The Catholic Diocese of Raleigh will build a new cathedral at a cost of between $75 million to $95 million to accommodate its rapidly growing flock in North Carolina and South Carolina.
The 2,000-seat cathedral and campus will be built in West Raleigh. The diocese will embark on a major fund-raising effort to help fund the project.
“I clearly understand this is a monumental, historic project,” Bishop Michael Burbidge said according to
The News & Observer. “I wake up every morning and I say, ‘Lord, you sure you want me to do this?’ And the answer keeps coming back yes.”
Over the past decade the number of registered Catholics in the Diocese of Raleigh's 54-county region has increased 28 percent to 214,000.
A large portion of the increase comes from an influx of Spanish-speaking Catholics from Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras.
© 2013 Newsmax. All rights reserved.