Oct. 28, 2022

charlottediocese.org

704-370-3332,

704-370-3375,

704-370-3394, kdbender@charlottediocese.org Annie Ferguson 704-370-3404, arferguson@charlottediocese.org SueAnn Howell 704-370-3354, sahowell@charlottediocese.org

GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Tim Faragher 704-370-3331, tpfaragher@charlottediocese.org

COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT/CIRCULATION: Erika Robinson 704-370-3333, catholicnews@charlottediocese.org

COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Liz Chandler 704-370-3336, lchandler@charlottediocese.org

ASSISTANT COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Patricia L. Guilfoyle 704-370-3334, plguilfoyle@charlottediocese.org

THE CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD is published by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte 26 times a year.

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PRAY FOR THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED Intercede for your deceased loved ones during the month of November by including their names in your parish’s remembrance book. The book is left on the altar of many churches throughout the month of November. Contact your parish before Nov. 1 to add the names of your relatives and friends. Learn why we pray for the dead at www.catholicnewsherald.com

HAVE A HAPPY PIE-VEMBER

Add a Catholic flavor to this pie-making season by making one of these delicious desserts to celebrate Thanksgiving and the Nov. 24 feast of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, a courageous Vietnamese priest and martyr. Try a pumpkin-pecan pie or a deep-dish apple pie recipe from the Christian Brothers, a teaching order that once made wine in Napa Valley that supported their ministries. Find these and more in the “pies and tarts” section of www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/recipes

DID YOU KNOW?

On Nov. 6, 1789, Pope Pius VI appointed Father John Carroll the first Catholic bishop in the United States and selected Baltimore as the seat of the first diocese. Learn more: www.archbalt.org/most-rev-john-carroll

READ ABOUT SACRAMENTALS, SAINTS AND GRACE

Check out Ave Maria Press’ “Encountering Signs of Faith: My Unexpected Journey with Sacramentals, the Saints, and the Abundant Grace of God” by Allison Gingras (Oct. 28, 2022). Gingras tells the story of how a Miraculous Medal led her and her deaf daughter to connect with God and the spiritual motherhood of Mary. For more details: www.avemariapress.com/products/encountering-signs-of-faith

PREPARE TO VOTE

Be sure to participate in the Nov. 8 election by informing yourself about the candidates and issues. Remember to form your conscience before you vote, too. Read the USCCB’s “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship”: www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithful-citizenship/ forming-consciences-for-faithful-citizenship-title

— Annie Ferguson

ENTERTAINMENT

FILM SCREENING OF ‘A PLACE AT THE TABLE – AFRICAN-AMERICANS ON THE ROAD TO SAINTHOOD’: 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, MACS Fine Arts Center, 7702 Pineville-Matthews Road, Charlotte. Come for an afternoon of fun, music and refreshments. Six incredible Black men and women are on the path to canonization. Hosted by Our Lady of Consolation Church for the entire Diocese of Charlotte as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. For details, email OLCcharlotte@ rcdoc.org.

LECTURES

‘UNCOVERING THE BEAUTY OF THE SCRIPTURES & ST. JOSEPH, PATRON SAINT OF A HAPPY DEATH’: 6:30-8 p.m. Nov. 2, Parish Center at St. Leo the Great Church, 335 Springdale Ave., Winston-Salem. Led by Father David McCanless and Father Matthew Kauth. This new lecture series aims to provide a consistent outlet for spiritual growth, focused opportunities for evangelization, and sustaining spiritual and intellectual nourishment. The series will cover a variety of topics centered on providing an engaging space for practicing Catholics, those returning to the faith, and especially for those interested in learning more about the Catholic Church. For details, go to www.stleocatholic.org.

DEMENTIA EDUCATIONAL SERIES : 10-11 a.m. Monday, Nov. 14, 21 and 28, virtually and inperson at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., Charlotte. Series will cover general information about Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, plus information on caregiving and effective communication strategies. To register to attend at St. Matthew, visit tinyurl.com/HLBB1114. For virtual registration, visit www.us02web.zoom.us/ webinar/register/WN_skIaEsFQTR6hEeNGwFiXIQ. For more information, contact Sandra Breakfield at 704-370-3220 or sandrab@ccdoc.org.

PRAYER SERVICES

IGBO-LANGUAGE MASS : Noon Sunday, Nov. 20 at St. Mary’s Church, 812 Duke St., Greensboro.

SAFE ENVIRONMENT TRAINING

PROTECTING CHILDREN: Protecting God’s Children (Protegiendo a los Niños de Dios) workshops educate parish volunteers to recognize and prevent child sexual abuse. For details, contact your parish office. To register for online training, go to www.virtus.org. Upcoming workshops:

FRANKLIN: 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, St. Francis of Assisi Church, 299 Maple St. (Sección en español)

SWANNANOA: 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, St. Margaret Mary Church, 102 Andrews Pl.

Possible future deacons begin formation journey

ANNIE FERGUSON arferguson@charlottediocese.org

CHARLOTTE — Seeking to model the Church’s first deacon St. Stephen – “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5) – 18 men have entered the first phase toward possibly becoming deacons for the Diocese of Charlotte.

The 18 men were selected after an initial evaluation process of 94 men who applied to express interest in the program. Over the next two years, they will be introduced to the spirituality of being a deacon in the Church as they participate in supervised pastoral experiences focused on serving the poor and marginalized. Three additional years of prayer, reflection, study and discussion will follow – a five-year journey which culminates with a call to ordination from Bishop Peter Jugis.

Deacon Bill Schreiber, the diocese’s director of deacon formation, works with Deacon John Kopfle, director of the Permanent Diaconate program, and Deacon Dave Faunce, assistant director of formation, to shepherd this extensive formation process. His work started with background checks, psychological screenings, interviews with the applicants, and reviews of the information gathered. The 18 chosen to move forward into the first phase of formation – known as aspirancy – comprise a diverse group, reflecting each geographical region and a variety of nationalities from across the diocese, Deacon Schreiber noted.

“Assuming that everything goes well in aspirancy – that is, the men are well situated, and we have the concurrence of their wives – the men will move on to candidate formation,” Deacon Schreiber explained. “The men can’t continue without their wives saying ‘yes’ all the way through the process – even up to ordination. This is super important.”

That second phase – candidate formation – is expected to start next January and will last three years. The 18 “aspirants” will be considered individually by the bishop for possible advancement as “candidates.”

In years past, the Charlotte diocese has partnered with the Satellite Theological Education Program (STEP) through the University of Notre Dame as the basis for its candidate formation program. Now the formation program is based nearby.

“With the development of our local seminary – St. Joseph College Seminary – and access to Belmont Abbey College, we felt the necessity to bring the formation back within the diocese,” Deacon Schreiber said. “We have excellent theological resources at Belmont Abbey. We also want to partner with the seminary

because, ultimately, the candidates will be ordained deacons, who will eventually be led by the priests who are (now) in the seminary.”

Pope Francis

Sadness can serve as ‘alarm bell’ for life

Feelings of desolation and sadness are not signs of trials that may discourage Christians, they can be indispensable signs that point to dangers along the path toward happiness, Pope Francis said.

Although many consider sadness

The men chosen as candidates will learn more about the liturgy, Scripture and moral theology – taking 18 courses from Belmont Abbey College over the course of their formation work. Then will come a series of courses to strengthen their intellectual background, including interpretation of Scripture and an indepth, systematic background study of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Courses will also include an introduction to the spiritual traditions and philosophical foundations of Church teaching, as well as Church law.

After five years of successful formation, the candidates will be considered for ordination as deacons. For this class of men, that is expected in 2027.

Want to learn more?

Find detailed information about the process of becoming a deacon online at www.charlottediocese.org/permanent-diaconate. Also consider speaking with a deacon at your parish and your pastor. For further inquiries, contact Deacon Bill Schreiber at cwschreiber@rcdoc.org or Deacon John Kopfle at john.kopfle@rcdoc.org, or call 704-370-3344.

This November, pray for vocations

This Nov. 6-12 marks the annual celebration of National Vocations Awareness Week across the United States. The annual celebration is dedicated to promoting vocations of priests, deacons and consecrated men and women religious (nuns and brothers) through prayer and education, and to renewing our prayers and support for those who are considering one of these particular vocations.

National Vocations Awareness Week began in 1976 when the U.S. bishops

designated the 28th Sunday of the year for special recognition of those discerning vocations.

In 1997, this celebration was moved to coincide with the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which falls on Jan. 13 in 2013.

Beginning in 2014, National Vocations Awareness Week was moved to the first full week of November.

For more information, visit www.usccb. org/vocations.

— Spencer K.M. Brown

Prayer for vocations

God our Father, We thank You for calling men and women to serve in Your Son’s Kingdom as priests, deacons and consecrated persons. Send Your Holy Spirit to help others to respond generously and courageously to Your call. May our community of faith support vocations of sacrificial love in our youth and young adults. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.

“an ill to avoid at all costs,” Christians should see it as “an indispensable alarm bell for life, inviting us to explore richer and more fertile landscapes that transience and escapism do not permit,” the pope said Oct. 26 during his weekly general audience. Sadness “is indispensable for our health,” he said.

“It protects us from harming ourselves and others. It would be far more serious and dangerous if we did not feel this.”

The pope continued his series of audience talks on spiritual discernment, reflecting on desolation and the role it plays in Christian life.

Recalling the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Pope Francis defined desolation as the “darkness of the soul” and the “unquiet of different agitations and temptations” that lead one to becoming “lazy, tepid, sad, as if separated from his or her creator and Lord.”

“No one wants to be desolate, sad,” he said. “We would all like a life that is always joyful, cheerful and fulfilled. Yet this, besides not being possible, would not be good for us either. Indeed, the change from a life oriented toward vice can start from a situation of sadness, of remorse for what one has done.”

“Sometimes sadness is a traffic light: ‘Stop. Stop. It’s red. Stop,’” the pope said.

However, for men and women who seek to do good, desolation also can be an obstacle “with which the tempter (the devil) tries to discourage us” and can lead to abandoning “work, study, prayer” or other commitments.

“Unfortunately, some people decide to abandon the life of prayer, or the choice they have made – marriage or religious life – driven by desolation, without first pausing to consider this state of mind, and especially without the help of a guide,” he said.

But a “wise rule” of discernment, he said, is “do not make changes where you are in desolation,” but wait until the acute sadness has passed.

OCT. 30-NOV. 5

Sunday: Wisdom 11:22-12:2, 2

Thessalonians 1:11-2:2, Luke 19:1-10; Monday: Philippians 2:1-4, Luke 14:12-14; Tuesday (All Saints): Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14, 1 John 3:1-3, Matthew 5:1-12a; Wednesday (All Souls’ Day): Wisdom 3:1-9, Romans 5:5-11, John 6:37-40; Thursday (St. Martin de Porres): Philippians 3:3-8a, Luke 15:1-10; Friday (St. Charles Borromeo): Philippians 3:17-4:1, Luke 16:1-8; Saturday: Philippians 4:10-19, Luke 16:9-15

NOV. 6-12

Sunday: 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14, 2

Thessalonians 2:16-3:5, Luke 20:27-38; Monday: Titus 1:1-9, Luke 17:1-16; Tuesday: Titus 2:1-8, 11-14, Luke 17:7-10; Wednesday (The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica): Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12, 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17, John 2:13-22; Thursday (St. Leo the Great): Philemon 7-20, Luke 17:20-25; Friday (St. Martin of Tours): 2 John 4-9, Luke 17:26-37; Saturday (St. Josaphat): 3 John 5-8, Luke 18:1-8

NOV. 13-19

Sunday: Malachi 3:19-20a, 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12, Luke 21:5-19; Monday: Revelation 1:1-4, 2:1-5, Luke 18:35-43; Tuesday (St. Albert the Great): Revelation 3:1-6, 14-22, Luke 19:110; Wednesday (St. Margaret of Scotland, St. Gertrude): Revelation 4:1-11, Luke 19:1128; Thursday (St. Elizabeth of Hungary): Revelation 5:1-10, Luke 19:41-44; Friday (The Dedication of the Basilicas of Sts. Peter and Paul, St. Rose Philippine Duchesne): Revelation 10:8-11, Luke 19:45-48; Saturday: Revelation 11:4-12,

While moments of sadness are “an experience common to spiritual life,” the pope said the path of goodness “is narrow and uphill” and encouraged Christians, especially those who “want to serve the Lord, not to be led astray by desolation.”

“If we know how to traverse loneliness and desolation with openness and awareness, we can emerge strengthened in human and spiritual terms,” Pope Francis said.

“No trial is beyond our reach.”

SUEANN HOWELL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD Deacons in the Diocese of Charlotte pray during their ordination Mass in 2018.

BY ALEX CASON | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Mohammad and his family spent two nights waiting outside the gates of the Kabul airport in August 2021, desperate to escape the increasing threat from the Taliban. Now, Mohammad and his family have settled into a new home in Charlotte, thanks to help from Catholic Charities and other organizations, and they are pursuing asylum status to remain here permanently. He and his wife are relieved their children are all back in school, and their eldest son is thinking about college.

As partners in state and federal programs, Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte provides a variety of resettlement services for refugees from around the world. More than 14,000 refugees have been resettled in western North Carolina since the program began in 1975.

Afghan evacuees settled in Charlotte and Asheville since October 2021 – nearly all settled over three months last fall as part of an emergency federal program

Refugees settled in Charlotte and Asheville under the regular federal program since October 2021. From: Afghanistan, Burma, Congo, El Salvador, Honduras, Iraq, Moldova, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine

Ukrainian refugees assisted in the diocese since March 2022

HOME IN AMERICA

A year after fleeing, Afghans finding brighter futures with Catholic Charities’ help

KIMBERLY BENDER kdbender@charlottediocese.org

CHARLOTTE — A year after 250 people were evacuated from Afghanistan to Charlotte and Asheville, a new phase of their resettlement is under way as Catholic Charities helps guide them through the complex process of securing a long-term home in the United States.

All of the families evacuated to western North Carolina through Catholic Charities now have housing, jobs and income to support themselves – with children in school, access to medical care and networks of assistance. The refugees’ focus now is on reuniting with family left behind and on traveling to Washington, D.C., for immigration interviews that will determine their futures.

Mohammad’s family is among them. A year ago, he and his wife huddled with their six children on the streets outside the Kabul airport, desperate to flee as the Taliban regime took over control of Afghanistan. Mohammad dreamed of a safe place to raise his family, where his three daughters could attend school without fear of gunfire and bombings, where his oldest son could seek higher education and his younger sons would also have brighter futures.

After a grueling evacuation in which his family was shuttled first to Qatar, then a U.S. military base, and finally to North Carolina, Mohammad said he is grateful.

“We’re thankful to Catholic Charities and

to the whole nation for the opportunity to be here,” said Mohammad (identified by his first name for security reasons). “We’re thankful to be safe and glad for the opportunity to live a normal life.”

Upon the evacuees’ arrival in Charlotte, Catholic Charities provided several months of intense resettlement services – finding housing, securing medical care, and placing them in jobs and schools. Now, caseworkers for the agency’s resettlement office are shuttling families to Washington for immigration interviews and assisting with other needs – as they also support new additional refugees from Ukraine and other war-torn places around the world.

“The Afghan evacuees are adjusting really well,” said Laura Jones, Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte’s resettlement director.

“If you think about where they were a year ago, chasing planes on the tarmac to flee their country, few could have imagined the stable lives they’d be leading in a matter of months.”

Over the past year, Jones said: “We’ve seen babies born and young people start college. We’ve seen a number of reunifications, where family left behind were able to join their loved ones in Charlotte. And almost all of the Afghan

families are staying here – we’ve seen very little out-migration, which is not the case in other areas.”

