Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church (Raleigh, North Carolina)

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church and School
Basic information
Location	Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Affiliation	Roman Catholic Church
State	North Carolina
District	Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh
Status	Active
Leadership	Bishop Michael Francis Burbidge

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church & School is a Roman Catholic church and lower school in Raleigh, North Carolina. Our Lady of Lourdes parish is a member of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh.

History of church and school

In 1938 Mr. James Joseph and Rosalie W. Fallon donated twenty acres of land to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh. The second Bishop of Raleigh, the most Reverend Eugene J. McGuinness considered the possible use of the donated land for future Catholic hospital. After much consideration, Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School opened two months before the official establishment of the parish, in 1954. Sister M. Bettina Batchelder was appointed its first principal. Sisters of the Holy Cross served on faculty of the school. The first Mass was celebrated on December 5 of that year. Most Reverend Vincent S. Waters, the bishop of Raleigh at the time, presided then dedicated the temporary church and school. Reverend Paul Byron preached at the Mass. Reverend Francis J. Tait was installed as first pastor of the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. In 1955 First patronal feast of the parish was celebrated by Most Reverend Vincent S. Waters and Reverend Michael J. Begley, Bishop of Charlotte. In 1957 The first class, nine students, graduated from the Our Lady of Lourdes School.^[1]

Church

The Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church was founded in 1954. The current minister of the church is The Very Reverend John Forbes.^[2][3]

Mission statement

The church's mission statement is as follows: "Like our patroness, Our Lady of Lourdes, we are disciples always pointing to Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We do this in union with the Holy Catholic Church and all the faithful in the Diocese of Raleigh. We have a special care for the domestic church, our families, and desire to strengthen and support them as they grow in faith and love. Our parish has special charisms: our Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and our parish school. We continually strive to improve our religious education programs, our stewardship of God’s gifts, and our outreach to the materially and spiritually poor, the unprotected and the sick. We respect the life and dignity of every person, each created in the image of God. As living witnesses to the love of Jesus Christ, we desire to strengthen our life of prayer in community and individually, always aspiring to live as God’s loving children."^[4]

School

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School is a private school for boys and girls from preschool through eighth grade. The school feeds into Cardinal Gibbons Catholic High School. Our Lady of Lourdes is a 2007 Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.^[5]

Athletics

Our Lady of Lourdes offers many sports for its students to participate in. The school plays against other local private and charter schools.^[6]

• Girl's Sports: Cheerleading, Basketball, Lacrosse, Soccer, Volleyball, Cross Country
• Boy's Sports: Baseball, Basketball, Lacrosse, Soccer, Cross Country

References

1. ^ http://www.ourladyoflourdescc.org/church_history
2. ^ http://www.ourladyoflourdescc.org/staff
3. ^ http://www.ourladyoflourdescc.org/general_information
4. ^ http://www.ourladyoflourdescc.org/mission_statement
5. ^ http://www.olls.org/index.html
6. ^ http://sports.olls.org/