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FROM TH
‘The grace of the saving passion, death and resurrection of Jesus is to be communicated to the faithful through your priestly ministry.’ — Bishop Peter Jugis
Bishop Peter Jugis (center) kneels during the Litany of Supplication as the Litany of the Saints is chanted during the rite of ordination of Father Juan Miguel Sanchez and Father Joseph Wasswa. The two were ordained to the priesthood June 19 during a two-hour Mass at St. Mark Church in Huntersville. PHOTOS BY SUEANN HOWELL, AMY BURGER AND JAMES SARKIS
One faith, one diverse family united in Christ Sanchez and Wasswa ordained to the priesthood SUEANN HOWELL AND KIMBERLY BENDER CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD
HUNTERSVILLE — Unity amid diversity in the Diocese of Charlotte is on full display as two men originally from Mexico and Uganda begin lives as its newest priests. Bishop Peter Jugis, himself a native of Charlotte, ordained Father Juan Miguel Sanchez and Father Joseph Wasswa in a joyful Mass June 19. The two relative newcomers to western North Carolina join the ranks of 154 priests – more than a third of whom are men of color – in the diocese, which encompasses more than 515,000 Catholics. The newly ordained priests expressed deep gratitude to those who helped them reach this most sacred of moments, as Father Sanchez joins Charlotte’s St. Matthew Church to serve as parochial vicar and Father Wasswa assumes the same position at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro. “I will always be grateful to all the people who made my priesthood possible,” Father Sanchez told the Catholic News Herald. “I am looking forward to serving in the Diocese of Charlotte and to grow together in the love of God and neighbor.” Growing up in a different culture, Father Wasswa said, broadened his outlook and made him appreciate the universality of the Catholic faith – perspectives that will
More online At www.catholicnewsherald.com: See video highlights, Bishop Jugis’ complete homily, and lots more photos from the June 19 ordination Mass help him in his ministry here. “I can sort out commonalities and differences, then try to trace that one thing that unites us – our faith,” he said, “There are things in the faith that apply to all cultures. This is one family, no matter where we are.” With most pandemic restrictions now lifted, St. Mark Church in Huntersville was filled to capacity June 19 with families, friends, clergy and religious attending the two-hour ordination Mass. Attendees included Father Sanchez’s parents and 13 of his 14 siblings from Mexico. Close friends from Father Wasswa’s adopted parish in Salisbury came to offer their support since his family was unable to travel from Uganda. At the start of the Mass, both men were presented for ordination by Father Christopher Gober, diocesan vocations director: “Most Reverend Father, Holy Mother Church asks you to ordain these, our brothers, to the responsibility of the priesthood.” The congregation erupted in loud applause when Bishop Jugis formally accepted them for the order of the
priesthood. Both men had a long, circuitous journey to bring them to this moment. Father Sanchez’s earliest years in Mexico were spent on a small-town farm before moving with his parents and siblings to the city of Guadalajara. He came to the United States at 20 and went to work in construction with his older brothers. Despite his lack of a high school diploma, he was encouraged by Father Julio Dominguez to pursue his studies. He earned his high school equivalency diploma before entering formation at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Ohio. He then joined the few diocesan seminarians selected to study theology at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Father Wasswa, one of eight children, came to North Carolina in 2015 to explore a religious vocation to the Benedictine order. He entered the novitiate at Belmont Abbey, but during his time there he discerned a different path as a diocesan priest. He said he simply fell in love with the diocese and its people, and decided to continue his studies for the priesthood here rather than in Uganda. He had already studied for a time at Katigongo National Major Seminary in Masaka, Uganda, before coming to the U.S., so in 2016 he went on to complete his formation at the CHRIST, SEE PAGE 13