Since October 2021, Catholic Charities has resettled 252 Afghan evacuees in Charlotte and Asheville, as well as 132 additional refugees from more than a dozen countries. More recently, the agency has provided services for 129 Ukrainian refugees arriving in the Charlotte diocese as “sponsored arrivals” of the government’s “United for Ukraine” program, following Russia’s attacks on the country that began in March.

(ABOVE) PHOTO PROVIDED; (LEFT, BELOW) PHOTOS

Couples celebrate shared faith, gift of married love

SUEANN HOWELL sahowell@charlottediocese.org

CHARLOTTE — After a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, married couples celebrating milestone anniversaries were recently able to gather with Bishop Peter Jugis for the Diocese of Charlotte’s annual Wedding Anniversary Mass.

The Oct. 23 Mass at St. Ann Church brought more than 30 couples together celebrating their 25th and 50th wedding anniversaries in 2020, 2021 and 2022, as well as couples married longer than 50 years. It was sponsored by the Diocese of Charlotte’s new Office of Family Life.

In his homily, Bishop Jugis noted how encouraging and inspiring it was to see so many couples who had traveled from around the diocese to be present at Mass and renew their commitment to one another.

Jerry and Valerie Hackman were among those at the Mass, making the trip from Asheboro to celebrate 64 years of matrimony. Parishioners of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Hight Point, the Hackmans made

their first trip to Charlotte for the event.

The Hackmans met while Valerie was in high school. They became pen pals while Jerry served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and their relationship blossomed over time. They were married at Holy Family Church in Latrobe, Pa., in 1958. They raised two sons and now have one grandson and two great-grandsons.

The Hackmans credit the longevity of their marriage to having parents as good role models, giving each other the freedom to pursue their interests over the years, and a commitment to honest communication.

“You have to talk it out. Both have to give

a little,” Valerie said. “You don’t win every time or lose every time,” Jerry added. Both agreed that humor is also important to the health of their marriage. “Laughter is a big part of it,” Valerie said.

Ryan and Shannon Gamble celebrated their 25th anniversary last year, and felt it was important to mark this milestone and celebrate their Catholic faith with other couples. They live in Mooresville, where they attend St. Therese Church. They have two sons who are now in college.

Ryan converted to Catholicism when their eldest son was 2 years old, about six years after they were married at St. Peter’s Church in Dayton, Ohio. “We wanted

to raise our children together in one religion,” Shannon explained.

The Gambles devoted themselves to one another, their family and their faith. “Everything we did has always been centered on our children and has always involved our family. I have found a family at the church for a long time,” Ryan said.

Bishop Jugis addressed all the couples, “We know that Christ’s love is the foundation of the life for every Christian. In a very special way, Christ’s love is at the foundation of the sacrament of matrimony, of holy marriage.”

“Jesus Christ is the center of all Christian life, especially of Christian married life,” he continued. “Having Jesus in your marriage makes your marriage stronger, and your ongoing union with Christ makes your marriage stronger.”

More online

At www.catholicnewsherald.com : See more photos from the Diocese of Charlotte’s annual Wedding Anniversary Mass

Diocesan Catechetical Conference resumes Nov. 5

ANNIE FERGUSON arferguson@charlottediocese.org

HICKORY — Catechists and all who teach the Catholic faith are invited to attend the Diocesan Catechetical Conference at the Hickory Metro Convention Center Nov. 5. To coincide with the Diocese of Charlotte’s 50th anniversary, the conference theme is “Faith More Precious Than Gold.” Held for the first time since 2019, the one-day event will starts at 8 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. Bishop Peter Jugis will celebrate Mass at 9:15 a.m., followed by the keynote presentation – “Eucharistic Faith: Foundation of Christian Identity” – by John Bergsma, Ph.D., a professor of theology at Franciscan University of

Steubenville. Three breakout sessions featuring a variety of topics will follow his presentation.

Major publishing vendors, such as the Augustine Institute, Our Sunday Visitor, St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology and Sophia Institute Press will display and sell catechetical materials.

“The biggest draw for attendees is that we’re bringing in catechists and parish catechetical leaders from all over the diocese,” said Chris Beal, director of Faith Formation for the diocese. “It gives them an opportunity not only to hear great dynamic speakers both nationally and locally but also to come together and learn from one another.”

The third breakout session will include

group sharing about best practices, practical takeaways, challenges and successes in the classrooms and beyond. In this session, parishes that have similarsize faith formation programs will meet and discuss these topics, drawing on the community, Beal said.

Beal also noted that in recent years roughly half of the 500 to 600 attendees are part of Hispanic ministry in their parishes. Because of this, he said, the Spanishlanguage track is strong and features a keynote presentation from Father Julio Domínguez, the diocese’s Vicar for Hispanic Ministry.

Other talks include: “Engaging Parents & Families in Catechesis” by Dr. Joseph White, “A Pastoral Response to Gender

(Clockwise, from left) Jerry and Valerie Hackman, parishioners of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in High Point who have been married 64 years, speak with Bishop Peter Jugis after the diocesan Wedding Anniversary Mass; couples celebrating milestone wedding anniversaries renew their commitment during Mass Oct. 23; Bishop Jugis preaches on Jesus Christ as the center of Christian married life.

PHOTOS BY SUEANN HOWELL

| CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Ideology” by Theresa Farnan, Ph.D., and “Catholic Philosophy: A Defense Against Relativism” by Paul Kotlowski.

“Los Movimientos Apostólicos” by Father Julio Dominguez, and “Formación Continua” by Deacon Eduardo Bernal, and “Espiritualidad Cotidiana” by Ibis Centeno round out the Spanish track.

Many other topics will be covered, including social media and communication for evangelization.

Conference check-in begins at 8 a.m., and the last breakout session ends at 4 p.m.

For more information and to register, visit www.charlottediocese.org/ev/ conference.

Questions? Call the diocese’s Education Vicariate Office at 704-370-3244.

‘Having Jesus in your marriage makes your marriage stronger, and your ongoing union with Christ makes your marriage stronger.’ — Bishop Peter Jugis

SEMINARIAN SPOTLIGHT: Michael Lugo

Home parish: Immaculate Conception, Forest City Status: Started Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Cincinnati, in August 2022

Favorite verse or teaching: “O God, you are my God – it is you I seek! For you my body yearns; for you my soul thirsts, in a land parched, lifeless, and without water.” (Ps 63:2)

Favorite saint: St. Agnes of Rome, a martyr known for her purity and refusal to denounce her faith Interests (outside of faith): Piano, theater, skiing, euchre

CHARLOTTE — Michael Lugo is a young man of many talents. He grew up, the second of six children, on his family’s farm in Rutherfordton, where he would rise early every morning to milk cows and feed the pigs and chickens.

As a child, he discovered a love of acting in the local community theater. That grew into a passion for backstage and technical work as a teen – yet something was missing.

Lugo, 22, had been home-schooled in a family with a sincere love of their Catholic faith. And while he was drawn to the excitement of theater, he realized it would not fulfill his deepest desires. “I could easily see myself getting lost in the world of production, but I realized that wasn’t how God wanted me to pursue truth and beauty.”

So, in 2018, Lugo entered the St. Joseph College Seminary in Mount Holly, where he spent three years discerning a call to the priesthood. He graduated last August and moved on with nine of his fellow seminarians to attend Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Cincinnati –among 49 men currently in some stage of formation to serve as priests in the Diocese of Charlotte.

He reflects on his journey in a conversation with the Catholic News Herald:

CNH: When did you first hear the call to a vocation to the priesthood?

Lugo: As I was growing up, there were several times I remember thinking God might be calling me to the priesthood. I began to seriously consider seminary after attending Quo Vadis Days (the diocese’s annual discernment retreat for young men) in the summer of 2018. Throughout the course of that week, spending time in prayer and learning about the priesthood, it seemed to me that the priesthood was the summation of everything I wanted out of life, particularly the way in which the life of a priest is completely dedicated to one thing: the service of God.

CNH: Looking back, what has most helped you evaluate God’s will for your vocation?

Lugo: Other than prayer and spiritual direction, I think being in seminary and receiving the seminary formation. I did not have any certainty about my vocation upon entering seminary, but I wanted an environment where I could discern more seriously and clearly. Being in such an immersive experience, where everything is designed to help foster an interior life and aid your discernment, is what has helped me the most in coming to greater clarity about my vocation.

CNH: Can you tell us something special about your time in seminary?

Lugo: One thing I have grown to greatly enjoy studying in seminary is languages. Over the course of my time at St. Joseph College Seminary, we had several Latin language immersions which were always a great time and very beneficial. I also had the opportunity to study Greek one summer, which was a great experience, and I am continuing to take Greek at major seminary with the end goal of being able to read the New Testament in its original language.

CNH: What do you love about being a seminarian for the Diocese of Charlotte?

Lugo: I love the fraternity among the seminarians. Having such a strong community made the transition to (major) seminary this year much easier, because we already had nearly 20 brother seminarians at Mount St. Mary’s, some of whom had previously studied at St. Joseph College Seminary.

CNH: When you envision your life as a priest of the Diocese of Charlotte, what do you see?

Lugo: I very much look forward to celebrating the sacraments. I pray that I can be a faithful priest acting in the person of Christ and as an instrument of His grace.

— SueAnn Howell

Your DSA contributions at work

Seminarian education is funded in part by the annual Diocesan Support Appeal. Learn more about the DSA and how to donate online at www.charlottediocese.org/dsa

Mary’s Women of Joy celebrates 25 years

SUEANN HOWELL sahowell@charlottediocese.org

HUNTERSVILLE — Three decades ago, a Marian pilgrimage completely changed Jean Whelan’s life –inspiring her to open her heart to a call from God to lead other women to His truth and love.

The fruit of Whelan’s “yes” is Mary’s Women of Joy, a sisterhood and Scripture study at St. Mark Parish that over the past 25 years has touched the lives of more than 600 women – women searching for a closer relationship with God and with each other.

Mary’s Women of Joy is commemorating its 25th anniversary this month, and members are giving thanks for the fruits of their efforts and prayers: growth and support for Catholic schools, development of the parish’s Eucharistic Adoration ministry, installation of stained-glass windows at St. Mark School and Church, additional parish ministries and greater participation in parish life, and in new Mary’s Women of Joy groups being formed in the Carolinas.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Whelan recalls how her mission began. “In Advent in 1997, I was coming out of Mass held at Peace Auditorium at Presbyterian College, and I thought, ‘We are losing too many Catholic women to other churches because people there are speaking to their hearts. But we have Jesus in the Eucharist! He is a Person! He is with us!’”

She prayed about it, and she heard God’s voice speaking to her like never before – urging her to start a Bible study group. “It was very distinct. Everything went quiet and I said, ‘All right, Lord.’”

She invited seven women to her home to study the Sunday Mass readings, dubbing the group “Women of Joy.”

Now known as “Mary’s Women of Joy” to better reflect their love for the Blessed Virgin Mary and their desire to emulate her openness to God’s will, the group has swelled to 200 women who gather each week during the school year in the parish hall for prayer, fellowship and study.

A SISTERHOOD GROWING IN FAITH

“We are not a ministry; we are a sisterhood,” Whelan emphasizes. “Because what transpires is, women exchange their hearts and share their joys and sorrows in prayer together, studying Scripture and going on retreats. We are really learning more about our Catholic faith together.”

Diane Piraino, a member for the past 20 years, says, “In the beginning years we were all being fed spiritually with Bible studies that were really hard, so you needed to put time and effort into it. As you keep going through studies, you turn a corner where you think you have learned a lot and you see the need to serve others so they can learn, too.”

Piraino now serves as the group’s spirituality

leader. She credits being encouraged at meetings to spend time in Eucharistic Adoration, attend daily Mass, pray the rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and to cultivate friendships with Mary and the saints – such as St. Faustina, the group’s patroness – to cultivate a deeper relationship with God, the Church, and her fellow sisters in Christ.

“It’s our family now,” Piraino says. “When we get together the joy just comes!”

Laura Hogan, another long-time member, notes the women receive unparalleled comfort, understanding and support from each another.

“Women accept their struggles with greater peace because they have a sisterhood to support them.”

A BRIGHT FUTURE

Mandy Riley met Whelan five years ago and now helps lead a Mary’s Women of Joy group of 100 women who meet on Daniel Island, near Charleston, S.C.

“I think that the Holy Spirit is moving,” Riley says. “There are women who are pining to grow in their faith, to be connected to other women, and to be on fire for Jesus.”

Whelan is now collaborating with women to start Mary’s Women of Joy groups at Holy Family Parish in Clemmons and Immaculate Conception Parish in Wilmington.

“We also have a group of women in California who are joining the Mary’s Women of Joy Thursday evening group via Zoom to see if they want to bring it to their parish on the West Coast,” Whelan says.

PRAYERS AND HOPES FOR THE SISTERHOOD

At a 25th anniversary Mass offered Oct. 13 at St. Mark Church, Father John Putnam, pastor, prayed that “the work that has been done and continued over these past 25 years might continue to bear great fruit, not only here, but now in the other places where there has been interest in the foundation of new groups of Mary’s Women of Joy.”

Whelan hopes that, as the sisterhood grows and God calls more women to participate, that “every woman comes to know that she is a daughter, she has received salvation, and she is loved by Him.”

Learn more

Watch an EWTN video on Mary’s Women of Joy at www.youtube. com/watch?v=5qF_ rwu_Zyo. Interested in starting Mary’s Women of Joy at your parish? Go to www.stmarknc. org/mwoj for more information.

From: Rutherfordton Age: 22

Lugo

PHOTO PROVIDED BY MARY’S WOMEN OF JOY

Mary’s Women of Joy founder Jean Whelan (third from left) and members of Mary’s Women of Joy gathered Oct. 13 for Mass at St. Mark Church in Huntersville and a special dinner celebrating 25 years of sisterhood.

‘Life Wins’ at Room At The Inn

Annual banquet fundraiser brings in a record $190K for pregnant mothers experiencing homelessness

ANNIE FERGUSON arferguson@charlottediocese.org

GREENSBORO — Cheers erupted at each mention of the overturning of Roe v. Wade at Room At The Inn’s ‘Life Wins’ banquet and fundraiser Oct. 20. The energy in the room was palpable. Yet the packed hall with more than 700 attendees remained focused on the mission at hand – supporting single, pregnant mothers who have no home and nowhere else to turn – by raising a record $190,000 for the organization.

Because of the comprehensive support Room At The Inn (RATI) offers – shelter, material assistance, meals, case management, transportation, job training, child care and many other life-affirming services – 16 babies were born since the 2021 banquet, including one the morning of this year’s event.

“These children were given a chance because of the support of RATI. The mothers have no job, no phone, no money, no education, no family support. Providing a mother long-term support gives her child a chance to thrive as well,” said Marianne Donadio, RATI’s vice president and chief development officer.

Donadio noted that the mothers in the program work hard toward their independence, but they also know that RATI will be there to support them if needed. The organization offers mothers the opportunity to stay connected and to receive help with such things as diapers, clothes, short-term financial assistance, child care subsidies, as well as housing and child care while in the college program.

Keynote speaker Melissa Ohden, the founder and director of the Abortion Survivors Network – a healing and advocacy group for survivors of abortion – gave a powerful testimony about the difference having that support can make. Ohden told her own harrowing story of surviving a saline abortion at seven months gestation, her discovery of this fact, and the role her grandparents played in coercing her 19-year-old mother to have an abortion. She also told of the years of healing, love and forgiveness that followed.

“We live in a culture that wants to say that people like me don’t exist, that failed abortions don’t happen,” Ohden said. “So tonight, we talk about the needs right here in your community and how this ministry is stepping up to serve women just like my biological mother whose greatest regret was that she didn’t run away from her family to save my

life. If she would have had a place to go, her life and my life would have been so different.”

