Former name | St. Mary's College (1876–1913) |
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Motto | Ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus |
Motto in English | That in all things God may be glorified |
Type | Private liberal arts college |
Established | April 21, 1876 |
Religious affiliation | Catholic (Benedictine) |
Academic affiliations | ACCU ABCU CIC NAICU |
Endowment | $9.6 million (2019) [1] |
Chancellor | Abbot Placid Solari |
President | William K. Thierfelder |
Academic staff | 75 full-time [2] |
Students | 1,654(Fall 2023) [3] |
Location | , , United States |
Campus | Suburban |
Newspaper | The Crusader |
Colors | Red, black, and white |
Nickname | Crusaders |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division II – Carolinas |
Mascot | Crusader |
Website | belmontabbeycollege |
Belmont Abbey Historic District | |
Location in North Carolina | |
Location | 100 Belmont--Mt. Holly Rd. Belmont, North Carolina |
Area | 37.5 acres (15.2 ha) |
Built | 1876 |
Architect | Michael McInerney |
Architectural style | Gothic Revival, American Benedictine |
NRHP reference No. | 93000584 [4] |
Added to NRHP | July 14, 1993 |
Belmont Abbey College is a private, Catholic liberal arts college in Belmont, North Carolina. It was founded in 1876 by the Benedictine monks of Belmont Abbey. The college is affiliated with the Catholic Church and the Order of Saint Benedict. Belmont Abbey is the only college in North Carolina affiliated with the Catholic Church.
Belmont Abbey College was founded in 1876 as St. Mary's College by Benedictine monks from Saint Vincent Archabbey in Pennsylvania. [5] Father Jeremiah O'Connell purchased Caldwell farm and donated the land to the Benedictines, hoping the community would found a Catholic educational institution in the Carolinas. [6] On April 21, 1876, Father Herman Wolfe, from Saint Vincent, arrived with two students to take possession of the property and begin classes. In 1878, the college held its first commencement exercises. Katharine Drexel, a benefactor of the monastery and college, visited Belmont Abbey in 1904. The present name of the college was adopted in 1913.
In 1967 John Oetgen, college president and Benedictine priest, conferred an honorary degree on the Protestant evangelist Billy Graham, marking what was at the time seen as a bold ecumenical gesture. [7]
Originally a college for young men, Belmont Abbey became a coeducational institution in 1972. [8] In 1987, Sacred Heart College for women merged with the abbey, and its campus began to host a variety of abbey classes and programs. [9]
The Belmont Abbey Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. [4] It includes at its heart the separately listed Belmont Abbey Cathedral. Other contributing buildings include the Brothers' Building (1893, 1897, 1904), Old Science (1893), Jubilee Hall (1897), The Monastery (1880, 1891, and 1894), the College Building (or Stowe Hall, 1886, 1888, 1898), Saint Leo Hall (1907), and The Haid (1929). [10]
In 2016, the college, along with other religious colleges and universities throughout the United States, came under increasing criticism from LGBT activists for refusing to implement anti-discrimination policies on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students. Belmont Abbey College argued that its status as a primarily Catholic institution was in conflict with these anti-discrimination policies. In a statement, the college claimed that such policies would "abdicate the responsibility of the college community as a whole to act in accord with its fundamental identity as a community which publicly identifies itself as in communion with the Catholic Church." [11]
In 2007 the college's administration removed healthcare coverage for "abortion, contraception, and voluntary sterilization" after discovering that these were covered by the college's healthcare policy. Eight faculty members responded by filing complaints to the North Carolina Department of Insurance, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the National Women's Law Center. The latter threatened a lawsuit on behalf of the eight faculty members, several of whom were allegedly lifelong Catholics. [12]
On November 11, 2011, Belmont Abbey College sued the federal government over a new regulation that requires employer health insurance plans to provide free coverage of contraceptives and sterilization, even if it may be contrary to their religious beliefs." [13]
Maurus Hall is centrally located on campus and houses a student lounge, grill, and the Holy Grounds coffee shop. Across from Maurus Hall is the Haid, which serves as a student and community theater. The Haid was originally built as a gymnasium. The Abbey Players now perform there. Along Abbey Lane, towards the far end of the campus, are the Vincent Abbot Taylor Library and the William Gaston Science Hall. Administrative offices are located in Robert Stowe Hall, with classrooms on the second and third floors. St. Leo's Hall, built in the American Benedictine style, houses the Campus Book Store and Catholic Shop on the first floor. Professorial offices are located in St. Leo's Hall, and Grace Auditorium is located on the third floor.
The quad is located between the Poellath and O'Connell residence halls, both constructed in the early 1960s. Raphael Arthur Hall, constructed in 1967, offers students individual rooms and sits on the hill above Poellath, near Campus Police. The St. Joseph's Eucharistic Adoration Chapel, dedicated in 2008, is across from Campus Police. Wheeler Athletic Center, completed in 1970, is located behind Poellath Hall. At the back of the campus are the four Cuthbert Allen Apartment buildings, built in 1989. The newly renovated Student Commons, located next to the new cafeteria, houses the campus mailroom, snack machines, a lounge area, and Student Life offices. Behind the Student Commons are the St. Scholastica and St. Benedict residence halls. The Lourdes Grotto, an official pilgrimage shrine, is situated behind O'Connell Hall.
