Missionary Wellspring
Sacred Heart, Whiteville
On November 29, 1936, legendary missionary Msgr. Francis J. Howard, at that time in charge of the mission in Whiteville, NC, assembled all the Catholics in the area for Mass at Whiteville’s Masonic Hall. It was the first time all the Catholics in the vicinity had met together: There were about 45.
That number might sound discouragingly small, but in 1936 it was impressive enough to prompt Bishop William Hafey to write the Catholic Extension Society for funds to build a church. That church, “The Chapel of the Sacred Heart,” was dedicated by Bishop Eugene McGuinness on October 2, 1938. Thanks to Msgr. Howard and his successors, Whiteville would become a wellspring of missionary activity, shepherding Catholic outposts in Delco, Tabor City, Chadbourn, Elizabethtown, Southport and Shalotte.
This year, Sacred Heart Parish will celebrate 70 years in its first church, even as it is poised, along with Our Lady of the Snows, its mission to the north, for rapid growth in the near future. “It’s inevitable,” says Sacred Heart’s pastor, Fr. Marcos Leon-Angulo, noting that Whiteville is roughly 50 miles from two burgeoning centers of commerce, recreation and relocation: Wilmington, NC, and Myrtle Beach, SC. There is an increase in the Latino population as well, a demographic fact of life in eastern North Carolina. “More than the immigrants, though,” Fr. Marcos says, “our parish is growing because people already in the area are coming back to church.”
Father Marcos praises the generosity and the involvement of his parishioners in their church, estimating that 60% of the parish’s members participate in some kind of ministry. “I tell them, ‘I know how to pray. I don’t know how to do much else,’ and the people volunteer their time and talent for everything that’s needed.” As an example, he takes the interviewer inside the church, which has recently been remodeled, and points out the beautifully finished hard pine floor of the sanctuary. The flooring company donated the materials in appreciation of the Latino parishioners it employs, and the workers installed the floor free of charge. The pastor credits the high rate of participation in part to the fact that “everything about the operation of the parish is in the bulletin. When you are transparent, people trust, and when they trust, they get involved.”
In turn, the pastor has complete trust in his flock as they face an unavoidable challenge. “We are going to need a new church,” Fr. Marcos says, “but we don’t want to hurry. We want the people to be confident in our growth, and in the mood to move forward.”