After Ohden’s presentation, Father Noah Carter – chair of RATI’s board of trustees and pastor of Holy Cross Church in Kernersville – presented two awards. The first was the Father Conrad Lewis Kimbrough Pro-life Leadership Award given to N.C. Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson for his steadfast support of the pro-life, pro-family cause. Along with RATI’s president Albert Hodges, Father Kimbrough was one of the founders of RATI. Due to his travel schedule, Robinson accepted the award earlier in the week.

Next was the Elizabeth Hedgecock Volunteer Award given to Paul Hoeing, an ardent RATI supporter and former board chair. The award honors individuals who give of their time, talent and treasure to support RATI’s programs. Married for more than 50 years, Hoeing and his wife Beth are members of St. Leo the Great Parish in Winston-Salem and have been very active there and at RATI and Catholic Charities.

Also at the event, State Sen. Joyce Krawiec presented the Carolina Maternity Home Association with $1.3 million for the association’s member maternity homes, which includes Room At The Inn. The Maternity Home Association then presented RATI with $475,000 for an “After Roe Project” called Clifford Hall, a permanent ministry center in Kernersville to include offices, a thrift store, volunteer center, and a small licensed day care.

“With the Dobbs decision, Roe v. Wade was overturned, and the cause of life won at the national level,” Donadio said. “I hope you’re proud that you’ve been providing support for the mothers and children for many years, and I hope that you’ll continue to for as long as necessary.”

She added, “It’s my personal opinion that it will always be necessary because I think God permits need in this world so that we’re given the opportunity, which is very beautiful, to show His love to one another, and we need you to be a part of that work for another year, so that next year there will be another list of baby names up there because you gave them the opportunity to live … so, that way, life wins at the local level, too.”

Learn more

To volunteer or donate, visit Room At The Inn’s website, www.roominn.org

MiraVia celebrates new era of pro-life outreach at annual banquet

SUEANN HOWELL sahowell@charlottediocese.org

CHARLOTTE — It was a moment to remember when more than 1,200 joyfilled pro-life advocates rose to their feet to applaud the reversal of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision during the “Leading the Way to Life” fundraiser for MiraVia Oct. 20 at the Charlotte Convention Center. MiraVia has helped more than 11,000 women and children since 1994.

“I will always remember (June 24),” said Debbie Capen, executive director of MiraVia, during her remarks. “I went to the chapel immediately at MiraVia and knelt in front of Our Lord (in the tabernacle) and thanked Him. So many of us said we’d never live to see the day and here it was. I didn’t know how to express that gratitude,” she said.

Capen explained her prayers of thanksgiving quickly switched to prayers of petition to ensure MiraVia’s facilities, clients and staff were protected.

“I was actually a little bit irked because I had waited so long for that day. I couldn’t celebrate. We had to get right to work. I told myself we’d celebrate together at the banquet. So here we are, all 1,200 of us, to celebrate together!” Capen said to thundering applause.

Capen made the stark point that, although abortion is not protected at the Supreme Court level, the Sstates have the power, and North Carolina has become a destination for those seeking abortion. Now, more than ever, “We need to be a destination for women seeking life,” she said.

She emphasized that both MiraVia’s programs – the residential facility at Belmont Abbey College and the outreach center – will be crucial in the fight to change hearts and minds and help meet women’s needs.

Capen announced that MiraVia expects to expand its services by 25 percent in the upcoming year to meet the increased

demand of women seeking to choose life in wake of the Dobbs decision. She also shared the news that MiraVia has moved to a larger facility off Tyvola Road to allow for more meeting space for life skills classes for clients, and storage space for donations of clothing, diapers, toys and baby supplies.

Keynote speaker Matt Birk, retired NFL Super Bowl champion and practicing Catholic, toured the residential facility before attending the banquet. A husband and father of eight children, two of whom are adopted, he is running for lieutenant governor of Minnesota and publicly espouses his pro-life values.

“If you’re a Catholic or a Christian, your purpose here is to serve God. We all have different talents and roles. Everybody has a platform; some may be more public than others. At the end of the day that is what we are supposed to do, to serve God and the people,” he said in an interview with the Catholic News Herald.

Birk said he tells people the focus of the pro-life movement can’t be to just make abortion illegal. “We have to create a system where abortion is not necessary, where women are supported in every way – medically, emotionally, financially – so women don’t feel like they are forced to have an abortion. Basically, we need to love on women.”

He added that if you take time to see all of the work that is going on at places like MiraVia and other pro-life pregnancy centers throughout the country, “they are not hating women, they are loving on women in their greatest time of vulnerability.”

Learn more

Watch MiraVia’s 2022 video featuring heartwarming stories from moms currently in its residential program. Go online to www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaHelmVqdRg To volunteer or donate, visit MiraVia’s website, www.miravia.org

(Left) During Room At The Inn’s annual banquet Oct. 20, State Sen. Joyce Krawiec (center) presents $1.3 million to the Carolina Maternity Home Association. Of those funds, Room At The Inn received $475,000. (Above)

Paul Hoeing accepts the Elizabeth Hedgecock Volunteer Award. For more photos, visit www.catholicnewsherald.com.

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY BETH NIXON

PHOTOS BY SUEANN HOWELL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD NFL Super Bowl champion and pro-life advocate Matt Birk accepts a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a thank you from MiraVia for serving as keynote speaker at its “Leading the Way to Life” banquet Oct. 20.

In Brief

New lecture series hopes to ignite faith

WINSTON-SALEM — St. Leo the Great Parish is beginning a lecture series that will host speakers from across the diocese. The program hopes to provide a consistent outlet for spiritual growth, focused opportunities for evangelization, and continued sustaining of spiritual and intellectual nourishment. Members of the St. Leo Parish Life and Evangelization Committee actively seek to provide dynamic speakers throughout the year. The lectures will cover a variety of topics centered on providing an engaging space for practicing Catholics, those returning to the faith, and especially those interested in learning more about the Church and all she has to offer.

Upcoming lectures include Father Matthew Kauth presenting “St. Joseph – Patron Saint of a Happy Death” on Nov. 2, Father Darren Balkey presenting “Who was Pope St. Leo the Great?” on Nov. 9, and Patrick Yodzis presenting “The Holy Family – Inspiring Hope within the Domestic Church” on Dec. 1.

For more information about the lecture series, go online to www.stleocatholic.org.

— Spencer K.M. Brown

Immaculate Heart of Mary pays off mortgage early

HAYESVILLE — Parishioners of Immaculate Heart of Mary Mission in Hayesville gathered recently for a special Mass and Pay-Off Party (“POP”) to celebrate paying off its mortgage in July, after just 10 years. The parish, a mission of St. William in Murphy, outgrew the church it had built in 1984. The new construction involved taking on large debt and a challenging project of converting a former power sports equipment facility into a church. The mortgage, along with a capital campaign that achieved 97% returns on pledges, outfitted the 30,000-squarefoot facility with a beautiful church, a fully equipped kitchen, the Sister Terry Fellowship Hall, meeting spaces, classrooms and storage space. At a celebration after Mass, Father Alex Ayala, pastor, said, “My hopes and prayers for this community of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is that we continue to show faith. That we continue to work together to do God’s work. That we continue to be blessed by the generous support of our parishioners and the talents of our volunteers. And that, like the mustard seed, we continue to grow.”

monthly meeting Sept. 19. The funds were raised through donations by the members of St. Charles Borromeo Church during a Baby Bottle Drive from Mother’s Day to Father’s Day this year.

The council said it is proud to be able to help this extraordinary Pregnancy Care Center as it works to help needy mothers and families that choose life, with all of its beautiful possibilities.

— Thomas J. Robinson

Lay Dominican group welcomes new members

CHARLOTTE — St. Matthew Parish’s Our Lady of the Rosary Lay Dominican Group welcomed Joan Granak and Karen Wiley during a Rite of Admission and Promises Sept. 9. The parish’s Lay Dominican Group was formed in 2021, and after a year of inquiry, Granak and Wiley requested admission. The ceremony marked the end of the Lay Dominican year. The group will receive inquirers for the upcoming year on Oct. 23 at St. Matthew Church. Contact Tom Mathis at cldolphgclt@gmail.com for details.

— Spencer K.M. Brown

Knights’ Baby Bottle Drive supports pregnancy center

MORGANTON — The Father William T. McShea Council of the Knights of Columbus presented the Pregnancy Care Center of Burke County with a check for $2,000 at the council’s

Belmont Abbey monk attends St. Vincent Seminary

LATROBE, Pa. — A monk from Belmont Abbey, Brother James Raber, is among the seminarians for the 2022-’23 school year at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pa. He is pictured with fellow Benedictines and administrators (from left): Father Boniface Hicks, director of spiritual formation; Father Patrick Cronauer, academic dean; Deacon Lawrence Sutton, Ph.D., director of pre-theologian formation; Father Edward Mazich, rector; Brother Raber, third theology; Father Emmanuel Afunugo, dean of students; Father Cyprian Constantine, director of liturgical formation; and Father John-Mary Tompkins, vice rector and director of human formation.

— St. Vincent Archabbey

Holy Family joins Rosary Coast-to-Coast

CLEMMONS — Members of Holy Family Parish participated in the “Rosary Coast-toCoast” at the Parish’s Memorial For Life on Oct. 9, in conjunction with thousands of others from across the country and the National Rosary Rally in Washington, D.C. Introduced by Deacons John Harrison and Dr. Steffen Fohn, the Patriotic Rosary included intentions for our nation, our pope, bishops, priests and religious and for each state and the souls in those states. Each decade was led by a different parishioner and was prayed in either English or Spanish.

— Hank Rudge

— Victoria Ewing Ware, correspondent

thank you to all our 2022 banquet sponsors who supported miravia's 28th annual banquet on oct.

A V I A O R

E N E F A C T O R C I R C L E A N O N Y M O U S E X O D U S 9 0 S T M A T T H E W P A U L & M A R Y P A U L F O R S Y T H C A R L A & B I L L L E W I S K A Y E & D E N N I S M C G A R R Y M O N K S O F B E L M O N T A B B E Y T H E O ' C O N N O R F A M I L Y

T . M A T T H E W C O L U M B I E T T E S

H E R I T A G E C I R C L E

V E M A R I A C A R D I N A L P L A S T I C S A D V O C A T E C I R C L E

K E Y N O T E S P E A K E R A N O N Y M O U S ( 2 ) W I L L & K A T I E E S S E R M A R K & M O N A H E I T B R I N K H A N S & P A T L E N G E R S J O A N & P A U L P O L K I N G

T H E C U R T I S F A M I L Y J O E & C A R O L G I G L E R J I M & S A N D R A K E F F E R A M Y & B U T C H M A Y E R

P A T R O N C I R C L E

J O E & M A R Y E L L E N G U S T A I N I S D E A C O N & M R S P E T E R T O N O N

Giving

Foundation

IHM celebrates 75th anniversary

HIGH POINT — Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish celebrated the 75th anniversary of its church’s dedication Oct. 23 with a Mass that featured current and former clergy who served the parish. In addition, the parish welcomed its new parochial vicar, Father Baiju Paul. Originally dedicated as St. Edward Church in 1903, the church was rededicated as Immaculate Heart of Mary on Oct. 26, 1947. Current and former clergy concelebrated the anniversary Mass: (from left) Deacon Francis Skinner, Father Baiju Paul, OSFS; Father Peter Leonard, OSFS; Father Joseph Zuschmidt, OSFS; Father Tom Norris, OSFS; Deacon Wally Haarsgaard; Father Jack Kelly, OSFS; and Father Vincent Smith, OSFS.

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY BILL COXWELL

Diocese of Charlotte

• Are you a current Cursillista looking to continue your 4th Day?

• Would you like to find a local Ultreya?

• Would you like to know more about the Cursillio Movement?

Visit us at http://charlottecursillio.com/

The Cursillio Movement is a recognized charism of the Catholic Church founded on small friendship groups.

Room At The Inn wishes to thank sponsors of the 2022 Annual Benefit Banquet

Guardians ($5,000 +) Sheryl Austin Van and Lorraine Lane Knights of Columbus Council 939 Novant Health Triad Ob/Gyn

Benefactors ($2,500 $4,999)

Paul and Fran Breitbach in memory of their parents Mark and Linda Craven in memory of James Patrick Killeen, Jr Gerald and Janet Enos

Joe and Nancy Muster

John and Jane Pueschel Knights of Columbus Council 2829

Saint Leo the Great Catholic Church

Sponsors ($1,000 $2,499)

Francis and Patricia Disney in honor of their grandchildren, Laurie and David Fitzgerald, Julie and Kevin Fox in memory of Joseph and Therese Fox, Karen Gochnauer, Gerald and Ann Hopkins, David and Mary Kretzschmar, Bernard and Elaine McHale, Joyce and William Partin, Wilfred and Suzanne Perez, Jenny and Timothy Rundle, Dana Tucich, Ben and Alice Yorks

Friends ($500 $999)

Stephen and Elizabeth Bambara , Christine and Stephen Cooper , Terry Cornelius, Gregory and Guadalupe Doyle , Kathleen and William Eaton , Mike and Sharon Hamilton, Amy Hughes, Georgia Martin, Matthew Piedimonte, Jaime and Ron Stoffel, Kathy and Joram Thomas, Michael Tierney, Terence Vogel, Wilde Concrete LLC, North Carolina Right to Life, Knights of Columbus Councils 8509, 8857, 7186, 10910 a nd 12017 ***Wine was donated by Dr. and Mrs. Albert Bassi Jr.***

MARIAN ART SERIES

‘Madonnas of the Ghent’ altarpiece

The brothers Van Eyck (1432)

TRICIA KENT

Special to the Catholic News Herald

When we think of famous paintings of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our thoughts often turn to the works of da Vinci, Raphael and Botticelli. These men and a handful of other

Marian Pilgrimage

A specially commissioned statue of Mary, Mother of God is visiting more than 100 locations across the Diocese of Charlotte during the anniversary year. Upcoming visits include:

ST. JAMES CATHOLIC CHURCH

Until Oct. 30

1018 W. Hamlet Ave., Hamlet, N.C. 28345

ST. MARY, HELP OF CHRISTIANS CATHOLIC CHURCH

Oct. 30-Nov. 3

818 McGowan Road, Shelby, N.C. 28150

ST. MICHAEL CATHOLIC CHURCH & SCHOOL

Nov. 3-7

708 St. Michaels Lane, Gastonia, N.C. 28052

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CATHOLIC CHURCH

Nov. 10-13

1024 W. Main St., Forest City, N.C. 28043

ST. CHARLES BORROMEO CATHOLIC CHURCH

Nov. 13-16

728 W. Union St., Morganton, N.C. 28655

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CATHOLIC CHURCH

Nov. 16-20

328-B Woodsway Lane N.W., Lenoir, N.C. 28645

For more information about these pilgrimage stops, go to the Diocese of Charlotte’s 50th anniversary website, www.faithmorepreciousthangold.com.

giants of the Italian Renaissance seem to command all the press and reproductions. Still, despite the fame of these big names, art historians continuously place a 15thcentury polyptych altarpiece as among the most important works of art in history: the “Madonnas of the Ghent” altarpiece.

Credited to the illusive Flemish brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck, this work from Belgium has become the stuff of novels and fodder for Hollywood thrillers – hunted by Napoleon and coveted by the Nazis.

Sometimes called the “Adoration of the Mystic Lamb” after the subject of its central panel, it has the dubious distinction of being the most frequently stolen artwork of all time.