The Abbey Church, the most prominent building on the college's campus, was completed in 1894 under the supervision of Abbot Leo Haid. Drexel made significant donations to the completion of the structure, which served as North Carolina's first and only cathedral prior to the erection of the Diocese of Raleigh in 1924. The church is constructed in the gothic-revival style out of brick and granite, built in the shape of a Latin cross. The towers of the church, named Ora (the taller) and Labora (the smaller), can be seen from most of the college campus. The taller of the two towers holds bells which ring to signal the celebration of the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours. The monastic community holds daily services which are open to the public. Following the Second Vatican Council, the interior of the Abbey Church was renovated in a modernist style in order to facilitate the liturgical reforms of the era. In 1975, Belmont Abbey lost its territorial status and cathedral rank to the newly created Diocese of Charlotte. In 1998 Pope John Paul II named the Abbey Church a minor basilica in recognition of the historic and aesthetic significance of the structure. [14]
In 1892 the sisters began a finishing school for girls that eventually became a four-year degree institution, Sacred Heart College. Sacred Heart College closed in 1987, and a section of the College is now rented by Belmont Abbey and called Sacred Heart Extension; classes are offered at Sacred Heart for both traditional and adult degree students. Belmont Abbey continues to offer alumnae services to graduates from Sacred Heart College. [9] The Sisters of Mercy reside at Sacred Heart Convent, in downtown Belmont. The convent is located on a campus made up of various organizations including Catherine's House, Holy Angels, and Mercy Heritage Center, and archives.
The Saint Joseph Adoration Chapel was dedicated on November 7, 2008. During the Fall and Spring semesters, the chapel is open 24 hours a day for prayers and the Blessed Sacrament is exposed during the day.
In the Summer of 2021, construction began on a state-of-the-art integrated cafeteria. The construction was complete in time for the new cafeteria to open to the student body beginning in the Fall of 2024. Two new residence halls were opened in the fall semester of 2023. [15]
The abbey is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and approved by the American Medical Association. [16] More than 80 percent of the faculty at Belmont Abbey hold doctoral degrees in their subjects. After completing a core curriculum, students declare a major and concentrate within their chosen areas of study. [17]
The college's First Year Symposium, required for incoming freshmen, seeks to acclimate new students to college life. Taught by professors from various fields, this course explains the theories of a liberal education and introduces students to the Rule of St. Benedict and the Catholic intellectual tradition. [18]
It is endorsed by The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College. [19]
The Abbey has over 40 student organizations, an active Student Government Association, and many Greek organizations. [20]
The Abbey Players were founded in 1883. [21] The theatre presents drama, comedy, and musicals. In addition, it functions as the Belmont Community Theatre, which brings in theatre artists from the surrounding Metrolina area.
In 1940, the Belmont Abbey and Sacred Heart Glee Clubs toured the Carolinas and Georgia, appearing in Columbia, Charleston, Augusta, Greensboro, Raleigh, and Wilmington. [22]
Incoming freshmen are required to live in either Poellath or O'Connell, two-story single-sex residence halls. Beginning in fall 2013, upperclassmen were given the option to live in the newly built Saint Benedict Hall and Saint Scholastica Hall, single-sex residence halls for males and females respectively. Raphael Arthur Hall provides single rooms. In addition to the five residence halls on campus, upperclassmen are eligible to live in either one of the four on-campus Cuthbert Allen apartment buildings or the Cloisters, off-campus apartments in nearby Mount Holly, North Carolina.
Belmont Abbey Crusaders | |
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University | Belmont Abbey College |
Conference | Conference Carolinas (primary) |
NCAA | Division II |
Athletic director | Stephen Miss |
Location | Belmont, North Carolina |
Varsity teams | 31 (14 men's, 14 women's, 3 co-ed) |
Basketball arena | Wheeler Center |
Baseball stadium | Abbey Yard |
Softball stadium | Crusader Field |
Soccer field | Alumni Field |
Lacrosse stadium | Alumni Field |
Tennis venue | Reidy Tennis Center |
Nickname | Crusaders |
Colors | Crimson and white [23] |
Website | abbeyathletics |
The Belmont Abbey Crusaders participate in the NCAA's Division II program. The Crusaders are members of Conference Carolinas. Men's and women's lacrosse, women's golf. Men's and women's tennis and men's and women's track and field have been added for the 2009 season. Al McGuire coached Basketball for the Crusaders from 1957 to 1964. During his tenure the team had 5 post-season tournament appearances. In 2009, the Crusaders Baseball team reached the NCAA Division II World Series, at the USA Baseball Training Complex located in Cary, North Carolina. The Crusaders were ranked 6th in their respective regional tournament and went on to win four straight against nationally ranked teams to capture their first regional championship. The Crusaders fell to eventual National Champions Lynn University after winning two in a row. The Crusaders finished the season ranked 3rd in the Nation.
In 2012, the women's volleyball, women's soccer, and men's basketball teams all won the NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas title. In 2018, the men's lacrosse team won the NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas title.
