ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The Cathedral of All Souls in Biltmore Village has been awarded a $400,000 national preservation grant, giving the historic church another boost as it works to recover from Hurricane Helene.
The cathedral is among just 30 houses of worship nationwide selected for funding through the National Fund for Sacred Places. Competition was stiff, with 466 congregations applying for grants this year.
The new grant requires the congregation to raise $400,000 in matching funds, potentially bringing the award’s total impact to $800,000.
The money will help pay for structural repairs, interior restoration and replacement of building systems in the cathedral’s sanctuary, library wing and education wing.
It’s another step toward reopening a Biltmore Village landmark that has been closed since Helene sent more than four feet of floodwater and mud into the building in September 2024.
In May, the Very Rev. Sarah Hurlbert, dean of All Souls, told 828newsNOW that restoring the cathedral and its offices could cost an estimated $10 million.
At the time, Hurlbert said about $4.5 million would be needed for work involving the sanctuary, choir rooms, library and bathrooms. Other planned improvements include the kitchen and education wing, accessibility upgrades, fire prevention systems and measures to better protect the property from future flooding.
According to the cathedral’s capital campaign website, All Souls previously reported $2,786,360 in donations, pledges and grants. That includes $1.2 million in FEMA and North Carolina disaster relief funding, a $500,000 contribution from the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina, a $100,000 diocesan disaster relief grant, an earlier $100,000 National Fund for Sacred Places grant and $886,360 in direct donations and pledges.
The new award could bring the cathedral’s identified grants, donations and pledges to nearly $3.2 million toward its estimated $10 million restoration, based on figures published on its capital campaign website. That amount does not include the additional matching funds required for the grant or any insurance proceeds.
The cathedral launched its “Opening the Doors” capital campaign in September, marking the second anniversary of Helene.
Designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt and completed in 1896 as part of George Vanderbilt’s development of Biltmore Village, All Souls has been a fixture of the neighborhood for 130 years.
Its role has extended beyond Sunday worship.
Before Helene, the cathedral hosted overnight shelter programs, including Room in the Inn and Code Purple, providing shelter for as many as 25 people a night along with hot meals.
Plans for rebuilding include an upgraded kitchen, showers and laundry facilities that would allow those community services to resume.
While the building remains closed, the congregation has continued worshiping at St. George’s Episcopal Church in West Asheville.
The National Fund for Sacred Places, a program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is awarding more than $9 million to the 30 selected congregations this year, its largest grant round to date.
The program helps preserve historic religious buildings while supporting the congregations and community programs that use them.
All Souls has hired Blum Construction for preconstruction work and hopes to begin construction in February 2027, depending on fundraising.
