Mountain mission becomes parish; pastor installed
Father Jason Barone is congratulated by parishioners after being formally installed July 5 as pastor of St. Jude Church in Sapphire. St. Jude, a former mission of Sacred Heart Church in Brevard, was officially elevated to the status of a parish at the same time. (Photos by Liz Chandler and Patricia L. Guilfoyle | Catholic News Herald)SAPPHIRE — July 5 was an historic occasion for Catholics in Sapphire and for the Diocese of Charlotte, as St. Jude Mission was elevated to a parish and its administrator, Father Jason Barone, was installed as its first pastor.
The picturesque mountain church was filled with parishioners during a special Mass that featured both the official declaration of the new parish and the installation of its pastor.
Presiding over the Mass with Father Barone was Monsignor Patrick Winslow, representing Bishop Peter Jugis.
The occasion marked the first time in 15 years since the diocese created a parish out of a mission. The last time was in 2007, when four missions were elevated to parishes by Bishop Jugis: St. Joseph in Kannapolis, Our Lady of the Americas in Biscoe, and Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Joseph Vietnamese in Charlotte.
The new parish was formerly a mission of Sacred Heart Parish in nearby Brevard.
During the special Mass, Father Barone made a public profession of faith and took an oath of fidelity to the Church at the altar, in the presence of Monsignor Winslow.
In his homily, Monsignor Winslow reflected upon the momentous occasion, noting that it was 50 years ago – June 27, 1972 – when St. Jude Church was dedicated by Bishop Michael Begley. Only a few months earlier, Begley had been ordained and installed as the first shepherd of the new Charlotte diocese.
Monsignor Winslow also praised Father Barone’s “tenacity and conviction” in petitioning the bishop to elevate St. Jude to a parish. He recalled getting to know
Father Barone when still a seminarian, on a summer assignment to St. John the Baptist Parish in Tryon where then-Father Winslow was pastor. He has watched
Father Barone’s faith deepen over the years, he said, and he was grateful to have the opportunity to install him as pastor.
“With great sincerity and affection, I couldn’t be prouder,” Monsignor Winslow said. “I wish you, Father Barone, godspeed, and to all of you, good luck!”
Father Barone thanked Bishop Jugis and everyone who made the day’s celebration possible.
“I’m deeply honored. Thank you, and God bless you all.”
Catholics in the area have nurtured St. Jude over the years, starting in the late 1960s. The church owes its beginnings to Mrs. Gene Howerdd, who became ill and prayed to St. Jude that if she could regain her health, she would do all in her power to raise the funds for a chapel in Sapphire Valley, and if she could, have it named in his honor. Father Charles Mulholland, then the pastor in Brevard, petitioned the Bishop of Raleigh for permission to establish a new mission, to call it St.
Jude and to begin plans for building a new church. Permission was given: Mrs. Howerdd had fulfilled part of her promise and set out to complete her pledge.
The initial gift came from the Howerdds: several acres along Highway 64 on which the church could be built. The second gift came from Father Mulholland. Through his brother, a professor at Catholic University, he arranged for architectural students to take on designing the chapel as a class project. Scale models of the five best designs were sent to Sapphire Valley so parishioners could choose their new church. One – an octagonal chapel of fieldstone – was chosen as the perfect complement to the mountain setting.
Fifty years later, St. Jude remains a close-knit and welcoming community.
“It’s a special place, it’s heaven,” said Judy Manasseri, who moved from upstate New York two decades ago to make her home in Sapphire Valley amid the Smoky Mountains.
Fellow parishioner Julie Flick agreed. “It’s just such a loving community.”
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, Editor
A History of St. Jude Church
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass has been offered in the Sapphire Valley area since the summer of 1964. In the beginning, Mass was celebrated in the meeting room of the Sapphire Valley Inn through the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Gene Howerdd and later through the new owners, the Sapphire Valley Development Corp. As a mission of Sacred Heart in Brevard, the people of Glenville, Cashiers, Sapphire and Lake Toxaway were responsible for the growth of the Catholic faith in this area.
The congregation, many of them seasonal residents, eventually outgrew these facilities – but was it now large enough to undertake the expense of building a new church?
At about this time, Mrs. Gene Howerdd became seriously ill. Praying to St. Jude for her recovery, she promised that when she regained her health, she would do all in her power to raise the funds for a chapel in Sapphire Valley, and if she could, would have it named in his honor. Father Charles Mulholland, then the pastor in nearby Brevard, petitioned the Bishop of Raleigh for permission to establish a new mission, to call it St. Jude and to begin plans for building a new church.
Permission was given. Mrs. Howerdd had fulfilled part of her promise and set out to complete her pledge.
The initial gift came from the Howerdds: several acres along Highway 64 on which the church could be built. The second gift came from Father Mulholland. Through his brother, a professor at Catholic University, he arranged for architectural students at that institution to take on design of the chapel as a class project. Scale models of the five best designs were sent to Sapphire Valley so parishioners could choose their new church. One, an octagonal chapel of fieldstone, appeared a perfect compliment to the mountain setting.
In the summer of 1969, the difficult part of raising money to cover the cost of the chapel began. Through donations and pledges from parishioners, many fundraising projects and a $15,000 grant from the Catholic Extension Society in Chicago, sufficient funds were raised to break ground in August 1971. Milton Pate, an Atlanta architect, was called upon to implement the students’ design.
On June 27, 1972, Bishop Michael Begley celebrated the first Mass at St Jude. Statues of the Virgin Mary (donated by Mrs. Richard Beymer) and St. Jude (donated by friends in memory of the Howerdds’ daughter) were carved of linden wood. The carved wooden doors originally fashioned in antiquity came from a monastery in Spain. The massive altar stone was cut by slaves and originally destined to become part of a railroad trestle over the Chatooga River until the Civil War interrupted those plans. When Father Paul Byron was at St. Jude, he made a gift of a ship’s bell to the church to welcome the faithful to Mass. In 1979, Fran Trainor completed the sculpture of the “Young Madonna – Full of Grace” and the clay stations of the cross. A small efficiency apartment, to be used by visiting priests, was added in 1990, courtesy of the Howerdd family.
The congregation continued to grow and recognized the need for classrooms, a parish hall and office space. So in 1999, plans began for an addition. Again, through generous donations from members of the congregation, funds were raised and plans were approved. The hall was completed in December 2001. On Aug. 18, 2002,
Bishop William Curlin was present for the dedication and blessing of the completed parish hall.
The St Jude Catholic community has grown – from a handful of parishioners in a meeting room in Sapphire Valley Inn to more than 400 parishioners attending Mass during the summer months – to be an integral part of the Glenville, Cashiers, Sapphire and Lake Toxaway communities.
— St. Jude Parish