Sueann Howell, The Catholic News and Herald BELMONT – Long before there were cars, televisions, cell phones or laptops, there were Benedictine monks here – praying, working and providing a Catholic higher education in the Benedictine tradition.
Belmont Abbey College, with more than 1,630 students, is the only Catholic college in the Carolinas, and school leaders are proud of its 134-year history and contributions.
“The property was donated in the 1870s by Father Jeremiah O’Connell, who, together with his brother Lawrence, was one of the pioneer priests in North Carolina. His idea was to have a religious community and a school to serve as a focal point for the few and scattered Catholics in the western Carolinas,” said Abbot Placid Solari, current abbot of the Belmont Abbey Monastery, which is the college’s largest benefactor.
The college was originally an all-male school called Saint Mary’s College. It was founded when a Benedictine monk from St. Vincent Abbey in LaTrobe, Pa., and two students arrived on April 21, 1876, and began classes that day.
Dr. William K. Thierfelder, president of Belmont Abbey College, comments on the founding of the college: “Cardinal John Henry Newman wrote, ‘When the Church founds a University, she is not cherishing talent, genius or knowledge for their own sake, but for the sake of her children, with the view of their spiritual welfare and their religious influence and usefulness, with the object of training them to fill their respective posts in life better, and of making them more intelligent, capable, active members of society.’”
Like most students at Belmont Abbey College, Adam Trufant of Brevard came there for its quality Catholic education.
“I chose Belmont Abbey College because I wanted to go to a Catholic college for my freshman year,” Trufant said. “By the end of the year it was so evident the Holy Spirit is here and that Jesus Christ is here, I wanted to stay.”
Furthering the monks’ efforts were the Sisters of Mercy, who founded Sacred Heart Academy, an all-girls finishing school, when they arrived nearby in 1892. The Sisters of Mercy and the monks of Belmont Abbey worked together for more than 90 years to educate young men and women in the faith.
In the late 19th Century, the brick, three-story Belmont Abbey Monastery was built at the center of the campus.
“The presence of the monastery in the middle of the campus offers the college community constant witness of the primacy of seeking God, and allows for the development of friendships and mentoring between monks and students which can last a lifetime,” Abbot Solari said.
“Since the beginning, the monks have made considerable sacrifices to ensure the continued work of the college, and the monastic community is still today the largest single financial donor to the college,” he said.
The campus’ most striking architectural feature is the Abbey Basilica of Mary Help of Christians, the largest Catholic church in North Carolina when it was built in 1892. The Gothic Revival church was designated a minor basilica in 1998 by Pope John Paul II. Inside, a statue of Our Lady Help of Christians holding the Child Jesus can be seen perched high on the wall behind the main altar in the sanctuary, above the choir, where the monks sit for daily prayer and Mass.
Besides providing a Catholic higher education, the college also hosts spiritual retreats, lectures, conferences, theatrical performances and Division II sporting events.
Students and visitors can also enliven their faith in the Adoration Chapel, dedicated last year by Bishop Peter J. Jugis. It is situated among the trees, and looking through its large glass walls, visitors get the sense of sitting with the Eucharistic Lord amid the splendor of nature.
It is here that one can truly see the source and summit of the Catholic faith and experience the ancient Benedictine spirit of the college’s motto: “That in all things God may be glorified.”
