andrew had not created the expected decrease in church membership. In fact, the parish continued growing in number and diversity. In 1989, FI. Charlie agreed to a once-a-month Mass in Spanish for the more than 30 Hispanic members of the Renew group. That same year, the Triangle Korean Catholic Community moved Mass from its NCSU campus ministry to our facility. Today St. Michael holds weekly Masses in both Spanish and Korean.

Despite the growth, our much-loved pastor, FI. Charlie, lacked interest in a church construction project and asked to be transferred. Thus, in 1989, Fr. Kevin Fahey took the reins as pastor and, shortly thereafter, made it clear that a new church building was the only viable option.

Father Fahey - Vision for a New Parish Location

During Fr. Fahey's pastorate (1989-1995), the property on High House Road was purchased and planning began for the new church. During 1994, the parish (now more than 1,490 families) continue to meet at the Maynard Rd./Walnut St. property.

Some of the parish highlights during the early 1990s included the Family Inter­generational Religious Education (FIRE) program, the Little Rock Scripture Series, special Lenten traditions, a major musical production, "Tales of Wonder," and formation of a Family Guild. A parish self-study, which described the activities that would fulfill the community mission objectives of St. Michael, was helpful in the planning of the new church. During these transitional years, associate priests, Fathers Bob Weisenbaugh and Torn Watkins aided Fr. Fahey.

Msg. John A. Wall- Exponential Growth and Expansion

In the spring of 1995, Monsignor John A. Wall succeeded Fr. Fahey as pastor and Fr. Bill Long succeeded Fr. Tom Watkins as associate Pastor. The old church property at the comer of Maynard Rd. and Walnut St. was sold. So, the first task was to begin celebrating the liturgy in a beer warehouse on Chatham St.

Monsignor Wall was aided in his efforts to build a new church by an incredible surge of committed lay volunteers who launched into a capital campaign, which raised more than $2 million. These funds, along with those provided by the sale ofthe property, allowed construction to proceed. Ground was then broken for the new church at High House Road and 15 months later the church was completed.

Since then, and under the leadership of Father Wall, the parish has experienced exponential growth. Today our campus consists of our Church, the Parish Center, the Trinity Center and our Family Life and Education Center building. We have established a music ministry that performs at all of our 10 Masses and consists of more than 100 participants. We have thousands of people serving approximately 100 ministries. We have a successful International Festival that showcases the incredible diversity of our parish. We have weekly satellite Masses at Green Hope High School and at the Bond Park Senior Center. In addition, we have purchased the Westwood Baptist Church property next door. This acquisition provides us with desperately needed room to grow, and more importantly enables us to offer a quality environment for the entire parish family now and well into our future.

Currently, St. Michael serves approximately 5,000 families representing more than 15,000 people in any given week. A critical part of our tremendous growth is reflected in the number of young people we serve: 180 Early Childhood Center Children; 490 St. Michael School Children, 1,300 Faith Formation Children, 220 Jr. High Edge participants and 200 Life Teen High School participants. In addition, St. Michael includes more than 800 Hispanic and more than 300 Korean parishioners.

St. Michael is truly a stewardship parish where people generously give of their time, talent and treasure. With God's ever present grace we will continue to be a welcoming faith filled Catholic community in Eastern North Carolina.

Lorretta Bierer