Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church (Greensboro, North Carolina)
| Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Basic information | |
| Location | 2201 West Market Street, Greensboro, North Carolina, United States |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic Church |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| State | North Carolina |
| District | Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte |
| Leadership | Bishop Peter Joseph Jugis |
| Website | |
| Architect(s) | Henry V. Murphy |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 1952 |
Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic church in the Sunset Hills neighborhood of Greensboro, North Carolina. The church was erected as a memorial to Ethel Clay Price, a Catholic whose husband donated funds to build the church. The Church was designed to resemble Our Lady of Refuge in Brooklyn, New York.[1] The church is also host of Our Lady of Grace Catholic School, serving children from grades pre-k through 8.[2]
History
Our Lady of Grace was erected in 1952 through funds provided by Julian Price, a Baptist, as a tribute to his deceased Catholic wife, Ethal Clay Price. It is because of this that the Church is also known as the Mrs. Julian Price Memorial.
Prior to the construction of Our Lady of Grace, there was a small Catholic population in Greensboro, so a traveling priest, Fr. Vincent Taylor, OSB from Belmont Abbey, would come and hold Mass at what is now St. Benedict's Church in downtown Greensboro.
In 1946, Julian Price made arrangements to provide funds for the church as a memorial to his wife, who had recently died. Price approached Vincent Waters, Bishop of Raleigh with his idea of building the church. Price chose to model the church after the Church of Our Lady of Refuge in Brooklyn, New York. Henry V. Murphy, the architect of the New York church, was contacted and he agreed to design Our Lady of Grace. Price presented the Bishop with $400,000 to build the church, but before construction began, Price died in a car accident.[3]
The construction of Our Lady of Grace was delayed during World War II, and the rising costs almost prevented the completion of the church, until Julian and Ethal Price's children, Kathleen Price Bryan and Ralph Clay Price, gave $300,000 to the cause. Construction of the church began in 1950 by the George W. Kane Construction Company of Greensboro. The exterior walls are made of pink granite from Salisbury with Indiana limestone trim. The stained glass windows, 30,000 separate pieces, were imported from Belgium.
The first Mass was celebrated at Our Lady of Grace on July 13, 1952. The church was dedicated on September 14, 1952 by Cardinal Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, the Apostolic Delegate to the United States. Charles H. Helmsing, Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis, preached the dedication sermon.
The Jubilee Pipe Organ, a 2,226 pipe Kleuker organ, was dedicated on the 25th Anniversary of the church in October of 1977.
Notable parish staff
- Charles Borromeo McLaughlin, first Bishop of St. Petersburg, was the 3rd pastor
- Michael Joseph Begley, first Bishop of Charlotte, was the 5th pastor
References
External links
| |||||||||||||||||||||