The massive reredos was designed to be folded. When closed for penitential seasons, the panels displayed are in muted tones. When opened for Easter and Pentecost, they are awash with vivid color and throughout they are rich in incredible depth and detail and executed at a level rarely achieved before or since. Among the major figures

depicted in the work, two are of the Virgin Mary.

Mary on the closed panels is an Annunciation – the moment of the Incarnation when the Holy Spirit descends upon the girl from Nazareth. In her spotless robes and demur expression, she turns from the Angel Gabriel in the perfect personification of the sinless Immaculate Conception. Van Eyck shows us a young woman who is the virginal Ark of the New Covenant, willingly acquiescing as she is overshadowed by the Almighty. Next to her head in Latin is written “Behold the handmaid of the Lord” with the script upside down so God can see what is addressed to Him alone. In stark contrast and shocking color, the Mary of the open altarpiece is a resplendent Queen of Heaven. Still virginal and still absorbed with the Word of God, she is now shown as Our Lady, a Queen. She sits in a gilded niche at the right hand of a powerful central Christ/Father figure. She is adorned and bejeweled in royal splendor and painted in robes of the deepest, finest blue. Here we see a visual promise of our own redemption. This Mary, as Wordsworth called her, is “our tainted nature’s solitary boast.”

The altarpiece in its entirety has been called perfectly suited for the Liturgy. The enormous work is filled with symbolism and designed for meditation during Mass. In its many panels, believers can contemplate the full panoply of the Paschal Mystery and Mary’s role in salvation history as the woman chosen from all time to be the Mother of God.

Prayer for the 50th anniversary

The 50th anniversary year will bear great spiritual fruit if we ask God for the graces we hope to receive. Please offer the 50th anniversary prayer daily for many graces to be poured on our diocese during this jubilee anniversary:

Heavenly Father, accept our humble prayer of praise and gratitude as we joyfully celebrate 50 years as the Diocese of Charlotte. Throughout our history the faithful of western North Carolina, under the watchful care of esteemed bishops and abbots, have been nurtured by Your providential hand. Confident that You invite Your children to implore Your constant blessings, we pray that You continue to pour forth Your heavenly grace upon us. With filial affection and devotion, we further ask that You look kindly upon the prayers we seek through the intercession of our venerable patroness, the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, who with motherly attention tends to the needs and concerns of the Church. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.

Prayers & Devotions

The 50th anniversary theme, “Faith More Precious Than Gold” (1 Peter 1:7), encourages use of the Church’s tried-andtrue prayers, devotions and sacramentals, which for centuries have brought people closer to God. Let us confidently ask for the graces we hope to receive from God as we celebrate the founding of the Diocese of Charlotte. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!

October prayer intention

For parents. May God, through the intercession of Sts. Anne and Joachim, give strength and virtue to parents, that they may be true witnesses of faith and charity to their children.

Saint of the Month

St. John Henry Newman

Feast day: Oct. 9

At www.catholicnewsherald.com : Read more about St. John Henry Newman

TRICIA KENT is a member of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Charlotte.

Be surrounded by saints Dozens of relics to be displayed for All Saints Day

HUNTERSVILLE — More than 75 holy relics will be on exhibit at St. Mark Church this November as part of the All Saints Day pilgrimage coming through the Diocese of Charlotte. Relics from a large array of venerated saints will be showcased at the All Saints Day Vigil Mass on Monday, Oct. 31, and then all day following Mass on Tuesday, Nov. 1, as part of the diocese’s 50th anniversary and the parish’s 25th anniversary.

“While our secular world celebrates Halloween, the reason behind All Hallow’s Eve (All Saints Eve), All Saints Day and All Souls’ Day has become a bit lost,” said Amy Burger, public relations coordinator at St. Mark Church. “Our hope is that people will learn a little more about this treasure of our Catholic

faith and remember those who have passed on before us and are canonized saints in heaven.”

In addition to St. Mark Parish, St. Patrick Cathedral, St. Thomas Parish and St. Ann Parish will also display a large number of relics for veneration during the feast of All Saints. Relics from such holy women and men as St. Maria Goretti, St. Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Christopher and St. Patrick will all be available to view and venerate throughout the feast day. The event is open to all who wish to come and pray. For more information, visit www.stmarknc.org.

— Spencer K.M. Brown

50 ACTS OF CHARITY CONTINUE TO MAKE AN IMPACT

Sacred Heart Church shows its heart with playground project

BREVARD — As a part of the 50th anniversary of the Diocese of Charlotte this year, each parish has been challenged with finding new ways to be charitable within their communities. Sacred Heart Church became aware of the need for a new playground at The Haven, the only option Transylvania County has for its families experiencing homelessness. The Haven provides a place of respite – sheltering 810 people in their community, including 186 children, in 2021. The Haven’s existing playground was old and no longer safe for children to use, so Sacred Heart parishioners committed to helping raise the $28,000 needed to remove the old, unsafe playground and replace it with a new one. The entire parish community rallied behind the project. Thanks to parishioners’ generosity and a partnership with the Bikulege Foundation, Sacred Heart raised the necessary funds in less than a month. There was also a little extra available to assist with funding the landscaping surrounding the playground. On Aug. 3, The Haven invited its supporters to a ribbon cutting to celebrate the new playground. Everyone who attended was so happy and excited because they knew what a blessing the playground will be for children who live at The Haven. The new playground will provide a safe place for them simply to be children amid circumstances beyond their control. The Haven’s staff conveyed their deep-felt gratitude for Sacred Heart Parish’s help and were excited about what the playground will mean for the families they serve. The Haven thanked them for their generosity and prayers and acknowledged that without Sacred Heart’s support, the new playground would not have become a reality so quickly. The people and staff at Sacred Heart Church said they were excited to be a part of something important within their community and show the heart of their parish. By coming together, they were able to make a meaningful difference in their community.

— Virginia Garramone

Monroe parish supports local teachers

MONROE — According to the U.S. Department of Education, more than 93 percent of educators report paying for school supplies. Elementary, middle and high school teachers who attend Our Lady of Lourdes Church are no exception. Because of a lack of funding at their schools, every teacher at the parish planned to take on the burden of buying extra supplies for their classroom this fall. To help ease the financial burden these dedicated teachers were facing, Father Benjamin Roberts invited his parishioners to join him in helping the teachers gear up for the school year. Each teacher provided a list of items they needed to purchase personally for their classrooms, and Father Roberts created an Amazon Wish List to make it easy for his parishioners to buy individual items, drop off supplies at the parish office, or make a cash donation so the parish could purchase supplies directly. Thanks to parishioners’ efforts, at least 12 teachers received items to organize and prepare their classrooms and essential school supplies for students needed throughout the school year. Father Roberts said he was very thankful to everyone for the outpouring of support for their teachers as they returned to school this fall, and hoped it would encourage other parishes to support teachers in their communities.

— Virginia Garramone

PHOTO PROVIDED BY AMY BURGER

PHOTO PROVIDED

PHOTO PROVIDED

Day of theDía de los

The traditional Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos – or Day of the Dead – has gone mainstream in American pop culture, with its colorfully decorated skulls and flowers adorning clothing, featured in advertising, and embraced by organizations from Hollywood to major league sports. But beyond its commercial appeal, the Day of the Dead has deep roots in Hispanic culture and Catholicism.

The celebration coincides with the feasts of All Saints Day and All Souls’ Day, celebrated over two to three days, usually beginning Oct. 31 and ending Nov. 2. Despite its bleak name, the Day of the Dead is not a time for mourning or for spooking friends and neighbors. It is a celebration of life – a time to honor the memory of deceased loved ones, to pray for the souls in purgatory and to ask intercession from those in heaven.

“Death … is something that comes and is certain for everyone. Instead of being frightened by it, (Catholics) see it as something natural, as a step toward heaven,” explains Father Julio Dominguez, the diocese’s vicar of Hispanic Ministry.

WHAT IS THE DAY OF THE DEAD?

The Day of the Dead is a holy feast day when families gather to pray and remember their deceased loved ones.

They may visit their family members’ gravesites, spending time in prayer and beautifying the resting places with candles, flowers and personal memorabilia.

They also may bring a meal that includes the favorite foods of the deceased.

It is tradition to attend Mass, and families also create altars in their homes to remember and pray for the deceased. Adorned with candles, flowers, photos and mementos, the home altar becomes the centerpiece of the celebration.

“The feast and the altar of the deceased have nothing sacrilegious or satanic about them,” says Father Dominguez, adding that the skulls popularly depicted in Day of the Dead artwork are a way of acknowledging our mortality and reminding us to aspire for eternal life with God in heaven.

On Day of the Dead home altars, Father Dominguez says, “Christ is placed on high, remembering that He is our King, and we were redeemed by Him. It is followed by images of saints, and then come the photographs of our deceased relatives, for whom we pray that they will win heaven.”

Food placed on the home altar or offered in visits to cemeteries is a custom grounded in Mexican culture, as other cultures use flowers as a sign of honor and remembrance.

Create a home altar

Home altars are usually comprised of triangularshaped tiers representing the three states of the Church: the living, the dead in purgatory, and the communion of saints in heaven. (Some refer to these as the “Church Militant,” the “Church Penitent,” and the “Church Triumphant.”) Follow these four steps to create your own Day of the Dead home altar:

“It is a practice of communion with the saints. There is something precious embodied in the traditions of the Church,” Father Dominguez says.

IT IS NOT HALLOWEEN!

The Day of the Dead is often conflated with Halloween and the folk deity Santa Muerte, but it is not connected with either.

Halloween is traditionally a solemn Christian feast day that dates as far back as the 8th century. The feast day served as a vigil in which children went house to house asking for “soul cakes” to commemorate the faithful departed. The name comes from an old Scottish term meaning “All Hallows’ Eve,” or “All Holy Night,” the vigil of the Solemnity of All Saints on Nov. 1. In the 20th century, however, Halloween devolved into a secular holiday. In recent years, confusion about the feast days has led to popular culture incorporating Day of the Dead decorations and symbols during Halloween.

“Halloween is another old tradition, but the Day of the Dead is completely different and has no common elements,” Father Dominguez says.

The wrongly named Santa Muerte (“Saint Death”), most popular in Mexico, is a folk deity personifying death, equivocal to the Grim Reaper. Santa Muerte depicts a female skeleton clad in colorful robes and wearing a crown of flowers, akin to images of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It has gained a following in popular culture, much like that of macabre movies and music in the U.S., and it has become linked to organized crime and drug trafficking. However, this folk deity and its cult following should not be confused with the Catholic celebration of the Day of the Dead. In 2016, Pope Francis and Catholic bishops of the United States and Mexico condemned all things related to Santa Muerte.

CELEBRATING THE DEARLY DEPARTED

While popular culture has distorted the feasts of All Saints Day and All Souls’ Day, the Day of the Dead is a Mexican Catholic celebration that honors one’s deceased family and friends and reminds us to pray for the dead – a spiritual work of mercy. So, whether building home altars, decorating memorials or gathering with family around the dinner table, this traditional feast is not a time of celebrating death, but a special, holy day in which we pray and remember all the deceased. Through prayer and familial communion, we look beyond death toward life’s true purpose: eternal life with God.

STEP 1: Set up a three-tiered shelf or table in a prominent place in your home. On the top tier, prominently place a crucifix or icon of Our Lord, surrounded by images of saints or the Blessed Virgin Mary.

STEP 2: On the middle tier, place pictures or memorabilia of your deceased loved ones.

STEP 3: On the lowest tier, place favorite foods, candies or beverages of your deceased loved ones. Here, you can also place colorful skeletons or skulls made of sugar, clay or

— SueAnn Howell

chocolate as a reminder that death is a certainty for us all, yet in this life we strive for eternal life with God in heaven.

STEP 4: Use pieces of colorful paper, representing joy, to decorate and embellish your altar. Add flowers, such as yellow marigolds which symbolize Mary, to beautify the altar. Place votive candles on all three levels, symbolizing Christ as the Light of the World. Then throughout your family’s prayers and celebrations this holiday, remember your departed loved ones.

the Deadlos Muertos

Desde tiempos prehispánicos, los mexicanos tienen esa conexión con sus antepasados, sus ancestros fallecidos, a quienes tienen presente en su vida diaria.

La forma de no olvidarlos es contar con un día especialmente dedicado a ellos, en el que los vivos van a los cementerios para celebrar la fiesta con sus difuntos.

La Iglesia Católica celebra el 1 de noviembre el día de Todos los Santos, y al día siguiente el Día de los Santos Difuntos.

Los mexicanos, explica el Padre Domínguez, “el día 1, además de ir a Misa por el Día de Todos los Santos, recordamos a todos los niños pequeñitos que pasaron a mejor vida. El día 2 lo dedicamos a todos los adultos que nos antecedieron en la muerte”.

Son dos días de celebración en los que las personas se reúnen para orar por sus muertos y levantar altares donde colocan, entre otros elementos, las fotos de sus seres queridos que ya dejaron el mundo de los vivos.

“No estamos celebrando la muerte, sino que, siendo una fecha en la que todos los difuntos, sea que se encuentren en el cielo o en el purgatorio, festejan. Nosotros, desde la Tierra, nos unimos a ellos”, dijo el Padre Domínguez.

FIESTA SANTA

“La fiesta y el altar de los difuntos no tienen nada de sacrílego o satánico”, afirma categóricamente el Padre Domínguez, aclarando que si se utilizan calaveras es porque se tiene una clara conciencia de que la muerte es nuestro destino.

Incluso, algunos santos son representados portando calaveras. Así se recuerda que, pese a su sabiduría, la muerte puede llegar en cualquier momento.

A San Francisco de Asís se le suele representar con una calavera a sus pies, y San Jerónimo, en muchas de sus representaciones, aparece mirando fijamente una calavera.

En los altares, dice el Padre Domínguez, “se ubica a Cristo en lo alto, recordando que es nuestro Rey y fuimos redimidos por Él. Le siguen las imágenes de santos, y luego ya vienen las fotografías de nuestros familiares difuntos, por quienes oramos para que ganen el cielo”.

La comida que se coloca en el altar, o se ofrece en las visitas a los camposantos, es parte de la cultura mexicana, algo similar a las flores que en otras culturas se llevan a los cementerios.

“Es una práctica de comunión con los santos. Es algo precioso encarnado en las tradiciones de la Iglesia”, resalta el Padre Domínguez.

NO ES LA SANTA MUERTE

Este es un culto satánico. En 2017, los obispos de Estados Unidos y México condenaron el culto a esta figura de un esqueleto, muchas veces vinculada a la delincuencia organizada y el narcotráfico.

La confusión que ha generado este culto entre los católicos ha ocasionado que algunos se abstengan incluso de celebrar el día de Muertos para evitar malentendidos.

NO ES HALLOWEEN

El Padre Domínguez afirma que “esta es otra tradición bastante antigua, pero el Día de los Muertos es completamente diferente y no tiene elementos comunes”.

El origen de la palabra Halloween viene de “All Hallows’ Eve”, que quiere decir “víspera de todos los santos”.

“Las flores, la comida, el pan de muerto y todo lo demás, es algo que viene de siglos. De hecho, los misioneros franciscanos que llegaron a evangelizar el Nuevo Mundo cristianizaron la fiesta, que curiosamente se celebraba en fechas cercanas”, explicó el Padre Domínguez.

— César Hurtado

Altar de muertos

El artista y promotor de la cultura mexicana en Charlotte, Luis Abundez, explica que en la creencia purépecha, zona indígena de Michoacán, la jornada de las ánimas inicia en el cementerio, donde se adorna la tumba del familiar fallecido.

Ahí, aparte de otros elementos, se coloca una vela o linterna para guiar el alma desde el cementerio hasta el altar de la ofrenda.

El altar se instala en un lugar tranquilo y sin ruido de la casa para esperarlos en la tranquilidad absoluta.

