Parish History

Annunciation Catholic Parish

History

There were only a handful of Catholic families attending Mass who were not active duty military in the late 1940's. Their numbers began to increase as the base became larger and employed more people. The increasingly large number of Catholics led some Marines to petition Bishop Waters for a parish church and school. On January 15,1953, he appointed Rev. William Pearson as parish priest in Havelock with permission to baptize and say Mass in the Community Chapel. He also gave Fr. Pearson permission to rent a suitable home and have daily Mass. However, as Fr. Pearson's health was not good, he quickly left the task of beginning a parish to Fr. Francis J. Howard.

Fr. Howard, a native of Michigan, was ordained at an age when most people are in the twilight of their careers. His lofty spirit and energetic enthusiasm soon led the people of his new parish to come together to build a new school and hall. He said his first Mass in a temporary rectory at 16 Oak Drive, Slocum Village, on March 25,1953. Since this was the feast of the Annunciation, he asked that the parish carry this name in honor of Our Lady. Bishop Waters granted his request on April 23, 1953.

The task was not an easy one. A drive was begun for a school and the faithful of all denominations pitched in to lighten the workload. The spirit of ecumenism appeared well before its time in Havelock.

On Good Friday, 1953, Fr. Howard drove to the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Mercy in Merion, Pa. to solicit their help in starting his new school. He met with Mother Gertrude Mary, the Superior General and, as tradition has it, would not leave until she promised him some Sisters. Fr. Howard met with her again a few weeks later when she visited her school in Jacksonville, NC.

Fr. Howard hosted Mother Gertrude for dinner at the rectory. On this day, Apri113, 1953, the men and women of Annunciation promised services to the Sisters and the school. On January 1, 1954, ground was broken to start construction of the Annunciation School and Hall. On August 27, 1954, the following Sisters arrived from Merion, pioneers of anew school; Sr. Elizabeth Anne, Sr. Edward Mary, Sr. Virginia Mary and Sr. Julian Mary. The Annunciation school was dedicated on October 7, 1954 and opened with 346 students after some delay from hurricanes. For the next fifteen years, the people of Annunciation attended Mass in the school hall. "Operation Knee Bones" provided them with homemade kneeling pads but their dream was always to have a real church with real pews. This dream became reality with the dedication of the church on May 18,1969.

The new church building is a structure of fireproof construction with cavity brick walls and a reinforced concrete conoidal roof over the nave. Including the cry rooms, the church has a seating capacity of almost 600. The church's shape is a direct solution to the functional and spiritual requirements of the new liturgical procedures of the Catholic Church. The nave, defined by two intersecting arched walls, allows the congregation to gather around the altar for maximum audio and visual comfort. Flanking the congregation on each side of the sanctuary, the Stations of the Cross are displayed in a ribbon-like manner. Executed in copper enamel, the stations are the work of artist Miss Edwina Bringle of Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC. At the rear wall of the nave, panels of colored, faceted slab glass close the seven arched openings between the wall and conoidal shell roof. Designed by Fr. Donald Walpole, O.S.B., St. Meinard's Abbey, St. Meinrad, IN and executed by the Willet Stained Glass & Decorating Co. of Philadelphia, PA.

The seven panels depict the following scenes from the Bible: (From left to right as you face the windows inside the church) 1. The Annunciation (the lily is its symbol) 2. The Incarnation (the star of Bethlehem) 3. The Redemption (chalice in the center of the window with grapes on he right and sun on the sides) 4. The Creation (the fingers on the hand of God are pointed down; one side is the creation of the planets and the other side is the creation of the heavenly bodies) 5. The Pieta (the cross and shroud represent death) 6. The Vivification (dove represents the coming of the Holy Spirit) 7. The Coronation (in the center of the window are the points of a crown). The eight narrow windows at the front of the church are taken from the litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary and are: (from left to right facing them) Queen of Heaven, House of Gold, Star of the Sea, Life Giving Water, Cornerstone, Morning Star, Mystical Rose, and Mother of Christ.

The two tapestries in the rear of the church are the work of artist Mrs. Mary Ellen McDermott of Akron OH. The tapestries represent (left to right) the Annunciation and the Holy Family. In front of the church, a freestanding bell tower serves as a memorial to the Cherry Point military personnel who died in the performance of their duties. The bells were from the I.T. Verdin Co. of Cincinnati, OH.

The church was formally dedicated on May 18, 1969 with the Most Reverend Vincent S. Waters, D.D., Bishop of Raleigh, as the Celebrant of the Mass. Concelebrating were Rt. Rev. Msgr. Frank J. Howard and Rt. Rev. Msgr. Eugene J. Kapalczynski, USN. The sermon was given by Fr. Gerald L. Lewis, Master of Ceremonies was Fr. Albert J. Todd, Commentator was Fr. James H. McHugh, Lector was Mr. Louis Realini, Choir Director was Mr. Albert Francesconi, Cantor was Fr. Leo Mcllrath and the General Chairman was Mr. Joseph Rachide.

