ABOUT OUR PARISH

St. Ann’s Parish was established on August 15, 1955, with the purchase of the northeast corner property at Park Road and Hillside Avenue. It was the fourth Catholic parish erected in the city of Charlotte. During the parish’s first year of existence, Sunday Masses were offered in the nearby Park Road School Auditorium. St. Ann’s school building was completed and dedicated in September 1956.

The celebration of parish Masses then moved into what is now the library of the school above the original auditorium/cafeteria space. Masses were offered in the school until the original church structure was built in 1960. Bishop Vincent Waters dedicated the original church building on December 18, 1960.

The original church structure consisted of a crypt church and a façade that faced Park Road, and a plan to made to finish the structure by building the upper church later. By 1961 money was raised by parishioners for this purpose, but St. Ann’s first pastor, Msgr. Michael Begley (who would become the first bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte), determined that the money would be better spent by opening a mission parish three miles south on Park Road to serve Charlotte’s growing population. St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church was thus founded in 1961.

Although the original church structure did not grow beyond the “basement” church for almost 50 years, it went through many minor renovations. In September 2008 ground was broken for a massive renovation of the church building. Masses were moved into the cafeteria of the Msgr. Allen Center, and selective demolition began that same month. Under the direction of architect James McCrery and pastor Fr. Timothy Reid, the church building underwent a dramatic renovation that gave it the finished look St. Ann’s parishioners had always hoped for. Bishop Peter Jugis (who was baptized at St. Ann’s) dedicated the new church on December 5, 2009. Since then the church has been embellished with various works of art, including stained glass windows in the chapel and a collection of 12 life-sized, hand-carved statues of saints that now adorn the main church.

In addition to being the home of many priests and deacons over the years, as well as the Sisters of St. Joseph, St. Ann’s Parish also houses St. Joseph’s Monastery for the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration. The Poor Clares moved into the original convent for the Sisters of St. Joseph in March 2010 as a temporary home until they can build a monastery of their own. Whereas the Sisters of St. Joseph have served St. Ann’s primarily by teaching in the school, the Poor Clares are a cloistered order of nuns dedicated to a life of prayer and solitude.

Since it’s founding in 1955, St. Ann Catholic Church has established itself as a warm, closely-knit community known for its charitable outreach. The parish is a wonderful mix of ages, cultures, ethnic and economic backgrounds. Over the years St. Ann’s has offered Mass not only in English, but also in Vietnamese and Spanish, and has been home to parishioners from dozens of countries. St. Ann Parish is also very well known in the Charlotte area for its excellence in music and liturgy, and the parish is currently home to the Traditional Latin Mass community in Charlotte, offering Latin Masses every Wednesday evening and Sunday afternoon.

Under the direction of eleven pastors, St. Ann’s parish facilities have been renovated and expanded and the parish property has been enlarged. In the 1970s adjacent property on Park Road was purchased that included a house that was used for many years for various parish group meetings and religious education offices. That house was eventually demolished to make room for the parish’s current parking lot. In 1981 St. Ann’s Parish acquired another house and property facing Willow Oak Road, which has served as a residence for both priests and nuns.

In 1993 a parish activity center was built to keep up with increasing parish needs. This building, which was renamed the Monsignor Allen Center in 2000 (after St. Ann’s 8th pastor, Msgr. Richard Allen), now houses the school cafeteria and gym, as well as meeting rooms and the parish offices. The original rectory of the parish, located on Hillside Avenue, was demolished in 2003.

Over the years the school has been renovated and updated to keep pace with technology and trends in education. Today St. Ann’s Catholic School operates as part of the Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools (MACS) administered by the Diocese of Charlotte. While the school originally provided education from Kindergarten through 8th grade, with the founding of Holy Trinity Catholic Middle School in the 1990s, the school now provides education for pre-K through 5th grade. The Sisters of St. Joseph (of Chestnut Hill, PA) originally staffed St. Ann’s Catholic School from its earliest years, but this ended with the retirement of principal Sr. Helene Nagle in 2008.