Desde la entrada de la casa hasta el altar se colocan flores de cempasúchil y velas para que “la pureza de sus pies no se ensucie”.

El altar se adorna con las mismas flores de cempasúchil que representan la tierra, flores de nube blanca que significan el cielo, y de terciopelo morado para recordar la eternidad.

En el piso se coloca un petate, una pequeña alfombra de esterilla, para que las ánimas lleguen a descansar de su largo viaje.

El altar, que tiene tres niveles, guarda relación con los “niveles” de la Iglesia: la Iglesia militante, quienes vivimos en la tierra; la Iglesia purgante, las almas de los fallecidos que se encuentran en el purgatorio para prepararse para la visión beatífica de Dios; y la Iglesia triunfante, que se encuentra en el Cielo.

En el altar, de forma triangular, tiene una cruz, una imagen de la virgen, agua bendita y las fotografías de nuestros seres queridos que fallecieron.

Se presentan platillos de comida preferidos por los difuntos, sus gustos especiales, ropa, agua para mitigar la sed de su largo viaje. Es usual que se ponga sal, la que representa la pureza de las almas.

Las calaveritas de azúcar representan los familiares que apenas fallecieron o de quienes no tenemos una fotografía.

El arco que se coloca detrás sirve de alegoría a la puerta de entrada al Cielo. Por él regresan nuestros queridos y amados difuntos a la Casa del Padre Eterno.

La muerte para la cultura mexicana es algo que viene y es segura para todos. En lugar asustarnos con ella, los mexicanos la vemos como algo natural, como un paso a lo trascendente”, explicó el Padre Julio Domínguez, vicario episcopal del ministerio hispano de la Diócesis de Charlotte.

Domínguez

Las máscaras

Durante Halloween, la vigilia de la fiesta de Todos los Santos, no podemos caminar más de 10 pies en un centro comercial sin ver a las personas usando distintas máscaras y disfraces.

Creo que este es un momento apropiado para examinar las “máscaras” que todos nosotros tenemos y utilizamos cuando nos sentimos inseguros, cuando queremos ser más de lo que vemos en el espejo, cuando intentamos proyectar una falsa apariencia y esconder nuestras debilidades para alcanzar un propósito.

Las utilizamos muchas veces por miedo, para no ser juzgados, para no ser rechazados y en ocasiones nuestra vida termina siendo una mentira.

Pensamos que en nuestra vida las “máscaras” son necesarias y necesitamos esa protección que nos brinda, como cuando ostentamos un falso orgullo, superioridad.

Hoy, especialmente para los jóvenes, es difícil quitarse las máscaras y confiar. La vida sin máscaras nos puede hacer frágiles en nuestra relación con otras personas. Pero, esta es la realidad de nuestra vida y tener miedo no es una buena razón para intentar algo que nos traerá muchos beneficios.

Es importante que dejemos las máscaras de lado, que tratemos de ser honestos con nosotros mismos y hoy separaremos un tiempo de silencio, de reflexión, con música de fondo, velas, luces bajas, lo que mejor te funcione, para llegar al encuentro de nuestro propio ser.

Lo primero es reconocer y encontrar las “máscaras” que utilizamos en nuestra vida de trabajo, en la escuela, con los amigos, con mi familia, en la calle, etc.

Después de reconocer y nombrar las máscaras que empleamos para enfrentar la realidad, nos quedará claro que no somos transparentes, que estamos escondiendo algo a los demás. Y ya sabemos quien trabaja en la oscuridad. Y no es Dios quien está actuando en ello.

Esta tarea, dependiendo de nuestra vida y experiencias, nos puede tomar incluso varios días.

Cuando la termines, cierra los ojos e imagínate que Dios está frente a ti, como si fuera tu espejo, amándote tal cual eres, queriéndote como tú eres, sin máscaras.

Es importante reconocer que Dios nos ama tal cual somos, sin máscaras, porque nada puedo esconder al Señor,

En mi experiencia, he visto que esta reflexión puede transformar tu vida. Te permitirá amar y ser amado por un Dios que te quiere tal como eres.

José y Mary Teran de la Iglesia San Vicente de Paúl en Charlotte hablan con el Obispo Jugis después de la misa diocesana de aniversario de bodas el 23 de octubre en la iglesia Santa Ana. Están celebrando su 25 aniversario de bodas.

SUEANN HOWELL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Las parejas celebran su fe compartida, el don del amor matrimonial

SUEANN HOWELL sahowell@charlottediocese.org

CHARLOTTE — Después de una pausa de tres años debido a la pandemia, las parejas casadas que celebraban aniversarios importantes pudieron reunirse recientemente con el obispo Peter Jugis para la misa anual de aniversario de bodas de la Diócesis de Charlotte.

La misa del 23 de octubre en la iglesia Santa Ana reunió a más de 30 parejas que celebraron sus aniversarios de bodas número 25 y 50 en 2020, 2021 y 2022, así como parejas casadas por más de 50 años. Fue patrocinado por la nueva Oficina de Vida Familiar de la Diócesis de Charlotte.

En su homilía, el obispo Jugis destacó lo alentador e inspirador que fue ver a tantas parejas que habían viajado de toda la diócesis para estar presentes en la Misa y renovar su compromiso mutuo.

Jerry y Valerie Hackman estuvieron entre los que asistieron a la misa y viajaron desde Asheboro para celebrar los 64 años de matrimonio. Feligreses de la Iglesia Inmaculado Corazón de María en High Point, este fue su primer viaje a Charlotte.

Los Hackman se conocieron cuando Valerie estaba en la escuela secundaria. Se hicieron amigos por correspondencia mientras Jerry servía en el ejército de los EE. UU. durante la Guerra de Corea, y su relación floreció con el tiempo. Se casaron en la Iglesia la Sagrada Familia en Latrobe, Pensilvania, en 1958. Criaron a dos hijos y ahora tienen un nieto y dos bisnietos.

Los Hackman atribuyen la longevidad de su matrimonio a tener padres como buenos modelos a seguir, dándose mutuamente la libertad de perseguir sus intereses a lo largo de los años y un compromiso con la comunicación honesta.

“Tienen que hablar. Ambos tienen que ceder un poco”, dijo Valerie. “No ganas cada vez, ni pierdes cada vez”, agregó Jerry. Ambos coincidieron en que el humor también es importante para la salud de su matrimonio. “La risa es una gran parte de esto”, dijo Valerie.

Ryan y Shannon Gamble celebraron su 25 aniversario el año pasado y sintieron que era importante marcar este hito y celebrar su fe católica con otras parejas. Viven en Mooresville,

donde asisten a la iglesia Santa Teresa. Tienen dos hijos que ahora están en la universidad.

Ryan se convirtió al catolicismo cuando su hijo mayor tenía 2 años, unos seis años después de casarse en la iglesia San Pedro en Dayton, Ohio. “Queríamos criar a nuestros hijos juntos en una sola religión”, explicó Shannon.

Los Gamble se dedicaron el uno al otro, a su familia y a su fe. “Todo lo que hicimos siempre ha estado centrado en nuestros hijos y siempre ha involucrado a nuestra familia. He encontrado una familia en la iglesia durante mucho tiempo”, dijo Ryan.

El obispo Jugis se dirigió a todas las parejas: “Sabemos que el amor de Cristo es el fundamento de la vida de todo cristiano. De manera muy especial, el amor de Cristo está en el fundamento del sacramento del matrimonio, del santo matrimonio”.

“Jesucristo es el centro de toda la vida cristiana, especialmente de la vida matrimonial cristiana”, continuó. “Tener a Jesús en tu matrimonio hace que tu matrimonio sea más fuerte, y tu unión continua con Cristo hace que tu matrimonio sea más fuerte”.

Más online

En www.catholicnewsherald.com : Vea más fotos de la Misa anual de aniversario de bodas de la Diócesis de Charlotte

SUEANN HOWELL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD Más de 30 parejas que celebran aniversarios importantes renovaron su compromiso con sus cónyuges durante la Misa diocesana de aniversario de bodas.

LA HERMANA JOAN PEARSON es asistente del Vicario Episcopal del Ministerio Hispano de la Diócesis de Charlotte.

Hermana Joan Pearson, SSJ

Antorcha Guadalupana recorrerá cuatro vicariatos

CÉSAR HURTADO rchurtado@charlottediocese.org

CHARLOTTE — La carrera de relevos de la Antorcha Guadalupana que une México con Estados Unidos con el propósito de unir dos pueblos separados por una frontera, ser una llama viva de esperanza y lucha por los derechos de los migrantes, ya recorre territorio estadounidense y pronto ingresará a Carolina del Norte.

La Antorcha iniciará su recorrido en territorio diocesano el martes 8 de noviembre, cuando cruce la línea fronteriza entre Carolina del Sur y Carolina del Norte por la autopista 29, en la localidad de Grover.

VICARIATO DE CHARLOTTE

Será recibida inicialmente en la parroquia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en Charlotte, donde los organizadores la esperan alrededor de las 6 de la tarde.

Según informó Vicente Capistrano, coordinador de esa parroquia, un bosque de banderas latinoamericanas abrirá paso a la Antorcha y la caravana que lleva a los corredores con las imágenes de la Morenita del Tepeyac y San Juan Diego.

Un grupo de danzas folclóricas mexicanas les rendirá honores y acompañará la procesión que recorrerá el camino entre la Casa San Vicente y el templo.

En la puerta de la iglesia los corredores recibirán la bendición del Padre Warner Díaz, vicario parroquial, quien celebrará una Misa en honor a María de Guadalupe a las 7 de la noche.

El festejo concluirá con danzas y un frugal agasajo a los asistentes.

VICARIATO DE SALISBURY

La Antorcha partirá el 9 de noviembre con destino a Mocksville.

En su recorrido por el vicariato de Salisbury se detendrá en la parroquia San Francisco de Asís, donde llegará el miércoles 9 a las cinco de la tarde.

Ahí será recibida con todos los honores y conducida en procesión desde la calle hasta el interior del templo, donde se

celebrará una Misa a las 6 p.m.

Al término del oficio, se ofrecerá una recepción a los asistentes y las imágenes de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe y San Juan Diago permanecerán expuestas para la veneración de los fieles.

VICARIATO DE WINSTON-SALEM

El jueves 10 será recibida en la parroquia Divino Redentor en Boonville. Aún no contamos con la información detallada, pero ahí tradicionalmente se le recibe con danzas folclóricas en honor a María de Guadalupe. Luego se celebra Misa y posteriormente se concluye con un agasajo a los asistentes que veneran las imágenes que acompañan la Antorcha.

VICARIATO DE GREENSBORO

El viernes 11 se trasladará a la Iglesia Santa María en Greensboro, donde arribará a las 5 de la tarde bajo los compases de una banda oaxaqueña. A las 6:15 se celebrará la Santa Misa, concluyendo el servicio a las 8 de la noche.

Las imágenes y la antorcha pernoctarán en la parroquia, para el sábado 12 partir por la mañana a Nuestra Señora de los Caminos en Thomasville, donde recibirán el homenaje de la feligresía y clero.

Ese mismo día visitará la parroquia Inmaculado Corazón de María en High Point. Ahí permanecerá unas breves horas para luego retornar a la Iglesia Santa María, donde pasará la noche.

El domingo 13, la Antorcha será trasladada por corredores del vicariato de Greensboro hasta la Iglesia Inmaculada Concepción en Durham, ciudad del territorio de la Diócesis de Raleigh.

La Antorcha Guadalupana debe arribar a New York el 12 de diciembre, fecha central en que se celebran las apariciones de la Virgen María a San Juan Diego en el cerro Tepeyac, en la Ciudad de México.

Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, patrona espiritual de México, fue declarada en 1910 por el Papa Pío X como ‘Celestial Patrona de América Latina’. El Papa Pío XII la llamó ‘Emperatriz de las Américas’ en 1945.

Conferencia Catequética Diocesana se reanudará el 5 de noviembre

ANNIE FERGUSON arferguson@charlottediocese.org

CHARLOTTE — Los catequistas y todas las personas que enseñan la fe católica están invitados a asistir a la Conferencia Catequética Diocesana en el Centro de Convenciones Hickory Metro el 5 de noviembre. Coincidiendo con el 50 aniversario de la Diócesis de Charlotte, el tema de la conferencia es “La fe es más preciosa que el oro”.

Celebrada por primera vez desde 2019, el evento se extenderá de 8 de la mañana a 4 de la tarde. El Obispo Peter Jugis celebrará Misa a las 9:15 a.m., que será seguida de la presentación principal: “Fe Eucarística: fundamento de la identidad cristiana”, a cargo de John Bergsma, Ph.D., profesor de teología en la Universidad Franciscana de Steubenville. Después de la presentación del Dr. Bergsma seguirán tres sesiones de trabajo con una variedad de temas.

Los principales distribuidores de publicaciones como Augustine Institute, Our Sunday Visitor, St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology y Sophia Institute Press, exhibirán y venderán materiales para catequesis.

“El mayor atractivo para los asistentes es que estamos trayendo catequistas y líderes catequéticos parroquiales de toda la diócesis”, dijo Chris Beal, director de Formación en la Fe de la diócesis. “Les brinda la oportunidad no solo de escuchar a grandes oradores dinámicos, tanto a nivel nacional como local, sino también de reunirse y aprender unos de otros”.

La tercera sesión de grupo incluirá el intercambio entre los participantes sobre las mejores prácticas, consejos, desafíos y éxitos en la enseñanza. En esta sesión, las parroquias que tienen programas de formación en la fe conversarán sobre estos temas, dijo Beal.

Beal también señaló que en los últimos años aproximadamente la mitad de los 500 a 600 asistentes son parte del Ministerio Hispano. Debido a este hecho, dijo, las sesiones en español son importantes, por lo que el orador principal es el Padre Julio

César Domínguez, Vicario Episcopal de la diócesis para el Ministerio Hispano.

Otras charlas incluyen “Como involucrar a los padres y las familias en la catequesis”, dictada por el Dr. Joseph White; “Una respuesta pastoral a la ideología de género”, ofrecida por Theresa Farnan, Ph.D.; y “Filosofía católica: una defensa contra el relativismo” presentada por Paul Kotlowski. “Los Movimientos Apostólicos” del Padre Domínguez, “Formación Continua” del Diácono Eduardo Bernal, y “Espiritualidad Cotidiana” de Ibis Centeno, completan las sesiones en español. Se incluirán muchos otros temas, incluidas las redes sociales y la comunicación para la evangelización.

El registro en la sede de la conferencia comenzará a las 8 de la mañana y la última sesión de trabajo finalizará a las 4 de la tarde. Para obtener más información e inscribirse, visite www.charlottediocese. org/ev/conference

¿Tiene preguntas? Llame a la oficina de Educación del Vicariato, 704-370-3244.

PROPORCIONADO POR CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Bishop Peter Jugis dice la homilía en la Conferencia Catequética 2017 en Charlotte.

Consejos para un Halloween seguro

JOSÉ CAMPOS Especial para Catholic News Herald

CHARLOTTE — La noche de Halloween o noche de brujas, como se le conoce en algunos países, es una tradición que ha tomado mucho auge en los últimos años y se ha vuelto un evento muy comercial. Pero también es una oportunidad para que los niños se diviertan y pasen un tiempo con sus amiguitos y parientes.

Es importante tomar en consideración algunos elementos para que esta tradición no se convierta en tragedia o en un mal rato.

Vamos a proporcionar algunos buenos consejos para que este Halloween sea un día divertido para nuestros niños y jóvenes.

Primero que nada, asegúrese que el disfraz que va a usar su hijo (a) es apropiado para su edad y no sea ofensivo. Tome en cuenta que su niño va a estar caminando

por horas y un disfraz muy pesado o ajustado puede incomodar.

