A Brief History of Saint Ann Church

The history of Saint Ann Catholic Church embodies the heart and spirit of her founders and tells the struggle they endured to make their dream become a reality. It is a history filled with the faith of faithful people who identified closely with Saint Jude, patron saint of the hopeless.

The social prejudices which prevailed were also evident in the church. It was not easy for African Americans to practice their Catholic faith with dignity. They attended Mass in a local church which designated where they were to sit by use of a black and gold sign which read, "Colored Catholics Sit Here".

This treatment spurred their desire to worship without these constraints. In their resolve to do something about it, three African American families, consisting of eight Catholics, met in the home of Mrs. Claudia Cameron at 428 Chatham St. on Sunday afternoon, June 24, 1934, to form the Fayetteville unit of the Colored Catholic League of North Carolina.

Fathers Noonan and Sullivan from St. Patrick Church attended the meeting and agreed to serve as spiritual advisors. Other attendees were Mrs. Claudia A. Cameron, Mr. Joseph L. Cameron, Miss Annie McKay, Miss Helen McKay, Mrs. Alice C. Evans, Mrs. Eleanor Murphy, Mr. Frank McKay and Mr. William Montgomery.

Father Ryan gives Holy Communion to Mr. F. McCay at Christmas Midnight Mass, Christmas 1939

On October 28, 1939, newly ordained Father William P. Ryan, a member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI), of South Boston, Mass., arrived in Fayetteville to serve the small community of colored Catholics. He arrived on the Feast of Saint Jude, Patron Saint of the Hopeless. And so his mission seemed.

His first meeting with his new parishioners took place November 1, 1939, at Mrs. Cameron’s home. One of the objectives the group and its pastor set was the building of a church.

In the meantime, while plans and funds were materializing, the congregation met for services in a barber shop at 117 Gillespie St. owned by church member Mr. Frank McKay.

Out of these early days of struggle came the tradition of a Novena to Saint Jude.

Contributions for the building of the church came from many parts of the United States and especially from friends of Father Ryan. One of the outstanding gifts was from the Most Reverend Richard J. Cushing, D.D., director of the Boston Society for the Propagation of the Faith. The gift of $4,500 was a memorial fund given by the parishioners of Saint Anne Parish of Neponset, Mass., in memory of their late curate, Reverend John Hennessy of Boston. In recognition of this gift, the Fayetteville black Catholics decided to name their church Saint Ann.

The first sanctuary

Construction began in August 1940 and was complete in December 1940 at a cost of about $15,000. During the building period, Father Ryan was displeased with the shoddy construction, so he took a sledgehammer to the new walls, telling the contractor to "build it correctly!"

The church was dedicated on December 22, 1940, by Bishop Eugene J. McGuiness of the Raleigh Diocese. This was a happy and spirit-filled time.

In the 1950s there was the recognition that a parish school could serve parishioners and the local community. Still in the days of segregation however, Saint Ann School would serve the black community while St. Patrick served the white community.

The interior of St. Ann Church from an undated Christmas card.

Those white families who could not get their children into Saint Patrick School because of overcrowding registered at Saint Ann. They maintained that they cared more about a Catholic education for their children than they did about the culture of that time.

The Saint Ann Parish School opened September 4, 1956. On the first day of school, 102 students reported and by year’s end, the enrollment had risen to 142. During this time Father Edward Moan was our second pastor and the first teachers were the Sisters of Providence, with Sister Marie Stephanie as principal.

Integrated school

Saint Ann School was one of the first integrated schools in North Carolina. Local parish lore tells of the parish having to pay a fine for illegally operating an integrated school in North Carolina, only to have the fine rescinded because the Supreme Court had decided against segregated education.

Father Moan, like Father Ryan, also served at Fort Bragg. In fact, the generosity and participation of the Fort Bragg Catholic community was crucial to the survival of our church and school.

The church offices, originally built to serve as the church rectory, were added in 1959, during the tenure of our third pastor, Father Matthew J. Noonan. All of the brick work was done mostly on Saturdays by members of the parish and their friends.

Father Lynch served as the fourth pastor. Under his direction, the school was expanded to a modern nine room building.

Father Ryan returned as pastor in 1968, after serving as provincial of the Eastern Province of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. These were the heady yet stormy days after the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). The parish had grown to over 300 Catholics. Father Ryan’s stay was ended by illness in 1971 and Fathers Patrick Mangan and George White each served briefly as pastors from 1971 to 1973.

Daughters of Charity arrive

The Daughters of Charity came to staff the school along with some lay teachers in 1972. Father John J. Lyons arrived in August 1973, with the number of parishioners approaching 455. Without fanfare, Father Lyons started a building fund and in the spring of 1976, his dream of a multi-purpose building began to materialize. Dedicated in May of 1977, the social hall could accommodate about 500 people for Mass,

In 1979, Father Richard Roche became pastor. Under his administration the church was extensively renovated with beautiful stained glass windows, ceiling fans, and a new heating and cooling system. Seating capacity increased to 175.

Father John McHugh came in 1983 and made the school a model for the city, with new roof and off ice space, new windows and doors and new carpeting. He directed the building of the Grotto of Mary. Father McHugh also invited a Nigerian priest, Father Omoviekovwa Nakireru, Ph. D., to serve as our auxiliary priest.

In 1989, Father Patrick Hollywood arrived and put the parish on a firm financial basis. During this 50 Anniversary year, the Korean Catholic Community of Fayetteville began meeting at St. Ann. Sanctuary furniture was designed for the social hall to link the 11 a.m. Mass celebrated there to the church.

Father Hollywood’s tenure was cut short due to illness and Father Harry Winter replaced him in 1991. Father Winter finalized plans for the Korean Catholic Community to become an official component of the parish until they moved to their own church. The Most Rev. F. Joseph Gossman, Bishop of Raleigh, presided at Mass recognizing this on June 27, 1992.

On October 25, 1992, after a very successful fundraising campaign, the new sanctuary furniture in the social hall was dedicated. A parish town meeting held on November 18, 1992 began the process of meeting the urgent church and school needs for more meeting space, more office space, and privacy for the pastor.

The most recent chapter in the history of Saint Ann Catholic Church began as almost every chapter in the church’s history began – the arrival of a new priest, little money, much prayer and a very determined group of people. 

To read this latest chapter of our history, go to ...

Let Us Build a House ...

Saint Ann Catholic Church Pastors

Rev. William Ryan, OMI (1939-1951 & 1968-1971)

Rev. Edward Moan, OMI (1951-1958)

Rev. Matthew Noonan, OMI (1958-1962)

Rev. William Lynch, OMI (1962-1968)

Rev. Patrick Mangan, OMI (1971-1973)

Rev. George White, OMI (1973)

Rev. John Lyons, OMI (1973-1979)

Rev. Richard Roche, OMI (1979- 9983)

Rev. Jack McHugh, OMI (1983-1989)

Rev. Patrick Hollywood, OMI (1989-1991)

Rev. Harry Winter, OMI (1991-1994)

Rev. Ernest Ruede (1994-1997)

Rev. Thomas “T” Davis (1997-2000)

Rev. Joseph Yaeger (2000-2001)

Rev. Thomas Malloy, OSFS (2001-present)