HIGHLANDS — Our Lady of the Mountains Parish celebrated an important milestone Sunday, breaking ground for a new church in a ceremony led by Bishop Michael Martin – his first groundbreaking since being ordained bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte six weeks ago.
Plans are underway to replace the current brick structure, which dates to 1950, with a 9,000-square-foot Baroque-style church at the current location on Fifth Street.
The new building project is the result of years of planning and work spearheaded by Father Jason Barone, pastor, who from the time of his arrival in 2019 heard from parishioners and saw for himself the need for a new worship space because of the growing Catholic presence in the mountain community and the structural problems of the existing building.
A crowd of nearly 250 packed the pews for Mass and then spilled out onto the lawn near the church for the groundbreaking ceremony, held in front of a shrine on the property dedicated to the church’s patron, Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
“We’re here today because of the work of men and women who have gone before us to build the church here – not just of brick and mortar, but who brought the faith to this area,” Bishop Martin told the crowd who had gathered for the groundbreaking.
Father Barone thanked Bishop Martin, the diocese, and recently retired Bishop Peter Jugis for supporting the project.
“We’re going to look back several years from now and realize how much God has worked here at Our Lady of the Mountains and how much we have been strengthened by the Holy Spirit,” he said.
The ceremony also included remarks from Patrick Taylor, mayor of the Town of Highlands.
“The architecture of this new church will be a profession of faith and belief,” Taylor said. “It will be an icon of Catholic faith for this community for decades and probably even centuries to come.”
Our Lady of the Mountains Parish serves about 275 registered families who are either full-time or seasonal members, as well as visitors and vacationers drawn to the area by its quiet mountain beauty and proximity to attractions like the Nantahala National Forest.
The new church will accommodate the growing number of parishioners and seasonal visitors while also offering a worship space that calls upon ancient Catholic architectural tradition, parish leaders say.
The project is a sign of how far the local Catholic community has come since a small number of faithful first started worshipping in Highlands decades ago, using a local playhouse theater for Masses that were offered by visiting priests from Waynesville.
Plans call for seating 268 worshipers and a narthex for fellowship before and after Mass and for use as a cry room. The interior will feature seven altars from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, six shrines highlighting sacraments, and two shrines/altars dedicated to Mary, the Blessed Mother and to St. Joseph. Plans also include a confessional, a baptistry, work sacristy and priest sacristy as well as a choir loft.
Fundraising for the project started in May 2022, and so far the “Building a Beacon of Catholic Faith Capital Campaign” has raised $8.3 million in donations and pledges. The total budget for construction is $11.5 million.
JDavis Construction, based in Anderson, South Carolina, is lead contractor.
“We have built churches in the past but none have attempted to capture their faith and symbolism of their belief so much in their structure as this one does,” said Alley Linder, the company’s chief operating officer. “This will help Our Lady of the Mountains to truly bring a beacon of the Catholic faith on the plateau here.”
Masses will continue to be celebrated in the existing church while construction is ongoing. The parish’s former offices were recently demolished to make way for the new church. The current goal is to have it completed by late 2025.
— Christina Lee Knauss. Photos by Troy Hull