Lo más importante es que no deje que sus niños vayan solos a pedir caramelos, siempre debe de haber un adulto supervisando a los niños.

Recuerde que regularmente se sale a pedir caramelos por la noche, entonces asegúrese que sus niños usen algunas bandas reflectivas o linternas para que puedan ser vistos por los conductores que transitan por su área.

También tome en cuenta que muchos niños van a estar caminando por su vecindario, así que por favor maneje con mucho cuidado y ponga atención porque en cualquier momento un niño puede salir corriendo frente a su vehículo.

Es importante tomar en cuenta que algunas personas no participan de esta tradición. Si usted es una de estas personas por favor mantenga la luz del frente de su casa apagada, esto significa que usted no estará repartiendo caramelos ni participando del Halloween. Igualmente si

usted observa una casa con la luz apagada, simplemente camine a la siguiente.

Algo que es sumamente importante es que revise los caramelos que sus niños recogieron. Asegúrese que todos estén sellados de fábrica, nunca deje que su niño ingiera nada que haya sido alterado.

Tome en cuenta que algunos inconscientes traficantes están usando caramelos para mezclar su droga, o hacen que la droga parezca caramelos (Rainbow fentanyl o Marihuana comestible) para así poderla distribuir a los jóvenes. Estas drogas son mortales, y pueden ocasionar la muerte en minutos si no se tiene el antídoto.

Esperemos que este día de Halloween sea un día divertido para nuestros niños, y que no tengamos ningún inconveniente.

Padre Marcos Galvis predicó en Carolina del Norte

THOMASVILLE — Más de 700 fieles hispanos se reunieron por tres noches consecutivas en la Iglesia Nuestra Señora de los Caminos en Thomasville para ver y escuchar las prédicas y enseñanzas del Padre Marcos Galvis, quien viaja por Estados Unidos. El Padre Galvis nació el 18 de agosto de 1989 en Venezuela. Desde que fue ordenado hace 6 años comenzó a llevar la Palabra de Dios a la gente y a estudiar la Biblia. Utiliza las redes sociales YouTube e Instagram, donde cuenta con más de 250K visitas y 75K seguidores en Instagram. Continuará en su gira por varios otros estados, incluidos Carolina del Sur, Florida, Arkansas y California. Como última parada antes de regresar a Venezuela, el Padre Galvis planea visitar Jerusalén para seguir los pasos de Jesús. Afirma que su misión se puede resumir en el versículo bíblico de Marcos 16:15, “Vayan por todo el mundo y proclamen el Evangelio a toda criatura”.

Celebraron domingo catequético

BOONVILLE — Dos parroquias de la Vicaría de Winston-Salem: Divino Redentor y San Benito el Moro, celebraron el ‘Domingo Catequético’, una oportunidad para agradecer a los catequistas por su trabajo, quienes aprovecharon también para reflexionar sobre su llamado a vivir y compartir su fe. Durante la celebración los sacerdotes oraron por los catequistas elevando una plegaria especial que se encuentra en el Misal Romano. Después se les dio un reconocimiento personalizado. El Domingo Catequético fue festejado el pasado 18 de septiembre en todo Estados Unidos. Catequistas y maestros fueron comisionados para compartir su ministerio bajo el tema “Este es mi cuerpo que se entrega por ustedes”, tomado del Evangelio de Lucas 22:19.

JOSÉ CAMPOS es el oficial de Enlace Comunitario de la Policía de Charlotte con la comunidad Latina.

SERGIO LÓPEZ | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

FOTOS POR JOE THORNTON | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

San Carlos Borromeo: Patrono de catequistas y seminaristas

Cada 4 de noviembre la Iglesia Católica celebra a San Carlos Borromeo, Arzobispo de Milán y personaje importantísimo de la contrarreforma católica en el siglo XVI.

El Papa San Juan Pablo II le tenía un gran aprecio y devoción, y lo consideraba su santo patrono.

San Carlos Borromeo nació en Italia en 1538 en el seno de una familia noble. Su tío fue el Papa Pío IV, quien lo mandó llamar a Milán para que lo asista en la administración de su pontificado.

Pio IV lo hizo ocupar altos cargos eclesiásticos, en los que se desempeñó con eficiencia, pulcritud y humildad. Fue nombrado arzobispo de Milán y posteriormente cardenal. Participó en la organización y desarrollo del Concilio de Trento, haciendo una importante contribución desde la Secretaría de Estado del Vaticano.

Como funcionario, se preocupó por la formación de los sacerdotes. Destituyó a muchos presbíteros indignos y los reemplazó por personas que cumplían con las condiciones de honorabilidad y fidelidad a la Iglesia.

Por su diligencia y celo evangélico, así como cosechó muchos frutos para Dios, se hizo de muchos enemigos. Incluso, en alguna oportunidad, su vida corrió grave peligro cuando un grupo de miembros de la orden de los Humiliati, poseedora de monasterios, tierras y otras propiedades, intentaron desprestigiarlo ante el Papa.

Al no conseguir su cometido, tres priores de dicha orden armaron un complot para matarlo, y Jerónimo Donati, sacerdote de los Humiliati, le disparó a Borromeo mientras rezaba en la capilla de su casa,

pero providencialmente solo quedó herido.

Durante la peste que se propagó en Milán, San Carlos se puso al cuidado de los enfermos. Fue el organizador del clero y las órdenes religiosas que salieron al encuentro de los contagiados, necesitados de asistencia médica y espiritual.

Borromeo atendió personalmente a cientos de moribundos, y fue gestor de la ayuda económica a las víctimas y sus familias.

San Carlos fue amigo de mucha gente de bien y servidores de la Iglesia, algunos de ellos santos, como es el caso de San Francisco de Borja, San Felipe Neri, San Pío V, San Félix de Cantalicio, San Andrés Avelino entre otros más. San Carlos fue quien le dio la primera comunión a un adolescente San Luis Gonzaga. A los 46 años cayó enfermo y finalmente fue llamado a la presencia de Dios el 4 de noviembre de 1584.

San Juan Pablo II, en noviembre de 1981, resaltó ciertos detalles que lo asemejaban a San Carlos Borromeo y que, de hecho, lo unieron mucho con él. El primer detalle tiene que ver precisamente con el nombre: “Karol” (Wojtila) es “Carlos”. San Juan Pablo II había recibido el nombre del santo en su bautismo.

El segundo detalle es que ambos sobrevivieron milagrosamente a atentados contra sus vidas.

El tercero está en los Concilios. San Carlos Borromeo participó en el Concilio de Trento y San Juan Pablo II del Concilio Vaticano II. Además, a los dos los unió un profundo amor y respeto por los pobres y enfermos, y fueron amados por la gente de manera entrañable.

— Condensado de ACI Prensa

Lecturas Diarias

OCTUBRE 30-NOVIEMBRE 5

Domingo: Sabiduría 11:22-12:2, 2

Tesalonicenses 1:11-2:2, Lucas 19:1-10; Lunes: Filipenses 2:1-4, Lucas 14:1214; Martes (Solemnidad de Todos los Santos): Apocalipsis 7:2-4, 9-14, 1 Juan 3:1-3, Mateo 5:1-12; Miércoles (Todos los fieles difuntos): Sabiduría 3:1-9, Romanos 5:5-11, Juan 6:37-40; Jueves: Filipenses 3:3-8, Lucas 15:1-10; Viernes (San Carlos Borromeo): Filipenses 3:17-4:1, Lucas 16:1-8; Sábado: Filipenses 4:10-19, Lucas 16:9-15

NOVIEMBRE 6-12

Domingo: 2 Macabeos 7:1-2, 9-14, 2 Tesalonicenses 2:16-3:5, Lucas 20:2-38; Lunes: Tito 1:1-9, Lucas 17:1-6; Martes: Tito 2:1-8, 11-14, Lucas 17:9-10; Miércoles (Fiesta de la Dedicación de la Basílica de Letrán): Ezequiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12, 1 Corintios 3:9-11, 16-17, Juan 2:13-22; Jueves (San León Magno): Filemón 7:20, Lucas 17:20-25; Viernes (San Martín de Tours): 2 Juan 4:9, Lucas 17:26-37; Sábado (San Josafat): 3 Juan 5:8, Lucas 18:1-8

NOVIEMBRE 13-19

Domingo: Malaquías 3:19-20, 2 Tesalonicenses 3:7-12, Lucas 21:5-19; Lunes: Apocalipsis 1:1-4, 2:1-5, Lucas 18:35-43; Martes: Apocalipsis 3:1-6, 14-22, Lucas 19:1-10; Miércoles: Apocalipsis 4:1-11, Lucas 19:11-28; Jueves (Santa Isabel de Hungría): Apocalipsis 5:1-10, Lucas 19:4144; Viernes: Apocalipsis 10:8-11, Lucas 19:45-48; Sábado: Apocalipsis 11:4-12, Lucas 20:27-40

FOTO CORTESÍA MUSEO DEL PRADO, MADRID ‘San Carlos Borromeo’, 1702, óleo sobre lienzo de Giordano Luca, Nápoles, 1634-1705

Peregrinación

Mariana

Una estatua especialmente encargada de María, Madre de Dios, está visitando más de 100 lugares en toda la Diócesis de Charlotte durante el año del aniversario. Las próximas visitas incluyen:

IGLESIA CATÓLICA SAN JAMES

Hasta el 30 de octubre 1018 W. Hamlet Ave., Hamlet, N.C. 28345

IGLESIA CATÓLICA MARÍA AUXILIADORA

Del domingo 30 de octubre al jueves 3 de noviembre 818 McGowan Road, Shelby, N.C. 28150

IGLESIA CATÓLICA Y ESCUELA SAN MICHAEL

3-7 de noviembre 708 St. Michaels Lane, Gastonia, N.C. 28052

IGLESIA CATÓLICA INMACULADA CONCEPCIÓN

10-13 de noviembre 1024 W. Main St., Forest City, N.C. 28043

IGLESIA CATÓLICA SAN CARLOS BORROMEO

13-16 de noviembre 728 W. Union St., Morganton, N.C. 28655

IGLESIA CATÓLICA SAN FRANCISCO DE ASÍS

16-20 de noviembre 328-B Woodsway Lane N.W., Lenoir, N.C. 28645

IGLESIA CATÓLICA SAN BENEDICTO MORO Y MISIÓN CATÓLICA DEL BUEN PASTOR

20-23 de noviembre 1625 E. 12th St., Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101 105 Good Shepherd Dr., King, N.C. 27021

Para obtener más información sobre estas paradas de peregrinación, visite el website del 50 aniversario de la Diócesis de Charlotte, www. faithmorepreciousthangold.com

Oración Para el 50 Aniversario

Padre Celestial, acepta nuestra humilde oración de alabanza y gratitud mientras celebramos con alegría los cincuenta años de la Diócesis de Charlotte. A lo largo de nuestra historia, los fieles del oeste de Carolina del Norte, bajo el cuidado de estimados obispos y abades, han sido alimentados por tu mano providencial. Confiamos en que invitas a tus hijos a implorar tus constantes bendiciones, te pedimos que sigas derramando tu gracia celestial sobre nosotros. Con afecto y devoción filial, te pedimos además que veas con buenos ojos las oraciones que pedimos por la intercesión de nuestra venerable patrona, la Santísima Virgen María, que con atención maternal atiende las necesidades y preocupaciones de la Iglesia. Te lo pedimos por nuestro Señor Jesucristo, tu Hijo, que vive y reina contigo en la unidad del Espíritu Santo, Dios por los siglos de los siglos. Amén.

SERIE DE ARTE MARIANO

El retablo ‘Las Virgenes de Gante’ Los hermanos Van Eyck (1432)

TRICIA KENT Especial para The Catholic News Herald

Cuando pensamos en famosas pinturas de la Santísima Virgen María, nuestros pensamientos frecuentemente se vuelven hacia Da Vinci, Rafael y Botticelli. Estos hombres y un puñado de otros gigantes del Renacimiento italiano parecen comandar todas las reproducciones. Aún así, a pesar de la fama de estos grandes nombres, los historiadores del arte colocan continuamente un retablo de políptico del siglo XV como una de las obras de arte más importantes de la historia: el retablo “Las Virgenes de Gante”.

Acreditado a los hermanos flamencos Hubert y Jan van Eyck, este trabajo realizado en Bélgica se ha convertido en materia de novelas y ha sido argumento para películas de Hollywood, donde aparece perseguido por Napoleón y codiciado por los nazis. En algún momento llamado “Adoración del Cordero Místico” por el tema de su panel central, tiene la dudosa distinción de ser la obra de arte robada con más frecuencia de todos los tiempos.

El gran retablo fue diseñado para ser doblado. Cuando está cerrado en temporadas penitenciales, los paneles que se muestran están en tonos apagados. Cuando se abren para Pascua y Pentecostés, están inundados de colores vivos y son ricos en profundidad y detalle increíbles, y se ejecutan a un nivel que rara vez se ha alcanzado antes o después. Entre las principales figuras representadas en la obra, dos son de la Virgen María.

María en los paneles cerrados es una Anunciación, el momento de la Encarnación cuando el Espíritu Santo desciende sobre la

niña de Nazaret. Con su túnica inmaculada y expresión reticente, se aparta del Ángel Gabriel en la personificación perfecta de la Inmaculada Concepción sin pecado. Van Eyck nos muestra a una mujer joven que es el Arca virginal de la Nueva Alianza, que acepta voluntariamente mientras el Todopoderoso la eclipsa. Junto a su cabeza en latín está escrito “He aquí la sierva del Señor” con la escritura al revés para que Dios pueda ver lo que se dirige solo a Él.

En marcado contraste y color impactante, la María del retablo abierto es una Reina del Cielo resplandeciente. Todavía virginal y absorta en la Palabra de Dios, ahora se la muestra como Nuestra Señora, una Reina. Ella se sienta en un nicho dorado a la derecha de una poderosa figura central de Cristo/Padre. Está adornada y enjoyada con esplendor real y pintada con túnicas del azul más profundo y fino. Aquí vemos una promesa visual de nuestra propia redención. Esta María, como la llamó Wordsworth, es “el alarde solitario de nuestra naturaleza contaminada”.

El retablo en su totalidad se ha llamado perfectamente adecuado para la Liturgia. La enorme obra está llena de simbolismo y está diseñada para la meditación durante la Misa. En sus numerosos paneles, los creyentes pueden contemplar la panoplia completa del Misterio Pascual y el papel de María en la historia de la salvación como la mujer elegida desde siempre para ser la Madre de Dios.

TRICIA KENT es feligresa de la parroquia Santo Tomás de Aquino en Charlotte.

Oraciones y devociones

El tema del 50 Aniversario, “La fe es más preciosa que el oro” (1 Pedro 1:7), alienta el uso de las oraciones, devociones y sacramentales probados y verdaderos de la Iglesia, que durante siglos han acercado a las personas a Dios. Pidamos con confianza las gracias que esperamos recibir de Dios al celebrar la fundación de la Diócesis de Charlotte. Santa María, Madre de Dios, ruega por nosotros.

Intención de oración de octubre

Por los padres. Que Dios, por intercesión de los santos Ana y Joaquín, den fuerza y virtud a los padres, para que sean verdaderos testigos de fe y de caridad para con sus hijos.

