A Brief History of Our Lady of Grace

     Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church has been recognized as one of the finest architectural structures in the city of Greensboro. The history of this magnificent church is one of love, generosity and commitment which transcended the bounds of different Christian faiths.

     The story of Our Lady of Grace begins with Ethel Clay, a young student at Notre Dame Academy in Maryland. While there, Miss Clay converted to the Catholic faith, and went on to become a nurse at Watts Hospital in Durham, NC. While there, she met a man named Julian Price, and they were married in 1897.

     A Baptist, Mr. Price served as the Chairman of the Board of Jefferson Life Insurance. The couple spent most of their married life in Greensboro and were blessed with two children.

     There was not a large Catholic population in Greensboro during the Prices' married life, and a visiting priest would come on Sunday to say Mass in what is now St. Benedict's Church on North Elm Street.

     When Mrs. Price passed away in 1943 her husband wanted to build a church in Greensboro as a living memorial to her. He

approached Bishop Waters, then the Bishop of the Diocese of Raleigh, which at that time included all of North Carolina. Bishop Waters gave him a file containing various models of church architecture throughout the United States as a guide. Mr. Price selected the Church of Our Lady of Refuge in Brooklyn, New York to be used as a model. Henry V. Murphy, who was the original architect of Our Lady of Refuge, was contacted, and he agreed to scale down the design to a seating capacity of 500. Mr. Price then presented the Bishop with $400,000 to build the church in Greensboro. Unfortunately, Julian Price died in an automobile accident before the construction began.

     World War II delayed construction efforts and rising building costs subsequently made the original plan beyond reach. An additional gift o f $300,000 from the Prices' children, Mrs. Joseph M. (Kathleen) Bryan and Mr. Ralph Price, made the completion of the church possible, and construction began in the Spring of 1950 by the George W. Kane Construction Company of Greensboro.

     The exterior walls were built with granite from Salisbury, NC, and artisans from New York, Indiana, Illinois, and Canada contributed to the construction. Over 30,000 separate pieces of cut stained glass for the windows were imported from Belgium, and the marble for the Sanctuary and side altars was imported from Italy. A special Legion of Mary altar was included because of the great devotion Mrs. Price had to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The first Mass was celebrated July 13, 1952 and the church was dedicated September 14, 1952 by the then Apostolic Delegate to the United States, the late Cardinal Ameleto Cicognani. At the celebration the Raleigh Cathedral Choir, visiting clerics, including five bishops and two abbots, and 600 lay participants of various faiths witnessed the placing of the cornerstone and the blessing of the outside walls. They then entered the church to participate in a Mass and dedication rite. The Most Reverend Charles H. Helmsing, Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis preached the dedication sermon, Bishop Vincent S. Waters accepted the church for the Diocese, and Archbishop Cicognani thanked the Price family and urged his listeners to "unite yourselves with the beauty of the church and lift up each of your hearts and minds to God."

     The original school building beside the church was built in 1953 and was dedicated by Bishop Waters on November 15, 1953. The building was designed to match the Gothic style of the church. The school, grades K through 8, was staffed by religious sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, from Scranton, PA. These sisters continued to operate our school for 26 years. Beginning with the 1980-81 school year, the school has continued with a lay staff.

     Today, the parish has over 1,600 registered families and we continue to respond to the needs of our members and the community through our parish ministries and organizations which support building a strong family of faith here at Our Lady of Grace.

Originally published in the Our Lady of Grace Parish Directory for 2012-2013