The architects were Robert H. Stephens, AlA and Aldo B. Cardelli, AlA of New Bern, NC with the general contractor being Luther T. Rogers., Inc. of Wilmington, NC. The contractors involved with building the church are as follows; Heating -Dixon Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. of New Bern, NC; Plumbing -James L. Cayton Plumbing Co. of New Bern, NC; Electrical- Carter Enterprises, Inc. of New Bern, NC; Floor Coverings Middleton Faase Co. of Milwaukee, WI; Church Furnishings -New Holland Church Furniture of New Holland, PA and Organ -Jones-Potts Music Co. of New Bern, NC.

Father John Harper came to the Annunciation parish in 1973 and his first order of business was to replace the one-story , 19th century frame house that served as the rectory. The Wetheringtons, one of the founding Catholic families of the area, had originally given the house to the parish. Msgr. James Jones served as pastor for only a couple of years and was then called to New Bern to build the new church there. Father James Mobbs replace Msgr. Jones as pastor until 1984 when the pastoral care of the parish was taken over by the Missionaries of LaSallette (MS) in July 1984.

The first Missionaries of LaSallette priest to arrive was Father Hector LaChapelle and he was to stay at Annunciation for six years. Fr. Hector also had a unique "side ministry"; he was the team Chaplain for the Minnesota Vikings football team and his office was filled with the mementos of that ministry .

In 1987, a building was purchased from Havelock High School and transported to the church grounds where it was set up, bricked and used as a convent for Sister Thomas Jude (TJ) McGarry, M.S.B.T. and Sister Thomasina (Tommie) Cattafe, R.S.M. both from Philadelphia. The sisters only stayed here for a year, so the building was used to temporarily house visitors to the church. Father Joseph G. Aquino arrived at Annunciation in 1990 but was only to stay for a year and was replaced by Father Frederick R. Flaherty. Fr. "Bud", as he was referred to, stayed with Annunciation parish until 2000. In Apri11997 , the Annunciation Parish was honored to celebrate Fr. Flaherty's 40th Anniversary of Priesthood. Eucharistic celebrations and socials were held to honor this momentous occasion. Fr. Flaherty's tenure will be remembered as good years and during this time, the church underwent a serious renovation in 1999. The red carpet was replaced with blue carpet, the tan bricks were painted pale gray and the pews were refurbished.

The original Stations of the Cross were replaced in 1997 with a set from a LaSallette church in Massachusetts that was closing. The Stations of the Cross and the statue of the Virgin Mary were also refurbished in 1999.

When Fr. Flaherty left the parish, Father Peter McKeown and Brother Robert Belliveau replaced him after an interim period in which the parish had no assigned priest. Many visiting priests filled that gap. Father Pete was a kindly and gentle man but his health was not good. Fr. Pete only stayed at Annunciation for nine months until he retired from active ministry. With the leaving of Fr. Pete, the Annunciation Parish was thrown into a quandary again. Because of the shortage of priests, the Missionaries of LaSallette could no longer staff the parish and the Diocese was petitioned for help. Numerous priests celebrated Mass at Annunciation during the early summer of the year 2001 until it was announced that the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales (OSFS) would be taking over the ministry of the parish. The first Oblate priest to serve at Annunciation was Reverend Dr. William F. Walsh, an educator from Philadelphia, PA. Fr. Bill arrived in August 2001 and immediately set to work. Because of requirements set forth by the Diocese, and personal privacy , the decision was made to move the priests' residence from the rectory office building to the convent building that was purchased in 1987. Major renovations had to be accomplished before Father could move in but once that was fully ongoing, the long overdue renovation of the parish office building was started. Once these projects were accomplished, the parish priest had a separate, private residence and the parish office building will be solely used for the running of the parish.

On March 25, 2002, The Feast of the Annunciation, Fr. Bill rededicated the bell tower after the renovation of the bell system and also the Memorial to the Unborn in honor of Our Lady. The Memorial to the Unborn was placed on the front wall of the church in 1998 by the members of the Msgr. Frank J. Howard Council #6648, Knights of Columbus. On October 13, 2002, Fr. Bill once again blessed the Memorial to the Unborn in honor of "Respect Life Sunday" and then proceeded to bless and rededicate the completed Parish Office Building. The renovation was complete.

Pastors of Annunciation Parish

Rt. Rev. Msgr. Francis J. Howard 1953-1970 +