To accommodate its dramatic growth, St. Joseph Church recently launched a capital campaign to raise $15 million for a 44,000-square-foot church. Its services in both Vietnamese and English are bursting at the seams, with worshipers often in hallways and overflow seating. The community has grown from a handful of families to a parish that serves about 1,000 households. (Illustrations provided)CHARLOTTE — So many people show up for Sunday morning Masses at St. Joseph Church that crowds overflow into hallways and some people sit outside while the liturgy is broadcast through speakers.
These large and enthusiastic crowds who come to hear the Word of God in both Vietnamese and English are the reason the parish launched a capital campaign in March to build a new church on its property, situated along Sandy Porter Road near Charlotte Douglas International Airport, in the rapidly growing area of southwest Charlotte.
The campaign, whose name translates from Vietnamese to “Building the house of God is the legacy of faith,” was launched to build a soaring, 44,000-square-foot church with two Gothic-style bell towers that will face Sandy Porter Road. Once the new church is completed, the existing church building will be converted into much-needed classroom space.
An early start
Father TruongLed by their pastor, Father Tri Truong, parishioners started raising money about five years ago without a capital campaign. Currently, they have $5 million in the bank from those efforts. Now, they are embarking on a capital campaign to raise an additional $15 million toward the expected costs for the new building, which will be about $27 million.
The remaining $7 million will be debt that will be paid over a number of years.
One of the most successful fundraisers has been traditional Vietnamese food prepared by volunteers and sold in the parish hall after Mass most Sundays. Last Sunday, long lines waited for the delicious dishes and desserts, which included the traditional meat-and-noodle soup dish called pho.
“In my almost 40 years working for the diocese and in helping parishes conduct over 190 capital campaigns, we’ve never had a parish this size have $5 million in the bank before they even launch their campaign,” said Jim Kelley, the diocese’s development director. “Their $15 million goal is extraordinary. We have never had any parish raise even $10 million in a parish campaign. We and the parish leaders are hopeful that they can reach their goal.”
Architect James O’Brien of Virginia-based O’Brien & Keane is the lead architect for the project. The firm also designed Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral for the Diocese of Raleigh. Charlotte-based Edifice Construction has been selected as the contractor. The preliminary building plans have been approved by the diocese.
St. Joseph currently serves about 1,000 households, many of whom come from Vietnam and others who were born in Charlotte. The parish also has members from many other countries. The Sunday 12:30 Mass in English attracts a diverse community of Catholics from the area.
Paul Tran, chairman of the parish building committee, came to Charlotte in 1981, when there were only a few Vietnamese Catholics in the area who met for worship every couple of weeks at churches including St. Ann, Our Lady of Consolation and Our Lady of the Assumption.
In 1994, Bishop William Curlin officially established a Vietnamese Catholic community under the patronage of St. Joseph. The community purchased an existing church building on Sandy Porter Road in 1997 and launched a building campaign for the current building, which was dedicated by Bishop Peter Jugis in 2004. St. Joseph was established as a parish in 2009. Father Truong was named pastor in 2011 and within a few years realized that the growth of both the Vietnamese community and the number of Catholics in the area eventually would require a new church.
A history of growth
Tran remembers when the congregation could fit into the current parish hall and can point at a support beam that marks the boundary of the original worship space.
“Bishop Curlin said when we started that the Vietnamese community was like a flower in the garden of the diocese, that we offered beautiful enrichment for the diocese,” Tran said. “That’s why we are doing this building campaign. We want to build not only for the Vietnamese community, but for all the Catholics in this area.”
St. Joseph is home to a thriving youth program and many programs for adults, including the Legion of Mary, programs for Catholic men and women, a vibrant marriage and family ministry, and social outreach programs.
The parish used to offer classes in Vietnamese for young people that were put on hold for the lack of space.
Tracy Pham, vice chair of the parish pastoral council, moved to Charlotte 22 years ago and started attending St. Joseph with her husband.
“I’m very pleased and excited that this project has been approved, and the campaign has started,” she said. “We couldn’t have come to this point without the strength of our community, and it wouldn’t have happened without a lot of prayer.”
— Christina Lee Knauss