St. Mary Magdalene Church, Apex NC

HISTORY OF ST. MARY MAGDALENE PARISH

In 1997 Bishop Joseph Gossman, responding to requests from many parents in South West Wake County for Catholic Schools, appointed Father Donald Staib to begin a new parish in Apex. The Bishop indicated the first task for Father Staib was to work with Father William Schmidt and then later Father David Fitzgerald, pastors of St.Andrew in Apex, and Father John Wall, pastor of St. Michael in Cary, to build new Catholic elementary schools.

In 1997 the priests and many committees of lay people began work with architects to design the buildings, establish curriculum and guidelines for the schools, form a search committee for two principals, and make a study of people who would send their children to the schools. The next task was to raise funds for the constructions. Ground was broken for two new schools June 6, 1999. One school was built on the campus of St. Michael and the second school became the beginning buildings for St. Mary Magdalene Parish and School.

Meanwhile St. Mary Magdalene Parish began to hold Sunday Mass at Apex Middle School. The first Mass was celebrated on September 12, 1999. On December 5, three months later, a second Mass was added. In mid 2001 the parish reached 500 families and it is expected that growth will be steady in future years. In the beginning the architects designed a master plan for the site which included several phases, some of which are being adjusted as the parish moves forward.

The new buildings were completed, and Bishop Gossman came to bless the St. Mary Magdalene campus at the first Masses offered at the present site on Sunday, August 13, 2000. A 5 PM Saturday Mass was added to the weekend schedule on October 14.

St. Mary Magdalene School opened for class in September with an enrollment of 330 students in Grades Pre K through 8th grade. It was a unique experience for the students: they had never been in the building before, never met their teachers or administrators, many had never worn school uniforms before. It did not take long for them to get used to their new surroundings.

The school was very ready for them. The principal, Bob Cadran, had worked for the previous year in hiring faculty, ordering the desks and all equipment for the school, and watching over the final process of the school construction.

Saint Mary Magdalene School – and Saint Michael School -- are governed by a Board appointed by each of the three parishes who support the two schools.

In the beginning the new parish had no name. When it came time for groundbreaking a name was needed. Father Staib had asked various individuals and groups in the Catholic community for suggestions; there were no strong contenders proposed. The pastor himself strongly favored names from the Bible and suggested Mary Magdalene to the Bishop. There are no other Catholic churches in North Carolina with this name.

In the New Testament Mary Magdalene is mentioned four times: she was healed by Jesus of an affliction; she and other women supported Jesus and the Apostles in their ministry; she stood with Jesus' mother at the cross; she was the first witness to Jesus' Resurrection. Because she took the news of the Resurrection to the Apostles she is often called "Apostle to the Apostles."

All other information about Mary is legend; the Bible never mentions she was a prostitute. An excellent book about Mary Magdalene which includes information on how the legends grew over the past 2000 years is Susan Haskins' Mary Magdalene - Myth and Metaphor. It was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year in 1993 and can be found in paperback.

In keeping with this background the street address for the parish is Magdala Place; Magdala is the town in the Holy Land from which Mary of Magdala came.

The colors of the parish and school are burgandy and gray with gold accents, and the mascot is the Saint Mary Magdalene Monarch Butterflies. The athletic teams prefer the short form of Monarchs.

Saint Mary Magdalene is most grateful to all its members and those in the parishes of St. Andrew and St. Michael who contributed to Campaign 2000 for this incredible beginning in just three years. We look forward to the future as a community that can grow not only in numbers, but also in service to one another and to others.