About St. Bernadette · Linville, North Carolina
St. Bernadette is a Roman Catholic mission church in Linville, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Avery County. It is staffed as a mission of St. Lucien Parish in nearby Spruce Pine, and the two churches share one pastor and one parish office. Established with diocesan approval to build in 1987 under Bishop John F. Donoghue, the mission is celebrated for its mountain-site architecture — local stone and a glass rear wall framing Grandfather Mountain and its famous mile-high swinging bridge. Worship is offered in English, with weekday Masses, a Sunday Mass, Adoration, and a seasonal Saturday Vigil Mass.
- Established
- 1987
- Patron
- St. Bernadette (Soubirous of Lourdes)
- Rector
- Very Rev. Christopher A. Bond, V.F.
- Diocese
- Diocese of Charlotte
Why belong here
St. Bernadette offers daily and Sunday Mass in one of the most striking settings in the Diocese of Charlotte — a glass-walled sanctuary looking out on Grandfather Mountain — supported by weekly Adoration, Confession, and a Sunday Rosary before Mass. The mission is paired with parish life at St. Lucien, sharing a faith-formation program, a food pantry (Ave Maria Food Pantry), and active outreach such as prison retreats at the Mountain View facility. Worshippers here become part of a small, mountain-rooted Catholic family that takes its mission of being good stewards of time, talent, and treasure seriously.
Mass times at St. Bernadette
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Thursday 5:00 PM (with Adoration)
- Friday 9:30 AM (with Adoration)
- Saturday 3:30 PM (June–October)
Adoration times
- Thursday 5:00 PM (followed by 6:00 PM Mass)
- Friday 9:30 AM (after 9:00 AM Mass)
About St. Bernadette Mission
St. Bernadette Catholic Mission sits at 2085 NC-105 Hwy. in Linville, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Avery County, North Carolina. It is staffed as a mission of St. Lucien Parish in Spruce Pine, and the two churches share a pastor and one parish office. The shared mission statement is: "To be good stewards of our time, talent and treasure in service to the Church and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ through our corporal and spiritual acts of mercy."
History & Building
Bishop John F. Donoghue of the Diocese of Charlotte gave approval for construction of St. Bernadette in 1987. Builders used stone from the Linville area on the exterior and a glass rear wall in the sanctuary so that worshippers look out on Grandfather Mountain and its famous mile-high swinging bridge. The mission has grown into a steady presence in the Linville community, and in May 2022 hosted a stop on the national relics tour of its patron, St. Bernadette Soubirous.
- 1987 – Diocesan approval to build
- Stone exterior sourced locally in Linville
- Glass rear wall frames Grandfather Mountain
- May 2022 – Relics of St. Bernadette visit
Clergy & Staff
The mission is served by the pastor of St. Lucien Parish together with a small staff of lay coordinators who handle faith formation, sacred music, the parish office, and the food pantry. The pastor also serves the wider diocese as a Vicar Forane in the Boone vicariate.
- Very Rev. Christopher A. Bond, V.F. — Pastor (ext. 3)
- Bobbi Havron — Administrative Assistant / Director of Faith Formation (ext. 2)
- Frank Wimbush — Bookkeeper (ext. 4)
- Olga Aguayo — Faith Formation Coordinator
- Patty Noser — Director of Sacred Music
- Elizabeth Salter — Director of Sacred Music
- Frank & Karen Wimbush — Ave Maria Food Pantry
Liturgical Schedule (St. Bernadette)
Worship at St. Bernadette centers on a Sunday Mass preceded by the Rosary, with weekday Masses Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Adoration and Confession are offered on Thursday and Friday afternoons/mornings, and a Saturday Vigil Mass with Confession is added in the warmer months (June through October).
- Sunday — 10:30 AM Rosary, 11:00 AM Holy Mass
- Monday — 9:00 AM Holy Mass
- Wednesday — 11:00 AM Holy Mass
- Thursday — 5:00 PM Adoration/Confessions, 6:00 PM Holy Mass
- Friday — 9:00 AM Holy Mass, 9:30 AM Adoration/Confessions
- Saturday (June–October) — 3:30 PM Confessions, 4:30 PM Vigil Mass
Sacraments & Devotions
Alongside Mass, St. Bernadette offers the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Thursday and Friday after Adoration, and on Saturday afternoons during the summer half of the year. Eucharistic Adoration is celebrated on Thursday evenings (preceding the 6:00 PM Mass) and on Friday mornings (after the 9:00 AM Mass). The Sunday Rosary is prayed at 10:30 AM before the parish's principal Mass.
- Confession — Thu 5:00 PM, Fri 9:30 AM, Sat 3:30 PM (June–October)
- Adoration — Thu 5:00 PM and Fri 9:30 AM
- Sunday Rosary — 10:30 AM
Faith Formation
Faith formation at St. Bernadette is run jointly with St. Lucien Parish. Bobbi Havron serves as Director of Faith Formation, with Olga Aguayo as Faith Formation Coordinator, preparing parishioners of all ages for the sacraments and ongoing discipleship.
- Director of Faith Formation: Bobbi Havron
- Faith Formation Coordinator: Olga Aguayo
Sacred Music
Music ministry for the missions is led by a Director of Sacred Music (Patty Noser and Elizabeth Salter have both served in this role in recent bulletins), supporting the Sunday and weekday liturgies at St. Bernadette and St. Lucien.
- Director of Sacred Music role shared between St. Bernadette and St. Lucien
Outreach & Charity
True to the parish mission of "corporal and spiritual acts of mercy," St. Bernadette ministries include the Ave Maria Food Pantry (led by Frank & Karen Wimbush) and a prison-ministry partnership with St. Lucien Parish that has produced multi-month retreats at the Mountain View correctional facility under the leadership of Father Christopher Bond.
- Ave Maria Food Pantry
- Prison retreats at Mountain View facility (with St. Lucien)
Partnership with St. Lucien Parish
St. Bernadette is not a standalone parish but a mission of St. Lucien Parish in Spruce Pine, NC (695 Summit St., Spruce Pine, NC 28777). The pastor and parish office serve both worship sites, and each church has its own liturgical schedule on the joint website stlucienbernadette.org.
- Parenting parish: St. Lucien, Spruce Pine
- Shared pastor: Very Rev. Christopher A. Bond, V.F.
- Shared parish office at 2085 NC-105 Hwy., Linville
Visit, Contact & Office Hours
The parish office serves both St. Lucien and St. Bernadette and is open Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM, at 2085 NC-105 Hwy., Linville, NC 28646 (mailing PO Box 1252). Telephone: (828) 898-6900. The parish email is [email protected]. Holy Day schedules and any cancellations are posted in the weekly bulletin and parish calendar.
- Address: 2085 NC-105 Hwy., Linville, NC 28646
- Mailing: PO Box 1252, Linville, NC 28646
- Phone: (828) 898-6900
- Email: [email protected]
- Office hours: Mon–Fri, 9 AM–4 PM