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THE 1938 SPIRE A Historical Sketch The War bctwcin thi- States was over. Like a forest fire this civil strife had devastated fertile and flourishing lands from the Chesapeake to the Gulf. With the lands and the people, the Church, too. suffered — especially in iNorth Carolina. It was to aid this suffering Church that the first Benedictines came South in 1876. Once there, the followers of St. Benedict cooperated with the Southern priesthood in an effort to restore the happiness that had been shattered by civil strife. They sought to implant the s«cds of Truth, the love of God and Country, in minds which such a short time previously had harbored hatred, bigotry and a lust for blood. The advent of these workers was hailed eagerly by all concerned with the welfare of the Church. And no wonder, for at this time North Carolina was the most thoroughly non-Catholic State in the Union. Late in the same year, the Rev. Jeremiah O ' Connell presented the Rt. Rev. James Gibbons. Vicar Apostolic of North Carolina, a plantation in Gaston County, known as Caldwell ' s Place. This, the site of our present school, was little more than a wilderness and must have lessened the courage, though not the zeal, of the small hand of Monks who had come South to found a monastery. From a small log cabin, a fram.e chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin under her title of Mary. Help of Christians, from a scanty brick college. St. Marys College and Mary-Help Abbey grew into what is today the only Catholic college in the South Atlantic states and the oldest monastery in the entire South. Once a foothold had been secured, the institution grew rapidly. The corner stone of the Cathedral was laid on the Feast of St. Leo. 1894. by Cardinal Gibbons. Work was begun on the beautiful specimen of Gothic architecture now standing. The stained glass windows of this Cathedral arc said to be the finest in America, and they took first prize at the World ' s Fair in Chicago. 1893. The rapid growth was checked somewhat in 1900 — May 19th — by a fire which swept over half the school. A high wind fanned the flames and had it not been for a most fortunate change in direction of this wind, Belmont Abbey would have been nothing more than a heap of ashes. The numerous events which go to make up the history of Belmont Abbey are not always well understood. One misconception in particular is the derivation of the present name of the school and monastery. Prior to 1895, the town of Belmont was named Garibaldi. In that year the town was incorporated and renamed Belmont in honor of Hon. Perry Belmont, mem- ber of the House of Representatives from New York, and a personal friend of Bishop Haid. The Abbey, meanwhile, retained its title of Mary-Help Abbey until 1910. when it was raised to the status of an Abbey Nullius. Following customary ecclesiastical traditions, the Abbey assumed the name of the town in which it is situated — Belmont. Then, in 1913. at a meeting of the alumni, the name of St. Mary ' s College was changed to Belmont Abbey College. Such, in brief, is the history of the institution whose sixtieth anniversary we are celebrat- ing this year. It is a history not lacking in joy and certainly not devoid of sadness and hard- ship. However, it is a history of courage, perseverance and trust in God — a history that augurs well for the future of Belmont Abbey, that promises even greater advancement during the next sixty years of her existence than was made during her first six decades.
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