Catholic Diocese of Raleigh to break ground on cathedral Saturday

The Catholic Diocese of Raleigh will break ground on a new cathedral in West Raleigh on Saturday morning.

Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral will become the new mother church for the diocese, which covers the eastern half of North Carolina and includes about 214,000 registered Catholics. It will host several worship services each Sunday, as well as special events, such as concerts and lectures.

The cathedral groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. on a 39-acre site between Western Boulevard and Centennial Parkway that was once used for diocese offices and Cardinal Gibbons High School. The building is expected to cost about $41 million and take about two years to complete.

The diocese chose Raleigh-based contractor Clancy and Theys to complete Holy Name of Jesus. The company has worked with the diocese for more than 60 years on projects that include St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Cary, St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Raleigh and the new Cardinal Gibbons High School.

Holy Name of Jesus will seat about 2,000 and will replace the 90-year-old Sacred Heart Cathedral in downtown Raleigh, which with a capacity of about 320 is the second-smallest cathedral in the country after one in Juneau, Alaska. Sacred Heart Church downtown will remain, used for daily Masses, weddings and other special events.

This story was originally published January 2, 2015 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Catholic Diocese of Raleigh to break ground on cathedral Saturday."