Building up the faithful
MOUNT HOLLY — St. Joseph College Seminary is every bit as idyllic as portrayed in its popular videos – a friendly rector of firm purpose forming cassock-donning young men to have “hearts full of charity” as they discern the priesthood, joyful Daughters of the Virgin Mother clad in long flowing habits working with the seminarians and priests, echoes of beautiful Latin chants, striking Gothic architecture, forested land beyond wide-open spaces, and two gentle, larger-than-life canines.
These qualities and others combine to create intrigue and allure among the faithful, enough to bring more than 1,000 visitors to the college seminary campus each year since it opened in 2020, including a recent tour with the Catholic News Herald. Frequent visits can be a lot to handle amid all the regular seminary activity. However, if all goes according to plan, the college seminary will be ready by spring of 2024 to break ground for a new chapel and wing to welcome many more visitors.
Plans are nearly complete for the second, final phase of the seminary, which will add a major chapel, offices, piazza, extended cloister walk, and a welcoming hall to support visits, talks and retreats for parishes around the diocese. Currently marked out as mere outlines in the grass, the new chapel will be large enough to host liturgies with the seminary community and up to 150 visitors. The project promises to add a whole new dimension to the life of the college seminary – and anyone who wants to visit.
Architectural firm Michael G. Imber Architects of San Antonio, Texas, and Creech & Associates PLLC of Charlotte worked with Father Matthew Kauth, rector, to design the new wing and chapel.
“The plans have come along beautifully,” Father Kauth says, “and I’m thrilled we’ll be able to welcome the faithful and the larger community into what we’re doing here – and the extraordinary blessings God has bestowed.”
Fundraising for the $22 million project is well under way, with about $20 million already committed by generous donors, including substantial support from the Diocese of Charlotte.
“The chapel and its surrounding buildings were part of the original plans for the college seminary,” Father Kauth adds. “I am grateful to Bishop Jugis for his support of this second phase of construction.”
In December, the seminary will hold an open house for all who are interested in seeing the seminary, learning about the construction plans and supporting its mission.
The current chapel was originally designed as a lecture and banquet hall and will be used as such once the new chapel and meeting spaces are ready.
“We will be able to have people come in large groups,” says Fredrik Akerblom, director of advancement for the college seminary. “Even individuals who want to spend time praying could come during the day anytime when the chapel is open.”
On the floor below the current chapel is a classroom where the seminarians learn Latin with Professor Nancy Llewellyn, universally known as “Magistra.” The room is also used for music, philosophy and theology classes. The second phase of development includes an additional kitchen next to the classroom where smaller groups, such as one seminarian class or a group of priests and faculty, can meet for a meal.
Akerblom says visitors to the seminary campus will also be welcome to attend the daily 7 a.m. Mass in the chapel, which will be open to the public five days a week.
“We have realized in these first eight years that the mission, apart from preparing men to be formed for the priesthood, is to also welcome visitors and to build up people in the faith,” Akerblom says.
The add-on cloister walk also aids in this endeavor, adding charm and functionality. The walkway will be double-wide to allow for more mingling space with tables and chairs.
Finishing the cloister walk creates an enclosed outdoor space perfect for a hardscape piazza.
Yet it is the chapel, of course, that is the pièce de résistance. Featuring wooden beams, stone columns and sacred art by current artists, it promises to be a sight to behold.
Behind the sanctuary will be an ambulatory and a Lady Chapel. Flanking the sanctuary will be two sacristies, one for vesting and one for work.
The sanctuary itself will feature a 12-foot-tall, five-panel polyptych by renowned Italian artist Chiara Perinetti Casoni. Paintings of St. Joseph, St. Mary Magdalene, the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. John will grace the wooden panels of the piece. Casoni uses egg tempera (paint made of egg yolk and color pigments) painted on gold leaf, a style that flourished in Siena between the 13th and 15th centuries.
Father Kauth emphasizes that the project will make the college seminary “a place for people to gather. It’s a place where priests can bring their parishioners to come and have Mass and then fold out into common areas and places for talks and lunch and things like that. There will be some other offices and supporting buildings for the seminary work here, but this project that we’re doing is going to open it up to all the faithful.”
“The people of our diocese made it possible to build the first part of the seminary,” he says. “God willing, this second phase will inspire many more to give generously. Our work with forming men to become noble fathers is one that will benefit people all around our diocese for decades to come.”
— Annie Ferguson
Get involved
Want to be a part of making the new chapel a reality? Go to the St. Joseph College Seminary’s website at www.stjcs.org, click on the “Donate” button, then select “The Seminary Chapel Campaign” in the “My Donation Is For” field.
Everyone is invited to an open house that will be held 2-5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16. For questions, contact Fredrik Akerblom at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 704-302-6386.