Belmont Abbey, North Carolina
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Belmont Abbey is a small community of Benedictine monks living outside of Charlotte, North Carolina in the town of Belmont, North Carolina, in the United States. Founded by Bishop Leo Haid in the mid-1800s, it is the daughter abbey to St. Vincent's Abbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and mother abbey to St. Leo's Abbey in Tampa, Florida. The monks also operate Belmont Abbey College; a small, four year Catholic liberal arts school. Belmont Abbey's full, proper name is, "Mary Help of Christians Abbey."
[edit] Dates of Interest
- April 21, 1876 The first Benedictine monk to serve at Belmont arrived, accompanied by the first two students for the new college.
- July 10, 1886 For the first time an alumnus of our college was received as a novice in the monastery.
- July 11, 1886 The first three novices professed vows for the new abbey in North Carolina.
- May 7, 1891 The monastery's Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes was blessed by Abbot-Bishop Leo Haid, O.S.B. It was designated as a pilgrimage shrine.
- June 8, 1910 The 'diocesan' jurisdiction of Belmont Abbey was erected by decree of the Holy Father in Rome.
- July 27, 1998 The Vatican issued a decree elevating the Abbey Church at Belmont to the rank of a minor basilica.
- July 14, 1993 The central campus was entered on the National Register of Historic Places as the "Belmont Abbey National Historic District."
