Vocations 2018

June 22, 2018

catholicnewsherald.com charlottediocese.org

Harvest blessings of

‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.’ — John 6:51

VOCATION IS TODAY! More people are answering God’s call to serve the Church

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CHARTING THE PATH

ABRIENDO CAMINOS

Father Thomas enabled many diocesan ‘firsts’

Diocese marks 35th year of permanent deacon ministry

Tres diáconos latinoamericanos abrieron paso a nuevas generaciones

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TRAILBLAZER RETIRES

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catholicnewsherald.com | June 22, 2018 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

JOHN COSMAS | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Fifteen men were ordained permanent deacons for the Diocese of Charlotte in April. The diocese now has the largest number of deacons in its 46-year history, and the number of vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and religious life continues to grow.

‘Vocation is today!

The Christian mission is now!’

More people are answering God’s call to serve the Church SUEANN HOWELL SENIOR REPORTER

About the cover This year’s Vocations cover features a detail from the altar of St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte. The mosaic design depicts a sheaf of wheat, representing the Body of Christ. It is one of three mosaic designs on the front of the altar; the other two are of a grape vine, symbolizing the Blood of Christ, and in the center of the altar, a cross.

— Photo by Patricia L. Guilfoyle and James Sarkis

CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte ordained its first priest in 1974, only two years after it was established, and since then the number of clergy has continued to grow as the diocese has grown. The diocese’s four bishops – starting with the first bishop, Bishop Michael Begley, and continuing to current Bishop Peter Jugis – have encouraged the faithful to support people pursuing religious vocations and to pray for an increase in vocations.

Those prayers and that support – seeds planted in fertile ground – have produced a harvest of blessings.

The diocese is experiencing a vocations boom, with more people discerning the priesthood, permanent diaconate and religious life especially over the past decade.

As the Catholic population living in western North Carolina has swelled from an estimated 35,000 when the diocese was established in 1972 to today’s estimated 450,000, the number of people serving the local Church has also increased.

In the diocese’s 92 parishes and missions, 81 priests and 135 deacons are at work serving the people of God in western North Carolina, up from 72 priests and 96 deacons just a decade ago. Nearly two dozen religious orders of men and women, approximately 36 religious priests, 128 sisters and 11 religious brothers also serve in the diocese.

This fall, it is anticipated that the diocese will have 38 men studying for the priesthood, including 16 seminarians at three major seminaries in the U.S. and Rome and 22 students at the new St. Joseph College Seminary in Charlotte.

Opened in 2016, the college seminary has been a magnet for vocations as young men have responded to the opportunity to study and discern a religious vocation close to their homes and parishes.

The intensified interest in the college seminary has prompted the diocese to expand housing for them on the St. Ann Church campus on Park Road.

The students already fill two houses adjacent to the church, and a third house – recently vacated by the Sisters of St. Joseph, who had served the parish for more than 32 years – is being refurbished to accommodate more.

Meanwhile, the diocese has purchased 86 acres about two miles from VOCATIONS, SEE PAGE 3B

June 22, 2018 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

Bishop Peter Jugis celebrated a baccalaureate Mass for two graduating St. Joseph College seminarians May 13 at St. Ann Church in Charlotte.

He is pictured after Mass with the college seminarians, Father Matthew Buettner, pastor of St. Michael Church (left), and Father Matthew Kauth, rector of the seminary (right).

SUEANN HOWELL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

VOCATIONS

western North Carolina, there are now 135 permanent deacons serving in the ministry of the Word, of the Altar, and of Charity.

And the steady stream of men interested in the permanent diaconate continues, with 18 men currently in the aspirancy program.

From these aspirants, a new class of candidates will be selected this summer to begin formation at the end of August in the Permanent Diaconate program.

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Belmont Abbey College as a permanent site for the college seminary. Fundraising for the $20 million campaign to build St. Joseph College Seminary is expected to begin in the 2018-’19 fiscal year.

And the college seminary’s first two graduates are headed to Ohio this fall, where they will join three seminarians already studying at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary at the Athenaeum in Cincinnati.

Eight other seminarians are studying nearby at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus. In addition, three men are studying at the North American College in Rome.

