First African American priest for the Diocese of Charlotte dies at 75

Rev. Wilbur Thomas, the first Black priest for the Diocese of Charlotte, passed away earlier this month after a long battle with cancer. He was 75.

Thomas was surrounded by family and friends when he died on Dec. 6 at CarePartners Hospice Solace Center in Asheville, North Carolina, the Catholic News Herald reports. The publication also announced his passing on Twitter. Thomas served the Diocese of Charlotte for 50 years.

“We had some giants among the priests of our diocese and Wilbur was one of those giants who not only inspired confidence and hope for the church, but a great deal of faith,” said retired Rev. Morris Boyd, a longtime friend of Thomas, The Charlotte Observer reports. 

Thomas was born in 1947 and adopted as an infant by Wilbur O. and Ruth Thomas. The couple raised him as a Protestant in Lexington, Kentucky. After Thomas’ father suffered a stroke and became bedridden when he was 10, a local priest inspired the couple to convert to Catholicism, according to Groce Funeral Home.

Thomas was reportedly 12 when he became a Catholic.

In 1960, Thomas was baptized and confirmed at his local parish in Lexington. At age 18, he was called to priesthood and entered the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. In the early 1970s, Father Thomas was among the first African American Catholic priests ordained in North Carolina. 

After his ordination on March 26, 1973, he became the first Black Catholic priest at the newly formed Diocese of Charlotte. When he arrived at the Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Church in 1979, the church was in financial ruin, according to The Charlotte Observer. Through his ministry, Thomas inspired fellow Black Catholics to get involved in the church. He also started a choir at the parish which infused Negro spirituals with gospel music.

Today, it is the largest African American Catholic parish between Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, thanks to Thomas’ unwavering community outreach and prolific sermons, parish council chairman of Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Church Sam Cooper says.

Thomas organized the African American Affairs Ministry, previously named the Committee of Black Catholic Ministry and Evangelization. He was also a longtime contributor to the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus (NBCCC) and affiliated with the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests (AUSCP).

Father Thomas retired from active ministry in 2018. 

“He touched a lot of people outside of just Catholicism,” Cooper told The Charlotte Observer. “He truly laid the groundwork for the African American heritage in the church,” he added.

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