Our journey
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From an overflow Mass to an overflowing parish
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Like our patron saint, Mother Teresa Catholic Church comes from humble beginnings. In 2000, St. Michael the Archangel Parish was growing so quickly that they needed a place for an overflow Mass. Monsignor John Wall, then pastor, found a new high school in western Cary, still under construction, that he thought would be just the place.
On Aug. 20, 2000, Monsignor Wall celebrated the first Mass at Green Hope HS with less than 20 people attending. By Christmas Day 2001, more than 800 people had filled the high school gym. The Mass caught on, thanks to the community’s welcoming nature — and the hassle-free parking.
The Green Hope Catholic community became affectionately known as “Our Lady of Green Hope.” In anticipation of continued growth, the Diocese of Raleigh purchased 44 acres of land (22 remain) in September 2004 to construct a new church. The property straddles the Wake and Chatham county lines.
The Diocese of Raleigh formally established St. Michael at Green Hope Station in 2011, the first step toward becoming a parish. In early 2015, Father Daniel Oschwald was appointed to lead the station toward mission status. A committee began developing a plan to build the financial viability and community support needed to become a new parish.Bishop Michael Burbidge elevated the station to Mother Teresa Mission on July 1, 2016, and named Father Daniel Oschwald mission administrator.
On Sept. 4, 2016, Bishop Burbidge celebrated Mass at Green Hope HS to mark the first feast day of the newly canonized St. Teresa of Calcutta.
We formed a Building and Land Use Committee in 2017 to develop construction plans. The mission conducted a capital campaign in 2018 to raise funds to “Do Something Beautiful for God.”
By August 2020, the diocese had approved the building plan, and the mission had successfully raised $4 million in pledges for construction.On Dec. 12, 2020, Bishop Luis Rafael Zarama presided over Gaudete Sunday Vigil Mass on the land and blessed an outdoor altar in our “cathedral under God’s blue sky.”
NC Catholics: Mother Teresa community breaks ground for church
We took another step toward achieving our dream of building a parish home on May 23, 2021, when the bishop blessed the holy ground, and we broke ground for our worship center.
Our long journey ended — and another began — when we celebrated our first Masses in the new worship center on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022.
On Gaudete Sunday, Dec. 10, 2022, two years after Bishop Zarama blessed the altar on our land, he returned to bless and consecrate our new worship space and altar. He also announced that as of Jan. 1, 2023, we would officially be designated Mother Teresa Catholic Parish.NC Catholics: A family becomes a parishThrough our circumstance of being a mobile church, our community has become a loving faith family because of the involvement and commitment of many who have said yes to God’s call to serve. Through God’s grace, we have become what our namesake, Mother Teresa, embodied and cherished.All the small things we do with great love make our worship special, our social events welcoming, our celebrations joyful, and our service holy to those in need. These are the hallmarks of this amazing community.
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Dedication Mass
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First Mass
Jean Fuccell recalls the first Mass at Green Hope HS.
In August 2000, I agreed to help my friend, Doris Donovan, by setting up for the first Mass at Green Hope HS. I went to St. Michael early on Sunday, August 20, 2000, to get everything needed for Mass, cross, hosts, and wine (a gallon container) and loaded it into my car.
Clayton Johnson, the lead custodian at Green Hope HS, helped locate and set up a folding table, a small table (school desk), a folding chair for Monsignor Wall, and a podium (an ambo in church speak). With these items in place, I brought the remaining items needed for Mass into the auditorium putting them in place ready for the arrival of Monsignor Wall and our congregants.
Monsignor Wall, accompanied by a longtime friend of his mother, Ann, arrived. He was very excited to celebrate the first Mass at 9 a.m., starting a new off-site location for Sunday. We were a congregation of 17, including Monsignor Wall, Ann, and yours truly. Mass was over in about 45 minutes, but the memory lasted.
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