About Our Lady of the Angels · Marion, North Carolina
Our Lady of the Angels is a Roman Catholic mission church serving the small Catholic community of Marion, McDowell County, in the mountains of western North Carolina. It is a mission of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Morganton and falls under the Diocese of Charlotte. The parish is known for its bilingual and Tridentine Latin Mass offerings — English, Spanish, and the Traditional Latin Mass are all celebrated each week — and for its predominantly Hispanic congregation nurtured over many years by Father Carl Kaltreider. Tucked on North Garden Street at the corner of Fleming Avenue, the mission continues to be a tight-knit faith family in a historically Protestant region of the Blue Ridge foothills.
- Established
- 1951
- Patron
- Our Lady of the Angels (Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Our Lady of the Angels / Porziuncola)
- Rector
- Reverend Innocent Chukwukelue Amasiorah (Parochial Administrator)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Charlotte (Roman Catholic)
Why belong here
Our Lady of the Angels is a small, welcoming mission with a daily-Mass rhythm unusual for a parish of its size, offering the Traditional Latin Mass, English, and Spanish Masses every week so that a wide range of Catholics can worship in their preferred form. The community has a strong track record of walking with families through the sacraments — baptism, First Communion, confirmation, and marriage — and of supporting life and the local community through groups like the Rosary for Life and the Angel Tree benefiting the McDowell Pregnancy Care Center. For Catholics in Marion and McDowell County, it is the parish home — the place where the faith has been kept alive in the mountains since the first Mass was celebrated in the county courthouse on January 21, 1951.
Mass times at Our Lady of the Angels
Weekly Mass schedule
History of the Parish
Catholic worship in McDowell County began not in a church but in living rooms and a courthouse. In the mid-1940s, Father William McShea, a priest based at the Hickory Hotel, drove roughly 22 miles each Sunday to Morgan to celebrate Mass in the home of a non-Catholic family that welcomed Catholic worship. His successor brought that ministry into Marion itself, celebrating the first Mass in the McDowell County courthouse on January 21, 1951. From those humble beginnings, the Catholic faithful in Marion grew into their own mission community and eventually took the name Our Lady of the Angels, with the church at 290 N. Garden Street.
Founding moments
The first known Mass in the county courthouse on January 21, 1951 is recorded as the seed moment of Catholic life in Marion. This date is widely cited as the parish's founding moment and is honored in the parish's history.
- Mid-1940s: Father William McShea celebrates Mass in private homes in Morgan, ~22 miles from Marion.
- January 21, 1951: First Mass in Marion is celebrated at the McDowell County courthouse.
- The community eventually organizes as the mission of Our Lady of the Angels.
Father Carl E. Kaltreider era (2011–2025)
Father Carl Edwin Kaltreider arrived in 2011 and made Our Lady of the Angels the longest assignment of his 46 years of priestly ministry. He was one of only two priests in the Diocese of Charlotte assigned exclusively to a mission, and even past the standard retirement age of 70 he kept celebrating Mass daily. He built a strong bilingual community with deep Hispanic roots, personally teaching sacramental prep, walking couples through marriage preparation (marrying more than 39 Hispanic couples in his years there), and founding the first Hispanic Knights of Columbus council in North Carolina — Council 17058 — at the parish. Father Carl died on June 11, 2025, at age 82, and was mourned at a vigil held at the mission on June 18 and a Mass of Christian Burial at the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville on June 19.
- Arrived 2011; served 14 years — the longest posting of his career.
- Founded the first Hispanic Knights of Columbus council in NC (Council 17058).
- Personally prepared and married 39+ Hispanic couples; trained couples to lead marriage prep.
- Taught confirmation and sacramental preparation on site.
- Died June 11, 2025, at age 82; vigil at the mission on June 18, funeral Mass at the Basilica of St. Lawrence, Asheville, on June 19.
Ministries & Community Life
Our Lady of the Angels has long punched above its weight in ministry. The parish is home to Council 17058 of the Knights of Columbus — the first Hispanic Knights of Columbus council in North Carolina — and has an active culture of sacramental preparation, confirmation classes, marriage preparation, and youth ministry led directly by the pastor. Devotional life includes a Rosary for Life before Mass and an Angel Tree each Advent benefiting the McDowell Pregnancy Care Center.
- Knights of Columbus Council 17058 (first Hispanic K of C council in NC)
- Sacramental preparation classes
- Confirmation preparation (two-year program)
- Marriage preparation (with trained lay couples)
- Youth ministry
- Rosary for Life
- Angel Tree / McDowell Pregnancy Care Center partnership
Sacraments
Sacraments are prepared and celebrated on-site, with the pastor traditionally teaching the sacramental preparation courses himself — baptism, First Communion, confirmation, marriage — and accompanying families through each step. Deacons historically assigned to the mission also visit the homebound and hospitalized.
- Baptism
- First Communion and Confirmation (sacramental preparation on site)
- Marriage preparation and celebration
- Anointing of the Sick; homebound and hospital visits
Staff & Leadership
The mission is currently led by Parochial Administrator Reverend Innocent Chukwukelue Amasiorah. As a mission of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Morganton, it also receives support from that parish's clergy and deacon team. Deacon John A. Martino, now director of the permanent diaconate for the Diocese of Charlotte, was first assigned to Our Lady of the Angels upon his ordination on June 10, 2006.
- Parochial Administrator: Rev. Innocent Chukwukelue Amasiorah
- Parent parish: St. Charles Borromeo, Morganton
- Past deacon assigned: Deacon John A. Martino (ordained 2006, first assignment)
Patron and Feast Day
The parish is named under the title of Our Lady of the Angels — the Marian title associated with the little Portiuncula chapel in Assisi where St. Francis of Assisi founded the Franciscan movement and where the famous 'Pardon of Assisi' plenary indulgence is celebrated each year. The feast day is August 2.
- Patron: Our Lady of the Angels (Portiuncola)
- Feast day: August 2
Visiting & Contact
Our Lady of the Angels is located at 290 N. Garden Street in Marion, NC, on the corner of Fleming Avenue. From I-40, take exit #86 to NC-226 North, then Rutherford Rd (Business US-221 North), which becomes Main Street. Continue to New Street, turn right, then left onto North Garden Street. The parish office can be reached at (828) 559-0678 or [email protected].
- Address: 290 N Garden Street, Marion, NC 28752
- Phone: (828) 559-0678
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: charlottediocese.org/parishes/st-charles-borromeo/our-lady-of-the-angels/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father William McSheamid-1940s
Priest based at the Hickory Hotel; traveled to Morgan (~22 miles from Marion) to celebrate Sunday Mass in the home of a non-Catholic family — the seed of Catholic worship in McDowell County.
- Father Carl E. Kaltreider2011 – June 11, 2025
Longest-serving pastor in the mission's modern era (14 years). Founded the first Hispanic Knights of Columbus council in North Carolina (Council 17058) at the parish. Taught sacramental prep and confirmation, prepared and married more than 39 Hispanic couples, and celebrated Mass daily well past retirement age. Died June 11, 2025, age 82.