Santo del mes San John Newman

Fecha de la fiesta: 9 de octubre

Pope names pastor in New Orleans as auxiliary bishop of Atlanta

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pope Francis has appointed Father John-Nhan Tran, a priest in the Archdiocese of New Orleans and pastor of Mary Queen of Peace in Mandeville, Louisiana, as auxiliary bishop of Atlanta. Bishop-designate Tran, 56, was born in Vietnam and escaped with his family to the United States after the Vietnam War as a refugee when he was 9. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1992. His appointment was announced Oct. 25 in Washington by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the Vatican nuncio to the United States. The bishop-designate attended Don Bosco College in Newton, New Jersey, and St. Joseph Seminary College in St. Benedict, Louisiana. He earned a master of divinity in theology from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. He has served at eight parishes in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Cardinal Gregory blesses shrine’s replacement of vandalized Mary statue

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ten months after a marble statue of Our Lady of Fatima in the Rosary Walk and Garden outside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was vandalized and destroyed beyond repair, a replacement statue was blessed Oct. 23 by Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory. “We have gathered here in joy for the solemn blessing of this image of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” the cardinal said, praying that those who honor Mary “be of one mind with Christ and trace in their hearts the pattern of Mary’s holiness. May they search for peace, strive for justice, and realize your love, as they pursue their journey through life toward your heavenly city, where the Blessed Virgin Mary intercedes as mother and reigns as queen,” the cardinal prayed. The new statue is an exact duplicate of the original statue that was vandalized Dec. 6, 2021. National Shrine security camera footage recorded a man climbing the garden’s locked fence and attacking the statue with a hammer after cutting off the statue’s hands. Msgr. Walter Rossi, rector of the National Shrine, noted that the replacement statue was carved following the exact specifications of the original, which could not be repaired after the attack. “Her hands were cut off, her nose and face were disfigured, and her crown was destroyed,” he said.

Our nation

Cardinal visits New Orleans congregation whose founder is up for sainthood

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

NEW ORLEANS — The Sisters of the Holy Family used a recent visit by Cardinal Peter Turkson to update him on the status of the sainthood cause for Mother Henriette Delille, the free woman of color who founded the congregation in New Orleans in 1842.

Mother Delille was declared “venerable” by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 after what is now called the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints approved historical documentation that she had practiced a life of “heroic virtue.”

After eating breakfast with 35 sisters at the motherhouse Sept. 28, Cardinal Turkson was briefed for 15 minutes on Mother Delille’s cause by Sister Alicia Costa, congregational leader; former congregational leader Sister Sylvia Thibodeaux, head of the Delille Commission Office; and Sister Jean Martinez, assistant congregational leader.

Documents detailing an alleged miraculous healing through Mother Delille’s intercession were submitted to the dicastery, also in 2010, but the sisters were told by the sainthood congregation that more information was needed.

In 2016, an investigation into another alleged miracle was launched by the Diocese of Little Rock, which issued a decree of judicial validity Dec. 7, 2018. The sisters are awaiting the results of that process. If that miracle is approved by the Vatican panel and, ultimately, by the pope, Mother Delille would be declared “blessed,” the third step in the canonization process.

Another miracle would be needed for Mother Delille’s canonization.

Cardinal Turkson praised the sisters for continuing the 180-year ministry of their foundress, who educated the enslaved at a time in pre-Civil War New Orleans when that was against the law. Mother Delille also opened up a home to care for elderly African Americans.

“Sisters, I just want to encourage you and assure you of the support of our prayers and make myself an apostle of your congregation,” Cardinal Turkson told the nuns.

“That means, when I get to situations when I talk about this – in the Virgin Islands, in St. Thomas and St. Croix – I can tell people who are still thinking about this way of life that, please God, here is where they can come and serve the Lord,” he said.

Cardinal Turkson was the first cardinal to visit the Sisters of the Holy Family. He was in New Orleans to address a Sept. 29-Oct. 1 symposium for Catholic business leaders held at Xavier University of Louisiana and Loyola University New Orleans.

“It’s not every day we get to have a cardinal visit our humble home,” Sister Costa told the Clarion Herald, New Orleans’ archdiocesan newspaper. “We are celebrating 180 years of existence this

year, and that, in itself, is a miracle.”

Mother Delille is one of six African American Catholics up for sainthood. The others are Mother Mary Lange, founder of the Oblate Sisters of Providence; Sister Thea Bowman, the first African American member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration; Julia Greeley, known as the city of Denver’s “Angel of Charity”; and Father Augustus Tolton, the first recognized African American priest ordained for the U.S. Catholic Church – all four of whom have the title “Servant of God” – and Pierre Toussaint, a Haitian American hairdresser, philanthropist and former slave brought to New York City. Like Mother Delille, he has the title “venerable.”

Please pray for the following deacons who died during the month of October:

John Gallen 10/26/1996

Frank Aversa 10/2/2005

Pe Nhia Cha Lee 10/17/2018

CNS | PETER FINNEY JR., CLARION HERALD

Cardinal Peter Turkson, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, meets with Sisters of the Holy Family in New Orleans Sept. 28. Their meeting was to discuss the sainthood cause for Mother Henriette Delille, the free woman of color who founded the congregation in 1842 to educate the enslaved and care for the elderly. She has been declared “Venerable,” and her cause rests with the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

Our world

Vatican, China renew agreement on appointing bishops

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY — Saying it is committed to “respectful dialogue” with China’s communist government and to “fostering the mission of the Catholic Church and the good of the Chinese people,” the Vatican announced it has renewed its agreement with China on the appointment of bishops.

The “provisional agreement,” forged in 2018 and renewed in 2020, has been extended for another two years, the Vatican announced Oct. 22.

The text of the agreement has never been made public, but Vatican officials said it outlines procedures for ensuring Catholic bishops are elected by the Catholic community in China and approved by the pope before their ordinations and installations.

In the past four years only six bishops have been named and installed under the terms of the agreement.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, interviewed by Vatican News Oct. 22, noted that the achievements of the agreement also included the lifting of the excommunications or irregular status of seven bishops who had been ordained with government approval, but not the Vatican’s consent and, he said, “the first six ‘clandestine’ bishops have also succeeded in being registered and thus have had their position made official, being recognized as bishops by public institutions.”

Many dioceses are still without bishops or have very elderly bishops, he said, but the process is continuing.

However, Cardinal Parolin also acknowledged “there are dioceses in which, despite all efforts and good will, no fruitful dialogue exists with local authorities.”

The agreement is still “provisional” because “we are still in the experimentation phase,” the cardinal said. “As is always the case, such difficult and delicate situations require adequate time for implementation in order to then be able to verify the effectiveness of the result and identify possible improvements.”

“Pope Francis – with determination and patient foresight – has decided to continue along this path, not under the illusion of finding perfection in human rules, but in the concrete hope of being able to assure Chinese Catholic communities, even in such a complex context, of the guidance of pastors who are worthy and suitable for the task entrusted to them,” Cardinal Parolin said.

The cardinal reaffirmed what Pope Francis and Vatican officials have said all along: giving up full control over the choice of bishops is not what the Vatican would have hoped for, but it seemed to be a good first step toward ensuring greater freedom and security for the Catholic community in China.

The deal, however, has been criticized by several prominent figures, including by Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, retired archbishop of Hong Kong, who said the agreement would “kill” the unofficial or underground Church in China, whose leaders refuse to register with the

state-run Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.

Cardinal Parolin told Vatican News that the agreement is not primarily about diplomatic relations with China. Rather, he said, “it mainly concerns aspects that are essential to the daily life of the Church in China. I am thinking, for example, of the validity of the sacraments celebrated and the certainty for millions of Chinese faithful that they will be able to live out their faith in full Catholic communion, without thereby being suspected of not being loyal citizens to their country.”

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, whose maternal grandfather was Chinese, told Fides, the news agency of the Dicastery for Evangelization, that in China “historical events had led to painful wounds within the Church, to the point of casting a shadow of suspicion on the sacramental life itself. So, there were things at stake that touch the intimate nature of the Church and her mission of salvation.”

The agreement attempts “to safeguard the valid apostolic succession and the sacramental nature of the Catholic Church in China,” Cardinal Tagle said. “This can reassure, comfort and enliven baptized Catholics in China.”

Posters of Chinese President Xi Jinping hang on the wall of the house of a Tibetan Catholic during a Mass celebrated by Father Yao Fei on Christmas Eve in Niuren village, in China’s Yunnan province, in this Dec. 24, 2018, file photo.

CNS | TYRONE SIU, REUTERS

As a byproduct of its dialogue with the Chinese government, he said, “one of the wishes of the Holy See has always been to foster reconciliation, and to see the lacerations and contrasts opened within the Church by the tribulations it has gone through, healed. Certain wounds need time and God’s consolation in order to be healed.”

The Vatican is not naive, he said. “The Holy See has never spoken of the agreement as the solution of all problems. It has always been perceived and affirmed that the path is long, it can be tiring and that the agreement itself could cause misunderstandings and disorientation.”

In addition, the Vatican would not and does not ignore or minimize the suffering and the different reactions of Chinese Catholics to the agreement, he said. The joy of some and the perplexity of others “is part of the process. But one always has to dirty one’s hands with the reality of things as they are.”

“Many signs attest that many Chinese Catholics have grasped the inspiration followed by the Holy See in the ongoing process,” he said. “They are grateful and comforted for a process that confirms before all their full communion with the pope and the universal Church.”

Religious workers in Cameroon freed after more than a month

YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon — After over a month in captivity, the five priests, a nun and three other church workers kidnapped from St. Mary’s Parish in Nchang have been freed. “I announce with great joy the release of all nine who were abducted,” Bishop Aloysius Fondong Abangalo of Mamfe said Oct. 23. “I am sincerely grateful to all who joined us in the collective effort in praying for the safety and release of our brothers and sisters,” he said in a statement. “Words will only do scant justice in expressing my sentiments of gratitude to all those who collaborated with us in the process of negotiating for their safety and release.” The bishop did not give details on how the kidnapped religious were released, but an official of the Nigerian Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons said his office was involved. Nchang borders Nigeria. Speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of being targeted, the Nigerian official said a refugee who was in contact with the kidnappers and their activities acted as an informant to his office. He said his office worked collaboratively with several government offices and the refugee to finally secure the release of the religious.

Pope urges French politicians to reject euthanasia

VATICAN CITY — As France begins a national debate on euthanasia, Pope Francis urged politicians from the country’s northern region to reject the “throwaway culture” and instead focus on providing care and relief to those nearing the end of their lives. “I dare to hope that on such essential issues the debate can be conducted in truth to accompany life to its natural end and not to get caught up in this throwaway culture that is everywhere,” the pope said Oct. 21 as he met with mayors and other elected local, regional and national officials making a pilgrimage sponsored by the Archdiocese of Cambrai. French President Emmanuel Macron, who is scheduled to meet with Pope Francis Oct. 24, announced in early September the beginning of a nationwide discussion about allowing euthanasia in some cases; he called for local debates, countrywide consultations with health care workers and discussions with political parties to reach a decision in 2023. Pope Francis began his talk to the pilgrims by noting how much the region and people of Cambrai had suffered with shuttering of coal mines, steel mills and textile factories, and he urged the officials to pay particular attention to the region’s poor and needy. “Welcome and care” must be the guiding principles of their public policies, the pope told them.

Pope: Church’s concern for the family goes beyond focus on couples

VATICAN CITY — The importance of the family for the Catholic Church and for society means that theological reflection on family life and pastoral responses to the joys and problems of families must focus on more than the relationship between a husband and wife, Pope Francis said. “Theology itself is called to elaborate a Christian vision of parenthood, filiality, fraternity – therefore, not only of the conjugal bond – that corresponds to the family experience within the horizon

of the entire human community,” the pope told staff and students of the Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute for the Sciences of Marriage and Family. The audience Oct. 24 marked the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’ refoundation of the institute established by St. John Paul II in 1982 after the 1980 Synod of Bishops on the family called for the creation of centers devoted to the study of the Church’s teaching on marriage and family life. The expansion of the institute’s focus was criticized by some groups as lessening a focus on traditional Catholic teaching about the sacrament of marriage and marital relations. Pope Francis acknowledged those criticisms at the audience but said, “it would be gravely mistaken” for anyone to read the institute’s expanded focus “in terms of opposition to the mission it received with its original institution.”

Catholics work to help Venezuelans expelled to Mexico

MEXICO CITY — Catholics working with migrants have mobilized to assist Venezuelans who are arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in record numbers but are being expelled back to Mexico under pandemic-era health restrictions.

The Mexican branches of Jesuit Migration Service and Jesuit Refugee Service, along with the Hope Border Institute, also expressed sorrow over a decision by the United States and Mexico to expel Venezuelans irregularly crossing the U.S.-Mexico border under Title 42, saying it leaves migrants unprotected and violates their right to seek asylum. One official of Jesuit Migration Service said some expelled Venezuelans arrive back in Mexico confused and with little information. In a statement

Oct. 13, the three organizations said, “The expansion of Title 42 to cover Venezuelans is an abuse of a public health order to dissuade those who are asylum-seekers or need protection without any legal or moral basis.”

The statement was issued in the border city of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas. “We urge the governments of both countries to act immediately, allocate all human, economic and adequate infrastructure resources to guarantee their accommodation, clear information and legal advice about their migratory situation, as well as food services and psychological first aid.”

The organizations said they had worked with some 330 Venezuelans being returned.

WARSAW, Poland — A Ukrainian bishop has warned of a humanitarian disaster caused by Russian attacks on his country’s power and water supplies and predicted a “huge new wave of refugees” desperate to survive winter.

“While front-line fighting continues, we now face constant attacks from Russia’s S-300 missiles and Iranian kamikaze drones – it’s worst at night, when people go to sleep not knowing if their apartment block will be hit,” said Auxiliary Bishop Jan Sobilo of KharkivZaporizhzhia. “Many who never previously considered leaving are now in western Ukraine or have left the country, and I think another huge wave of refugees will soon converge on Poland and other countries. If there’s no water, gas or electricity in their homes, how can they stay there?” The Zaporizhzhia-based bishop spoke as Russian strikes continued against civilian targets in Kyiv and other cities, wrecking infrastructure and energy supplies in the approach to winter. In an Oct. 21 Catholic News Service interview, he said some parts of his eastern city were already experiencing power and water cuts, sometimes for hours, while many residents left the city at night for safety, to sleep in makeshift facilities.

Your

Ukraine bishop predicts new exodus of refugees: ‘How can they stay?’

ViewPoints

As the new editor of the Catholic News Herald, I would like to briefly introduce myself to all of you loyal readers.

I am honored to have been chosen for this position. In fact, when I was maybe 7 or 8 years old, I told my mother during religion class (my brother, sister and I were homeschooled) that, “One day, maybe I could be a reporter or editor of the Catholic News Herald. That way I can write stories and serve God.” My mother laughed lovingly but dismissively at the comment, as all good mothers should, redirecting me from daydreaming back to the schoolwork at hand.

My parents encouraged me to read and write, shaping what would become my career as a fiction writer and poet, and now as editor of the Catholic News Herald.

First and foremost, I am husband to my beautiful wife Amanda and father to our 3-year-old son Leo. I received all of my first sacraments at Good Shepherd Mission in King, where I grew up, and I was confirmed by Bishop Peter Jugis. That parish is still very dear to my heart. When I was in elementary school, I became pen pals with then Bishop William Curlin. Several times a month I would update the bishop on my schoolwork, drum lessons and altar

server training, all the while asking questions about his life and missionary work with Mother Teresa. The bishop wrote back to every letter I sent, and we continued our correspondence until his retirement.

My wife and I were married in 2018 at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro by Father Christian Cook. Before joining the Catholic News Herald, I taught literature and writing at St. Leo the Great School in Winston-Salem.

I attended Ave Maria University in Florida and Salem College in WinstonSalem, and have a degree in literature and creative writing. I have more than 10 years of experience as a journalist, editor and professional author.

The mission of the Catholic News Herald, and now my mission, is: “Serving Christ and connecting Catholics in western North Carolina.” I hope to serve the people of this diverse diocese well, and I promise I will work hard to do just that. Prayer has been at the root of my life and will continue to be at the root of this publication.

