On November 13, 2009, Exaltation Friary moved from a rental home in Spartanburg, SC to Hendersonville, NC about 40 minutes away. After months of financial difficulty, the Friary was contacted by Janet McFerren, a CEC member in Florida. In obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit, Janet gave the Franciscan Community 7 acres of Land, two houses and a cabin to use in perpetuity and to develop into a Retreat Center. On the day of the move, Archbishop Chuck Jones of the South Eastern Province visited and stayed at the new location during his visit to the Diocese of the Carolinas. Archbishop Jones was very pleased with the great possibilities presented to the Friary and for the wider CEC Community. The Diocese of the Carolina’s is pleased to have this treasure of great price within its territory and the Franciscans of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross are overjoyed and humbled as the stewards of the property.
Founded as “Exaltation Friary and Mt. Alverna Retreat Center”, the Friary is now in full operation. It will host Christmas Day Mass at 11:00 am and Epiphany Mass on January 6th at 7:00 pm. In addition, it will host an Altar Servers Intensive, a day of intensive training and celebration for Altar Servers of CEC Churches of the Diocese, which will be held on February 6, 2010. Daily Mass is held at 11:00 am and Sunday Mass is celebrated with Christ Our King of Peace CEC in Spartanburg where Friar Edmund Cass is stationed as a Priest with Fr. Phil Edge who is the Rector.
Mt. Alverna Retreat Center will open for small group Retreats during Lent 2010 and hopes to be able to accommodate 14 to 16 persons at a time for overnight Group Retreats by the summer. St. Francis said: “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” The CEC Friars in Hendersonville are following these simple instructions from their father in the faith and through the grace of Almighty God and the power of the Holy Spirit God’s good work will continue here for many years.
To contact the Friary or to visit: 828-697-8875, 609 Price Rd., Hendersonville, NC, 28739. Photos of the land and Friary can be seen on the Friary’s web page at www.exaltationfriary.org.
