CAPG's Blog 

Source: The Bulletin June 1945

Source: Bulletin of Catholic Laymen, Raleigh Diocese September 1945

Raleigh, N.C. (NC) - Bishop Vincent S.Waters - who earlier required Sisters in the Raleigh, N.C., diocese to wear identifiable religious garb - has made the same demand of his priests.

In a recent letter to diocesan priests, pastors and heads of Religious orders, Bishop Waters called it "important for the good of souls of priests, as well as the people they serve," that priests wear clerical garb except for recreational activities.

The bishop's directive says pastors "should report to me Sisters working in their parishes - studying or doing secular work - who are not complying with this request."

Noting that similar clothing regulations are contained in canon law and were reaffirmed by the last Raleigh diocesan synod, held in 1948, Bishop Waters said any priest who disregards the regulation is "subject to the withdrawal of this diocesan faculties." These faculties include such clerical functions as preaching and hearing confessions.

The Raleigh diocese - comprising the whole state of North Carolina - has 66,933 Catholics out of total state population of more than five million.

Source:December 3, 1971 Small Town Papers

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The cleric should wear "suitable clerical clothing, according to the norms issued by the Episcopal Conference and according to legitimate local customs." (Canon #284) This means that such clothing, when it is not the cassock, should be distinct from the manner in which laymen dress, and in conformity with the dignity and sacredness of the ministry.

Apart from entirely exceptional circumstances, the non-use of clerical clothing on the part of the cleric can manifest a weak sense of his own identity as a pastor completely dedicated to the service of the Church (# 66).

Source: EWTN

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Outside liturgical functions, a black suit and Roman collar are the usual attire for priests. The use of the cassock is at the discretion of the cleric.

Source: USCCB

Source: The Bulletin

Sisters of Mercy, Catholic Encyclopedia

Sisters of Mercy have been serving in North Carolina close on to ninety years
1951, The Bulletin.
Belmont, NC.

In 1862, an urgent appeal was made to the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Charleston, SC., to rush to the assistance of the city of Wilmington, NC, which was stricken with an epidemy of yellow fever. Father Thomas Murphy, the pastor, and at one time the only priest in North Carolina, was himself a victim of the plague.
As the result of their work of mercy and charity the Sisters, endeared themselves to the people of Wilmington, and were bade farewell with reluctance when they returned to their home in Charleston.
At the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1866, the Vicariate Apostolic of North Carolina, was erected. Father James Gibbons, of Baltimore, who later became Cardinal Gibbons, was appointed Vicar Apostolic. Upon his arrival in Wilmington, he found an impoverished South, its mills and factories closed, its farms laid waste, and its people disheartened. Race riots were of frequent occurrence. In fact, on the very night of his arrival there was a torchlight procession of black people through the streets.
Father Gibbons saw the urgent need for Catholic schools and requested Sisters from the community at Charleston. Three Sisters were sent to establish the new mission. People gathered in crowds on street corners to gaze in amazement at the Sisters and their religious habits.
Immediately upon their arrival the three Sisters began the work of instructing children and of visiting patients in the local hospital. Money was needed for the care and relief of charity patients. The Mayor of Wilmington, Silas Martin, having been approached in order to obtain assistance, gave the Sisters a sum each week to be used for the need of the poor.
The fist postulant to be received into the young community, and also the first to die, was Miss Margaret Price, a sister of the famed "Tar-Heel Apostle," Father Frederick Price, co-founder of Maryknoll.
In 1872, the Wilmington community became a foundation separate from the Charleston House. In the same year, Bishop Gibbons became Bishop of Richmond, and although his visits to his "children in Wilmington" were infrequent, he sent them many letters of encouragement and continued his financial assistance. In one letter he wrote: "Though my calls are numerous and means not colossal, I can never forget the cherished home, my own creation, whose children prosecute the good work after their father was snatched from  them."
When the Sisters planned to establish their first branch house in Western North Carolina, Bishop Gibbons was dubious about the venture, but consented because he felt that it would give the Sisters an opportunity to get away from the swampy lowland in which they were then located. To pay for the equipment in this new school at Hickory, the Sisters saved by using one fire and one lamp at night. Finally, this house was closed because of the impossibility of securing a priest to minister to the community.
Other places were considered as sites for a permanent foundation, but for various reasons were not found suitable. In 1891, Bishop Leo Haid, Abbot of the Benedictine Monastery at Belmont, NC, and Bishop of North Carolina, advised the Sisters that there was a valuable piece of property for sale between the monastery and the city of Belmont. After much negotiating, the property was purchased and a frame building was erected.
When the Sisters arrived at their new home late on summer afternoon, they found to their dismay that as yet no doors had been hung in the building. In the midst of their discussion about preparation for the coming night, several Monks from the monastery arrived with supper for them. The Benedictines continued to supply food for the Sisters for several days.
 Up to this time, the Sisters still retained the habit of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy of Charleston. In 1893, they adopted the habit of the Mother McAuley Sisters of Mercy but they did not become officially affiliated with that Order until 1812.
At home, the community has grown from the original three Sisters in 1869 to one hundred and thirty-three Sisters in 1951. The Sisters of Mercy, as is characteristic of their labors, are engaged in caring for the poor, the sick and the ignorant in the State of North Carolina.
In their two large hospitals, Mercy Hospital, Charlotte, and St. Joseph's Hospital, Asheville, hundreds of charity patients have been given the same care and consideration as provided for paying patients. A training school for nurses is operated in connection with Mercy Hospital in Charlotte. The Sisters also visit the poor and sick in their homes. The needy of Charlotte will long remember the charity of Sister Benedict, who distributed food and clothing among them.
St. Leo's Military School for small boys, located near the Mother-house in Belmont, fills a great need in this area since there is no other Catholic boarding school for young boys between Northern Virginia and Georgia.
Besides teaching on all levels of education from kindergarten  through junior college, the Sisters travel miles on Saturdays and Sundays to do catechetical work. They conduct vacation schools during the summer months.
Numerous requests are received from pastors asking that Sisters be sent for their schools. Many of these requests have to be refused because of the lack of a sufficient number of Sisters. Vocations are increasing in number, it is true, but not in numbers to supply the demand. The hospitals plead, " We need more Sister nurses," the schools urge, " Mother, send us more teaching Sisters." The field is ripe to the harvest, but more laborers are needed.
The present Superior of the Sisters of Mercy of Belmont is Reverend Mother M. Immaculate, a native of Savannah, Ga. Her Council is composed of Mother M. Juliana, Mother Assistant; Mother M. Benignus, Burser, and Mother M. John, Mistress of Novices.
Gradually the Sisters were able to open schools in nearby town, and soon hospitals were established. After their gallant services in nursing flu patients in the government hospital in Wilmington in 1918, each Sister received a letter from the government stating: " You risked your life as truly as any soldier on the field of battle."
An orphanage for girls was erected on the grounds of the Mother-house at Belmont. Father Price founded an orphanage for boys near Raleigh. The first children admitted were two boys found starving on the streets of Raleigh, and a third boy sent to the Sisters by the courts.
In 1946, the Belmont Community undertook its first foreign mission at the request of the Bishop of Guam. Three Sisters, left for the South Pacific in the fall of that year to open a native novitiate and a school. Today there are a Guam forty-five Sisters, who have four missions, two schools, and do catechetical work.

Source: The Bulletin