Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church – History
The presence of the Catholic Church in Franklin County began in the 1940s, when itinerant missionary priests gave catechism classes to the three young children in the Rabil family and celebrated Sunday Mass in the living room of their home. Completion of St Catherine of Siena Church in Wake Forest in the early ‘40s marked the end of Sunday Mass in Louisburg, and Catholics traveled to Wake Forest or Henderson.
In 1966 Mass was celebrated at Louisburg College for the first time, and soon priests of St. Catherine of Siena began offering Sunday Mass regularly, with a break between 1985 and 1993.
In 1999, Bishop Joseph Gossman appointed Sr. Elizabeth Bullen, IHM, as pastoral administrator of the Louisburg Community. It was then that they adopted the name “Our Lady of the Rosary.”
To celebrate Mass, the growing community rented the school cafeteria on West River Road, setting up and breaking down the portable altar each Sunday. In 2007 they rented a worship site at 460 Fox Park Road, a former dance studio.
In 2011, Bishop Burbidge assigned the priests of the Mission Hurst C.I.C.M Missionaries to Our Lady of the Rosary, and they continued to grow and develop the church. With help from the Diocese of Raleigh, the labor of many volunteers and much prayer, the community was able to build a church, which was dedicated in 2015. As of 2025, the parish has more than 600 registered households.
Past Priests:
Rev. Johannes Raharjo, CICM
Rev. Ryan Carnecer, CICM
Rev Marlee Abao, CICM
