Parish History
From a barbershop on Gillespie Street to a thriving parish community — St. Ann Catholic Church has been a home of faith, education, and unity in Fayetteville for over eighty years.
"A community of Faithful in Christ where there is neither Black nor White, bond nor free, but all are one in the Love of God."
— Founding Vision of St. Ann Parish
Born of Faith in 1939
St. Ann Catholic Church was founded in 1939 to serve the Black Catholic community of Fayetteville, North Carolina. In its earliest days, the faithful gathered for Mass in Mack's Barber Shop on Gillespie Street — a testament to the community's determination to worship together despite limited means.
The parish was aided by St. Patrick Parish — the "ecclesiastical mother" of St. Ann — and by Boston's St. Ann Church, whose financial support helped fund the young Father John Hennessy and establish a permanent home for the Fayetteville congregation. The Oblates of Mary Immaculate have served the parish since its earliest years.
Today, St. Ann stands as a vibrant, growing parish — rooted in the Sunday Eucharist, committed to Catholic education, and home to a community that reflects the full breadth of God's family.
Milestones
A Parish Is Born
Father John Hennessy establishes St. Ann Catholic Church to serve the Black Catholic community of Fayetteville. The earliest Masses are celebrated in Mack's Barber Shop on Gillespie Street — a humble beginning rooted in remarkable faith.
A Permanent Home
The parish community, supported by Boston's St. Ann Church and the Catholic Negro-American Mission Board, secures its first dedicated church building — giving the congregation a permanent house of worship.
St. Ann Catholic School Opens
In September, St. Ann Catholic School opens its doors, fulfilling the parish's deep commitment to Catholic education. The school extends the parish's mission of forming faith and mind together.
The Stained Glass Windows
Eight magnificent stained glass windows are installed in the main nave of the church, each one narrating a chapter of parish history — its African Catholic roots, its military faithful, its founding families, and its enduring hope.
A Vibrant Community
St. Ann continues to grow as a vibrant, engaged parish family — rooted in the Sunday Eucharist, committed to Catholic education, and united across every background in the love of God.
Our Lady's Grotto
Built of fieldstone on the parish grounds, the grotto shelters a statue of Our Lady of Grace and gathers the memorials our community has placed in her care — a quiet place for prayer in the shade of the oaks.
"Here began, in humble faith, a community that endures — growing still in the grace and love of God."