CHARLOTTE — Parishioners at Our Lady of Consolation Church broke into applause Sunday at the joyful news that the parish and the Diocese of Charlotte have established a special partnership to invest more than $6.7 million to renovate and expand their church on Statesville Avenue.
Since 2020, Masses at the historically Black parish have been celebrated in the overcrowded Parish Life Center, since mold, electrical problems and a lack of available restrooms have kept parishioners from using their aging church building.
The news thrilled Harry Scott, who was only 3 in 1955 when his mother took him to the groundbreaking for the church. He has remained a parishioner for 70 years and serves as chairman of the parish council.
“We are ecstatic over this response to our needs,” Scott said, “and look forward to working with the team to execute these plans.”
When the parish was founded in 1955, its property included a church, school, rectory and convent. The school and convent were closed decades ago, but the parish continued to operate on the same site in northeast Charlotte, an area undergoing tremendous population growth.
Despite its strategic location and continuing growth, the parish has struggled under the financial burden imposed by its aging facilities. More than a decade ago, the parish was forced to abandon its cafeteria because of the cost to repair and maintain it was beyond its financial means. Within five years, the school suffered the same fate and abandonment of the church building followed in 2020.
“In recent years it became clear that action beyond the means of parishioners was required to avoid loss of the parish site in this critical growth area,” said Emmett Sapp, the diocese’s director of construction and real estate.
“In 2024, we began working with the parish to investigate ways the diocese and the parish could partner to address the parish’s facilities challenges and enable it to respond to the needs of the Church.”
Parishioners learned about the partnership at two town hall meetings held Feb. 22 after morning Masses. Representatives from the diocese discussed funding for the building project and plans to seek an architect and contractor, and fielded questions from the audiences who erupted in applause when they learned about the project’s scale.
The cost to renovate and expand the church is estimated to be $6.7 million. To fund the project, the diocese will initially grant the parish $4 million over six years. The parish must contribute at least $1.5 million to the project from proceeds received from a capital campaign expected to launch in spring 2027. Once the parish secures its contribution through funds and pledges, the diocese will grant an additional $1.1 million. The parish must also meet its other diocesan financial obligations.
Any remaining balance will be paid by the parish through a 10-year diocesan loan. Diocesan funding commitments for the project will come from returns on investments set aside for long-term growth initiatives following the sale of a major real estate holding in 2022.
“As in all capital campaigns in the past 40 years, the development office will work closely with the parish to help conduct a successful campaign,” said diocesan development director Jim Kelley. “As part of the diocesan philanthropic intiative, the parish will conduct its capital campaign in the spring of 2027.”
Once funding is secured, plans for the project include renovating and expanding the existing church building. Plans call for asbestos abatement and mold remediation, construction of a new narthex and restrooms, replacement of interior finishes and an increase in seating capacity from 262 to approximately 450.
On Sunday, Father Marcel Amadi, parochial administrator of Our Lady of Consolation and its mission St. Helen in Gastonia, responded to questions with words of faith.
“Be grateful to God that this is happening,” he said.
Although other buildings are not included in this project, the parish has been working to save its historic campus. In 2020, the parish launched a capital campaign and raised more than $1 million that was invested in stopping deterioration of the old school building where restrooms for the church are currently located. Future plans call for the school to be transformed into a learning center offering education programs for the parish and community.
“It’s great to have a way to get back into the church,” Scott said, “which we so desperately have wanted and need.”
— Christina Lee Knauss. Photos by Troy C. Hull