I know you are devoted to our Church and to the communities you serve. I hope to serve you well in this new calling of mine, and all of us at the Catholic News Herald ask for your prayers. May Our Lord bless you all and keep you forever in His grace.

If you ever have questions or comments, please feel free to reach out: skmbrown@rcdoc.org or 704-808-4528.

— Spencer K. M. Brown

Protecting God’s Children

We proclaim Christ to the world around us by our efforts to provide a safe environment for all people, especially the young and the vulnerable.

The Catholic Church is absolutely committed to the safety of children. Together we can make a Promise to Protect and a Pledge to Heal.

Suspect sexual abuse or misconduct?

If you have information about possible sexual abuse or misconduct by any clergy, employee or volunteer of the Diocese of Charlotte, report concerns safely, securely and anonymously 24/7 over the phone using the diocese’s new hotline, 1-888-630-5929, or online: www.RedFlagReporting.com/RCDOC

Please note: If you suspect a child is in danger, please contact 9-1-1 or your local law enforcement agency.

Safe Environment training

Every Church worker must go through abuse prevention and education training. Find more information about the Diocese of Charlotte’s Safe Environment program, sign up for Protecting God’s Children training and more: Go to www.charlottediocese.org and click on “Safe Environment”

For more information or questions, please contact the diocese’s Human Resources Office: www.charlottediocese.org/human-resources or 704-370-6299.

Loving beauty early

With the great heritage of beauty from Scripture and Tradition in mind, Pope Francis turned his attention to the evangelical power of beauty in his Apostolic Exhortation “The Joy of the Gospel.” There he writes: “Every form of catechesis would do well to attend to the ‘way of beauty’ or the ‘via pulchritudinis.’”

St. John Paul II also called for a greater attentiveness to beauty in his “Letter to Artists” when he said that “beauty is a call to transcendence. … The beauty of created things can never fully satisfy. It stirs that hidden nostalgia for God.” In the same letter, he urges an attentiveness to “new epiphanies of beauty.”

So, what then are the new epiphanies of beauty that we need to see and point out to our children so that they can love beauty early and not late? In our efforts to evangelize, how can we more effectively lead with beauty? Here are a few thoughts about how we all can behold beauty, love it and how it can lead us to the beauty of God.

THE BEAUTY OF PEOPLE

Have you ever sat waiting for a plane at the airport and just spent time “people watching”? Observing people from all over the world coming and going definitely takes you out of yourself. The truth dawns on us that each human life is unique and uniquely beautiful. Just as Christ’s beauty was hidden beneath wounds and bruises, so everyone has a beauty beneath our fallen nature. Yet the beauty of others is so easy to miss and ignore, as it was by the rich man with Lazarus.

THE BEAUTY OF TRUTH

The poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats ends with the line “Beauty is truth, truth beauty – that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.” Like beauty, truth conforms us to itself. Having a passion for truth takes us on an adventure of discovery outside ourselves. Whether the truth we discover is scientific truth, religious truth or moral truth, all truth makes demands on us and calls for us to change. As truth is beautiful, so lies and deceit are ugly.

THE BEAUTY OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

A phrase we often hear is that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” I have always struggled to accept this. For example, if you see a painting by Caravaggio and make up your mind that you don’t like it, then the problem is with you, not with Caravaggio! Or if we enter Chartes Cathedral in France and remain indifferent to the beauty found there, then the problem is with us and not the people who designed this magnificent building. The Church’s patrimony includes an awesome array of art and beautiful buildings that serve to draw people into an experience of beauty and transcendence. Art and architecture serve to lift our hearts, minds and souls toward the divine.

THE BEAUTY OF MUSIC

Again, the same is true of beautiful music as it is for art. If I don’t like Allegri’s “Miserere mei” or a Mozart symphony, then the problem is on my side.

For St. Augustine, beautiful music helped to break open his deafness to hear and sense the beauty of God: “How I wept during your hymns and songs! I was deeply moved by the music of the sweet chants of your Church. The sounds flowed into my ears and the truth was distilled into my heart. This caused the feelings of devotion to overflow. Tears ran and it was good for me to have that experience” (“Confessions,” 96).

THE BEAUTY OF MARY AND THE SAINTS

The liturgy is our encounter with heavenly realities. It is the place where the divine encounters our humanity in a way that renews God’s image and likeness within us. Therefore, the liturgy both helps us to see again the beauty of God and makes us radiant with that same beauty. In the saints, we see God’s grace triumphant in human lives, with God’s beauty shining through them. In a special way, the feast days of the Blessed Virgin Mary show us how God’s grace makes a human life beautiful. Her Immaculate Conception and Assumption reveal Mary as someone beautiful in body and soul, radiant with God’s grace and without the sin that dims that light. This is why the Church honors Mary as the “tota pulchra,” the “All Beautiful.”

THE BEAUTY OF CHRIST

The beauty of people, truth, art, music and the saints all converge on the One who is beautiful: Jesus Christ. He is beautiful in His mercy, His truth, His compassion, His goodness, His kingdom, His healings, His forgiveness, His wounds and His love. His loveliness shines from His Transfiguration, His Cross, His Resurrection and His Ascension. Through Christ, God continually offers His beauty to the world to redeem it and save it. When the beauty of His light shines on us, it changes us to become radiant with that light in a way than changes us.

What the Church needs today are people who have discovered a beauty in the story of Christianity and who desire to lead others to that beauty. Contained in that story is the beauty that conforms us to itself and makes us reflect it. Let us not be late to love beauty like St. Augustine, but let us discover it today in our faith. Let the whole Church witness to the beauty of God and the God of beauty. For when we do, we become the Church Christ intended – the “lumen gentium,” showing the light of God’s beauty to the nations. Let people see this light and be smitten, and come to believe in the God of beauty.

FATHER BILLY SWAN is a priest of the Diocese of Ferns, Ireland. This commentary is the second of a two-part series on beauty. It originally appeared on the Word on Fire blog, at www.wordonfire.org. In Part I, Father Swan explored the scriptural theme of beauty.

Father Billy Swan

What is the purpose of Catholic funerals?

With widespread religious disaffiliation not only among Catholics, but Christians in general, it’s safe to say that today most people’s idea of what a funeral should be has been formed more by what they’ve seen in movies than from a religious context. But funerals are religious services, and because they often draw together people who do not otherwise participate in the life of the Church, they can be important moments of evangelization.

It is important that we, as Catholics, know not only what the Catholic Church does but why we do it, when it comes to our funeral rites. Like all liturgical rites, funerals have a specific function in the life of the Church. Catholic funeral rites actually consist of three liturgies, outlined in the “Order of Christian Funerals” (OCF), each serving a distinctive purpose in ministering to the bereaved and commemorating the deceased.

The first is the vigil, which takes place sometime between the death of the deceased and the time of the funeral. The service consists of a Liturgy of the Word and intercessory prayer, and may be celebrated at a church, a funeral home or a private residence.

The ministry of the Church exercised during the vigil is that of “gently accompanying the mourners in their initial adjustment to the fact of death and to the sorrow this entails” (OCF 52). It is a time for mourners to express their grief and to receive consolation. At the vigil, God’s word in Scripture is offered “as light and life in the face of darkness and death” (OCF 56). The vigil liturgy is an appropriate time for a friend or family member of the deceased to offer a eulogy in their remembrance (OCF 62). The rubrics even allow for the celebration of multiple vigils if necessary, especially if there is to be some delay between the time of the death and the funeral itself (OCF 67).

The funeral proper is what most of us are familiar with. In this liturgy the focus shifts from comforting the bereaved to praying for the departed. Not that comfort should not continue to be offered, but the primary purpose of the Catholic funeral is to pray for the repose of the soul of the dead. For this reason, it is most appropriate for the funeral to take place at the parish church (preferably the parish of the deceased) and within the context of the Mass, which is the highest form of prayer the Church can offer.

The sacrifice of the Mass is so important to the way we intercede for the dead that even when a funeral is celebrated without a Mass (sometimes necessary if a priest is not available), the Church instructs that “a Mass for the deceased should be scheduled … at a convenient time after the funeral” (OCF 128). As the responsibility to pray for the dead belongs to the entire Church, funerals are ordinarily public events in which the whole community is encouraged to participate (OCF 150).

Following the example of Scripture and tradition, the Church teaches that it is “a holy and pious thought” to pray for the

dead (cf. 2 Mac 12:45). It is the teaching of the Church that those who die in God’s friendship but who are not yet perfectly purified from all attachment to sin have their purification completed in purgatory before entering into the glory of heaven. God will bring to completion the good work He has begun in us (cf. Phil 1:6), and the prayers we offer here can benefit those undergoing their final purification. This is why we must never treat funerals as if they are “canonization Masses.” If we presume our loved ones are already in heaven, we may fail in our Christian duty to offer prayers for them. For this reason, the homily at a funeral should focus on “the paschal mystery of the Lord” and “never [be] any kind of eulogy” (OCF 141).

The third and final movement of our Catholic funeral rites is the committal, or burial service. This may be performed immediately after the funeral or at a later date if the burial is to be delayed. The purpose of this graveside service is to bid farewell to our loved one as we lay him or her to rest, to express our hope in the resurrection, and to remember “the communion that exists between the Church on earth and the Church in heaven” (OCF 206).

These three movements together beautifully achieve all that the Church would have us do to mark the solemn occasion of the death of a loved one – we offer comfort with the vigil, pray for the dead in the funeral liturgy and express our hope in the resurrection as we lay the dead to rest. If the complementary purposes of these three movements are neglected, mourners often attempt to accomplish these various ends with one service. When this happens, greater emphasis is often given to comforting the bereaved or celebrating the life of the departed than praying for the repose of their soul.

The very first sentence in the General Introduction to the Order of Christian Funerals articulates two great truths that the Church proclaims, through her liturgies, in the face of death. The first is that “God has created each person for eternal life” (OCF 1). Sacred Scripture teaches that “God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living” (Wis 1:13). Death is something to be mourned, and there is nothing wrong with feeling grief at the loss of a loved one.

But the second great truth that lies at the heart of Catholic funerals is this: “Jesus, the Son of God, by His death and resurrection, has broken the chains of sin and death” (OCF 1). This is why the most important person at any funeral is not the person in the casket, and certainly not the person standing at the altar, but the Person on the altar, who died for us so that we might live in, through and for Him.

Funerals serve one other important purpose. They are public reminders of our mortality. None of us will escape the grave, so let us live each day so as to be ready for our last. Lord, “make us know the shortness of our life that we may gain wisdom of heart” (Ps 90:12).

DEACON MATTHEW NEWSOME is the Catholic campus minister at Western Carolina University and the regional faith formation coordinator for the Smoky Mountain Vicariate.

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S. Church St. Charlotte, N.C.

‘We need to read our lives, see the things that are not good but also the good things that God sows in us.’

The Catholic Church is one of the nation’s largest refugee resettlement agencies. In partnership with dioceses across the country, the Church through the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops resettles approximately 18 percent of the refugees who arrive in the U.S. each year.

“It is the mission of the Church and the Charlotte diocese to welcome the stranger as we are guided to do by Scripture,” Jones said. “Right now that means a Herculean effort by Catholic Charities to help our Afghan evacuees through the immigration process. We’re committed to helping every Afghan win asylum and establish new lives in this country.”

STARTING OVER IN CHARLOTTE

Mohammad, whose strong Englishlanguage skill has opened opportunities, worked a variety of jobs in Afghanistan – from assisting U.S. efforts to build infrastructure and communities to operating a shop selling perfume and cosmetics.

Life grew chaotic in 2019 as violence began to threaten his family’s safety, so he pulled his daughters out of school and kept everyone closer to home. Mohammad and his wife, whom he says he consults on everything, knew the family wouldn’t be safe after U.S. forces suddenly withdrew from the country in August 2021 and the Taliban took control.

So, with few belongings and with their 5-month-old baby and five other children in tow, the couple raced to the Kabul airport to flee. There was gunfire and huge crowds in the streets as they made their way. They

spent two nights waiting outside the airport gates, keeping to themselves, fearful the Taliban would arrive to confront them.

Mohammad and his family were among the lucky ones. Their names were called, they boarded a flight out, and they left their homeland behind. After a brief stay in Qatar, the family flew to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, where they lived for three months in a dormitory with five other families.

In late November, Mohammad and his family were relocated to a hotel in Charlotte – and three weeks later they moved into their own home, a rented house in the suburban Highland Creek neighborhood. A number of organizations have rallied around his family, including The Independence Fund and the Allies program.

Now, Mohammad works as a human resources recruiter for a bridge and highway building company. He has his own car and his wife is studying for her driver’s license test. She is looking for a job as a tailor. The couple is relieved their children are all back in school, and their eldest son is thinking about college and a career in engineering.

“The kids are doing well,” Mohammad says. “They are learning every day, getting better with the language, and doing better every day.”

A PATH TO CITIZENSHIP

With all the Afghan evacuees settled into new lives in North Carolina, Catholic Charities has shifted to helping navigate their path to long-term residency and possibly citizenship.

Evacuees were granted temporary status to remain in the country upon arriving, and the federal government has since extended that to two years. During that time, evacuees must apply for asylum, then a green card. Five years after that, they can seek permanent citizenship.

Catholic Charities’ resettlement office has a network of attorneys helping these families navigate this process. Case coordinators and volunteers are driving families to Arlington, Va., near Washington, for government interviews about their lives and activities in Afghanistan. So far, 25 evacuees have secured status changes and by the end of October, 160 of their Afghans clients will have completed an asylum interview.

Once Mohammad’s family is granted asylum, his son can apply for college and financial assistance.

Yet their worries aren’t completely behind them yet. Mohammad is also focused on reuniting with several family members still in Afghanistan – including his mother and a brother.

WELCOMING THE STRANGER

Emergency evacuees like the Afghans and other refugees are often victims of war, political upheaval and religious, economic or ethnic persecution. Many are forced to leave their homes, jobs and families simply to stay alive. They pay taxes in the U.S. and repay the government their travel expenses on their way to establishing new lives.

The Biden administration recently announced it would welcome up to 125,000 refugees in fiscal year 2023, which began Oct. 1. A similar number was expected last fiscal year, but U.S. State Department figures show just 25,465 refugees were resettled nationally – a pipeline slowed by the pandemic and a more limited approach to immigration during the previous administration.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has said it remains committed to the Church’s long tradition of welcoming immigrants fleeing war, violence, natural disasters, political instability and persecution.

Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville

of Washington, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, said recently that as the number of refugees returns to higher levels, the conference will continue to “embrace this ministry given to us by Jesus,” and that “we look to the president and Congress for their continued support of a robust resettlement program, consistent with our national values.”

With financial assistance from the U.S. bishops, Catholic Charities accompanies refugees for up to five years, providing housing, health care, schools, community and cultural orientation, and budgeting and financial education. They also offer employment assistance, driver’s education, interpretation services and transportation to initial appointments.

Looking ahead, diocesan resettlement director Jones expects her office to help settle 315 more refugees in Charlotte this fiscal year, and 120 in Asheville.

As just one immigrant making a new life in Charlotte, Mohammad said he is committed to contributing positively.

“We are in a good situation. We are safe now, and we have the opportunity to work and to live without the tension of war,” he said. “We appreciate everything the U.S. has done for us. I need to thank the whole nation and the U.S. government for giving us this opportunity. Now, I just want work hard, support my family and my community and my country.”

— Catholic News Service contributed

How can you help?

At www.ccdoc.org : Find out how to volunteer or donate to help the Refugee Resettlement Offices in Charlotte and Asheville welcome refugees. Financial contributions are welcome. Currently, new and gently used coats of all sizes are needed.