WINSTON-SALEM — The generous spirit of the late Irma Gadson continues to fill her beloved St. Benedict the Moor Church in Winston-Salem. One of four historically African-American churches in the Diocese of Charlotte, St. Benedict the Moor is benefiting from a $64,000 estate gift she left upon her death a year ago.
Constructed in 1940, the church and its school once served Black Catholics in the segregated South. Today St. Benedict the Moor is home to nearly 400 parishioners, many of whom are Hispanic, said Father Melchesideck Yumo, pastor.
Gadson’s gift is being divided in half to help her parish both now and into the future: $32,000 is going into a new endowment to help fund the parish’s long-term needs, and the remaining $32,000 will go toward renovation projects and general needs of the 84-year-old church.
Father Yumo says a top priority will be repairing the roof of the old school building, which is now used by faith formation classes and other ministries of the parish.
“We need a lot of money to renovate, and what she gave is going to help us a lot,” he said.
Gadson, who died in March 2023 at the age of 99, was born in Winston-Salem and raised Baptist. She converted to Catholicism in her early 20s after being visited by a Catholic priest when she was hospitalized with tuberculosis.
Gadson“Irma was a woman who believed in the love of God for everyone and practiced Christian sisterly love daily as God commanded,” said Gloria Wilson, a long-time St. Benedict the Moor parishioner and friend of Gadson.
Gadson and Wilson lived two houses down from each other in Winston-Salem, and Gadson mentored her when she joined St. Benedict the Moor.
“I miss Irma’s kindness and compassion and love for all of God’s children in her parish and community, especially the downtrodden and oppressed,” Wilson said.
Gadson played piano and organ for Masses at the church for more than 40 years and was an active member of the parish’s St. Monica’s Guild.
Upon graduating from Winston-Salem Teachers College, she taught for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School System and eventually became its assistant superintendent of schools. She retired in 1981 after serving nearly 35 years in public education.
The endowment that is being established will be managed through the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation and will be named in Gadson’s honor.
“It is such a blessing to see a long-term parishioner remember her parish in her estate plan,” said Jim Kelley, diocesan director of development. “What a wonderful legacy to her beloved church and her Catholic faith.”
— Courtney McLaughlin, Special Correspondent
Leave a lasting legacy
Interested in setting up – or adding to – an endowment to benefit your parish, Catholic school, Catholic Charities or St. Joseph College Seminary? You can establish an endowment in the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation by leaving a bequest in a will, a beneficiary designation from a retirement plan, a trust or annuity, or a gift of real estate, life insurance, cash or securities. For details, contact Gina Rhodes at 704-370-3364 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..