“Stable, Welcoming, Catholic”
St. Egbert, Morehead City
In 1928, renowned Passionist missionary Fr. Egbert Albert was traveling through Eastern North Carolina in a chapel railway car, the St. Peter, which the priest called in an article he wrote for Extension Magazine “the Steel Apostle.” He moved from town to town, conducting four- and five-day missions.
He wasn’t always welcome. In Morehead City the priest was met by a mob who threatened to harm him if he didn't leave town. He returned a few days later, but the mob was back again. So he left, but as the train departed, he quoted Jesus' words to His disciples:
“If anyone does not receive you or listen to what you have to say, leave that house or town, and once outside it, shake the dust from your feet. I assure you, it will go easier for the region of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than it will for that town” (Matthew 10:14-15).
Less than a day later, a disastrous fire struck the town. Attributing their misfortune to the "curse of God" pronounced by Father Albert, the people sent an executive committee to appeal for his return. So the chapel car came once again to Morehead City, and this time the good priest was unmolested. He decided, in fact, that Morehead City would be a good place to establish a Catholic church, and persuaded a local businessman to buy land for that purpose.
Father Albert did not live to see his dream realized. Only a few months later he died of pneumonia at the age of 37. News of his passing sparked a fundraising drive to build a chapel in his memory, and on June 23, 1929 Bishop William J. Hafey dedicated St. Egbert Church to the glory of God in honor of Fr. Albert’s patron saint.
The new church was served by priests from New Bern, who lived weekends in the sacristy until a rectory was built in 1936. Franciscan priests served the parish from 1939 until 1954, when priests from the Diocese of Raleigh were assigned there. In 1956, under Pastor Fr. J. Paul Byron, St. Egbert School opened. By 1979, the growing congregation required a new church, which was planned and built under the guidance of Msgr. Louis E. Morton and dedicated by Bishop F. Joseph Gossman in 1980.
The numbers continued to swell in the ‘90s, but now, according to Pastor Fr. Doug Smiley, they have more or less stabilized at 850 registered families. He calls the church a “wonderful blend” of longtime residents, retirees from the Northeast, younger families and summer vacationers. “We’re a stable, Catholic community that opens its doors to lots of visitors,” he says. Lesley Ferguson, who is retiring after 32 years as Principal of the K-5 parish school, cites the “welcoming” atmosphere at St. Egbert. “Even people who only visit in the summer,” she says, “feel at home here.”