Last June five men were ordained to the priesthood for the diocese by Bishop Jugis, himself a local vocation. The Charlotte native is celebrating his 35th anniversary of ordination: he was ordained on June 12, 1983, by St. John Paul II at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. This year also marks his 15th anniversary as the fourth bishop of Charlotte.

While there are no ordinations planned this year, the diocese hopes to ordain three men to the priesthood in 2019.

As far as parishes go, St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte has the distinction of having five parishioners currently studying for the priesthood.

Father Matthew Kauth, rector of St. Joseph College Seminary, is astonished by the number of men who are discerning a call to the priesthood.

“What we did know was that vocations often spring up in a heart at that time when a young man begins to ask the question, ‘What will I live for?’ What we didn’t know is that 24 men in three academic years would look at our new, fledgling seminary and say, ‘That is what I will live for. I will live for Christ as His priest.’”

“The numbers have simply been astounding and there is no end in sight,” Father Kauth said. “Now we must build so that we might be under one roof instead of many. They have answered the call to sacrifice, and now the faithful must answer the call to support.”

PERMANENT DIACONATE

From 1980, when the Diocese of Charlotte established a Permanent Diaconate ministry, to today, the permanent diaconate has similarly flourished as the diocese has grown.

Nineteen men were ordained by Bishop Begley as the first class of permanent

CONSECRATED RELIGIOUS

JOHN COSMAS | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Quang Nguyen was one of 15 men ordained permanent deacons last April, the first Vietnamese deacon and a local vocation for St. Joseph Vietnamese Church in Charlotte. With this ordination class, the diocese now has 135 permanent deacons – the most in its history – serving throughout western North Carolina, where the Catholic population numbers more than 450,000.

‘It will not fill our hearts if we keep standing by the window with the excuse of waiting for the right time, without accepting this very day the risk of making a decision. Vocation is today!

The Christian mission is now!’

Pope Francis

From his message for the 2018 World Day of Prayer for Vocations

deacons on May 29, 1983.

The past two ordinations, in 2014 and 2018, saw a total of 31 men ordained permanent deacons for the diocese. Across

When the Diocese of Charlotte was established in 1972, 15 religious communities of men and women were active in the diocese. Today, there are 23 communities spread across western North Carolina.

Currently there are 36 religious order priests serving the diocese, as well as 128 active women religious and 11 brothers.

Parishes around the diocese are witnessing parishioners, young men and women, entering religious orders around the country.

St. Ann Parish in Charlotte, for example, has two parishioners who have joined religious communities in recent years.

There are also two men from the parish studying for the diocesan priesthood.

‘VOCATION IS TODAY!’

The seeds planted in the past are producing a bountiful harvest, but there is always a need for more people to answer God’s call to serve the Church.

In his message for the 2018 World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Pope Francis encouraged the faithful who may be feeling that call to respond without delay.

“Our slowness and our sloth” should not delay a response, and Christians need not be “fearful of our limitations and sins, but instead open our hearts to the voice of the Lord,” the pope wrote.

“Every Christian ought to grow in the ability to ‘read within’ his or her life and to understand where and to what he or she is being called by the Lord, in order to carry on His mission.”

“If (God) lets us realize that He is calling us to consecrate ourselves totally to His kingdom, then we should have no fear!” he said. ”It is beautiful – and a great grace to be completely and forever consecrated to God and the service of our brothers and sisters.”

“It will not fill our hearts if we keep standing by the window with the excuse of waiting for the right time, without accepting this very day the risk of making a decision. Vocation is today! The Christian mission is now!” he said.

It appears that many men and women in the diocese are listening.

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Vocations resources If you or someone you know is contemplating a religious vocation, check out the following general resources online.

Talk with your pastor, read up on consecrated life and the various communities that exist, and contact religious communities that interest you.

Many offer “come and see” days or retreats that are good opportunities to learn more and meet others who have already accepted God’s call to religious life.

For young men and women, there are also summer discernment retreats offered by the Diocese of Charlotte and hosted at Belmont Abbey College: Quo Vadis Days for young men, and Duc in Altum for young women. Check them out online at www. charlottediocese.org/vocations.

And don’t be afraid to ask questions!

