Mother Teresa Groundbreaking Draws Crowd, Mayor to West Cary

Cary, NC — Yesterday in west Cary, Mayor Harold Weinbrecht attended his first event in 15 months, the groundbreaking and blessing of Mother Teresa Church on Yates Store Road.

250 Attendees, Parishioners Bless the Site

“I was honored to be invited to this church’s historic event. After a small religious ceremony, I joined several Monsignors in the actual turning of the dirt groundbreaking ceremony,” said Mayor Weinbrecht.

The blessing of the holy ground at 1221 Yates Store Road and the groundbreaking for a worship center took place on May 23, 2021, with the Most Reverend Luis Rafael Zarama presiding.

The event had about 250 attendees, mostly parishioners. Also in attendance with the Bishop were honored guests Msgr. Douglas Reed, Msgr. John Wall, Msgr. Gerald Lewis, Msgr. Jeffrey Ingham, Fr. Daniel Oschwald, Fr. Chris Koehn, Fr. Michael Burbeck, Jean Fuccella, Jeff Vittert, and Mayor Weinbrecht.

From Humble Beginnings to Acres of Growth

Over 20 years ago Msgr. John Wall celebrated the first Mass of Mother Teresa Church in the Green Hope High School auditorium with less than 20 people attending. By Christmas Day 2001, more than 800 people filled the high school gym for Mass.

In anticipation of continued growth, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh purchased 44 acres of land (of which 22 remain) in September 2004 for the future construction of a new church. The property falls on the Wake and Chatham county lines.

On July 1, 2016, Fr. Daniel Oschwald was named “Mission Administrator”. On September 4, 2016, Bishop Burbidge celebrated Mass at Green Hope High School to mark the first feast day of the newly canonized St. Teresa of Calcutta.

Now, in May 2021, another page is being turned in the story of this church in our area.