In 2021, the women's basketball, and men's basketball teams both won the NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas titles.
As a member of Conference Carolinas, Belmont Abbey College competes annually for the league's Messick Award, which is presented for demonstrating the best overall sportsmanship over the entire conference schedule. As of 2019, Belmont Abbey Athletics has won the overall Messick Award four times: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14 (tie) and 2016–17. [24]
Belmont is a small suburban city in Gaston County, North Carolina, United States, located about 9 miles (14 km) east of Gastonia. The population was 10,076 at the 2010 census. Once known as Garibaldi Station, it was named for the New York banker August Belmont. Belmont is home to Belmont Abbey College.
Benedictine College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college in Atchison, Kansas, United States. It was established in 1971 by the merger of St. Benedict's College for men and Mount St. Scholastica College for women. It is located on bluffs overlooking the Missouri River, northwest of Kansas City, Missouri.
Saint Leo University is a private Catholic university in St. Leo, Florida. It was established in 1889. The university is associated with the Holy Name Monastery, a Benedictine convent, and Saint Leo Abbey, a Benedictine monastery. The university and the abbey are both named for Pope Leo the Great, bishop of Rome from 440 to 461. The name also honors Leo XIII, who was Pope at the time the university was founded, and Leo Haid, then abbot of Maryhelp Abbey in North Carolina, now Belmont Abbey, who participated in founding the university and served as its first president.
The Abbey Basilica of Mary Help of Christians, informally known as the Belmont Abbey, is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery and a Minor Basilica in Belmont, North Carolina, United States of America. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The monastery is administered by the American-Cassinese Benedictine Congregation.
The University of Mary is a private, Benedictine university near Bismarck, North Dakota that has 3,852 students. It was established in 1959 as Mary College.
The College of St. Scholastica (CSS) is a private Benedictine college in Duluth, Minnesota. Founded in 1912 by a group of pioneering Benedictine Sisters, today St. Scholastica educates almost 4,000 students annually and has graduated more than 29,000 alumni. The college offers a liberal arts education and is located on 186 wooded acres overlooking Lake Superior.
The Diocese of Raleigh is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church that covers eastern North Carolina in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archbishop of Atlanta.
The Diocese of Charlotte is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in western North Carolina in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Atlanta.
The Cathedral of Saint Patrick is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States of America. It is the mother church of the Diocese of Charlotte and is the seat of its bishop. In 1987 it was included as a contributing property in the Dilworth Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Saint Anselm College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college mostly in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889, it is the third-oldest Catholic college in New England. Named after Saint Anselm of Canterbury, the college continues to have a fully functioning and independent Benedictine abbey attached to it, Saint Anselm Abbey. As of 2017, its enrollment was approximately 2,000.
Saint Leo Abbey is an American-Cassinese monastery of Benedictine monks located in Saint Leo, Florida, United States.
St. Gregory's University was a private Catholic university. It was one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It had its main campus in Shawnee and an additional campus in Tulsa. The university closed its operations at the end of the fall 2017 semester.
Benedictine Military School is a Catholic military high school for boys located in Savannah, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1902 by the Benedictine monks of Savannah Priory, which still operates the school under the auspices of the Diocese of Savannah.
Benedictine College Preparatory is a private Catholic military high school in Goochland, Virginia. It is owned and operated by the Benedictine Society of Virginia, part of the American-Cassinese Congregation. Benedictine offers education through a private military institute model, which has long been a traditional form of education for young men in Virginia.
Leo Haid was an American Benedictine abbot and Catholic bishop, who served as the abbot of the Abbey of Mary Help of Christians, in Belmont, North Carolina, from 1885 to 1924. He also served as vicar apostolic of North Carolina from 1888 to 1910 and territorial abbot from 1910 to 1924.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic church on Lumen Christi Lane in Salisbury, North Carolina, United States. The building cost $9.4 million, has 12,083 square feet (1,122.5 m2) and measures 60 by 170 feet (52 m), seating 760, on 107 acres (0.43 km2) of land. The church held a dedication mass on December 19, 2009. Sacred Heart has about 1000 registered families.
The American-Cassinese Congregation is a Catholic association of Benedictine monasteries founded in 1855. The monasteries of the congregation follow the monastic way of life as outlined by St. Benedict of Nursia in his early 6th century Rule of Saint Benedict. The congregation is one of 19 congregations in the Benedictine Confederation and includes 25 monasteries: 19 autonomous abbeys and 6 dependent priories, located across 15 states and Puerto Rico, as well as Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, and Taiwan.
St. Joseph's Catholic Church is a historic church located near Mount Holly, North Carolina, Gaston County, North Carolina. It was the fourth Catholic church built in North Carolina, the first west of Raleigh, and the first in what is today the Diocese of Charlotte. Built to serve the Irish miners in the area, it underwent a long period of neglect until restoration efforts began in the mid-20th century. Today it is operated as a mission church of Queen of the Apostles Church in Belmont.
Sister Mary Michel Boulus was an American Catholic nun, mathematics teacher, and academic administrator who became president of Sacred Heart College in North Carolina.
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