Diocesan vocations office Father Christopher Gober, Director of Vocations: 704-370-3327, vocationsmail@ charlottediocese.org

General information n www.foryourvocation.org: Set up by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, dedicated to the promotion of vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life for both men and women. They are also on Facebook and YouTube. There are resources for parents and teachers, questions to ask yourself if you feel God is calling you, see videos of vocation stories from priests and religious all over the U.S., and much more. n www.religiouslife.com: The Institute for Religious Life’s website, with plenty of resources for both men and women interested in a vocation or those who wish to support religious life. n Not sure what religious communities are out there that might be a good fit for you? Check out: www.religiousministries. com. Search this database to find a men’s or women’s religious community, whether you wish to become a priest, nun, brother or lay missioner, or just want to find out more about living a religious life. n www.cloisteredlife.com: Aims to bring to attention the gift of cloistered and monastic life in the Church, sponsored by the Institute for Religious Life.

Religious communities for men n www.cmsm.org: The Conference of Major Superiors of Men serves the leadership of the Catholic orders and congregations of the more than 17,000 vowed religious priests and brothers in the U.S. n www.religiousbrotherhood.com: Sponsored by the Institute for Religious Life specifically to increase awareness of the specific charism of religious brotherhood in the U.S.

Religious communities for women n www.cmswr.org: The Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR) is a canonically approved organization founded in 1992, to promote religious life in the U.S. n www.lcwr.org: The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) is an association of the leaders of congregations of Catholic women religious in the U.S.

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catholicnewsherald.com | June 22, 2018 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Diocesan trailblazer retires Father Wilbur Thomas enabled many ‘firsts’ in western N.C. SUEANN HOWELL SENIOR REPORTER

ASHEVILLE — The ministry of Father Wilbur Thomas has left an indelible mark on the history of the Diocese of Charlotte.

Over the course of the 45 years since his ordination, both Father Thomas and the Catholic diocese in western North Carolina have grown and developed together. This diocesan trailblazer was asked by his bishops over the years to begin many of the ministries and programs that Catholics in the diocese participate in today.

he entered formation at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Ohio.

“Through all of this, the one constant has been my relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ – especially in the Eucharist. My personal prayers, Scriptures, etc., have encouraged me to continue on. Times were difficult and sometimes there were moments when I wanted to walk away from it (during seminary) but that did not happen,” he recalls.

COMES HOME TO NEW CHARLOTTE DIOCESE

In his humility, he does not boast about his role in diocesan history. He has simply worked diligently, collaboratively and with trust that God in His divine providence would bring to fruition the work He set before him.

Through it all, Father Thomas has cherished his personal relationship with Jesus Christ, crediting Him for leading him into the priesthood and guiding him throughout his ministry to the people of God in western North Carolina.

In March 1972, he was ordained a transitional deacon for the Diocese of Raleigh. He starting writing letters asking to be transferred to the new Diocese of Charlotte, which had just been established in January of that year. With family and friends in the western part of the state, it made sense for him to join the new diocese and be closer to home.

On March 26, 1973, the Feast of the Annunciation, he was ordained for the Diocese of Raleigh at Our Lady of the Annunciation Church in Havelock, near the North Carolina coast.

Shortly thereafter, he was given permission to transfer into the new Charlotte diocese, where he served as an associate pastor of St. Leo the Great Church in Winston-Salem.

Father Thomas has served as pastor in four parishes: Our Lady of the Annunciation Church in Albemarle, Our Lady of Consolation Church in Charlotte, St. Aloysius Church in Hickory, and, for the past 18 years, as rector and pastor of St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville.

CALLED TO THE FAITH AND TO THE PRIESTHOOD

LAUNCHES MANY PROGRAMS IN THE DIOCESE

Father Thomas was adopted as an infant and raised in a Methodist household in Lexington. When Father Thomas was 10 years old, his dad suffered a stroke and was left bedridden at home. Father Thomas remembers a Catholic priest, Father James Keenan, from the local parish coming to visit him. His dad decided to become Catholic, and he was conditionally baptized at home.

“I thought I wanted to be a Methodist minister,” Father Thomas said, recalling his youth. His grandfather had been a Methodist minister and he thought he might follow in his footsteps. But Catholicism also called to him.

He started attending catechism classes at the Catholic church on Saturdays but continued worshiping at the Methodist church on Sundays. When he was 12, he decided to become Catholic.

He was conditionally baptized and in October 1960 he was confirmed by Raleigh Bishop Vincent S. Waters.

“After I became Catholic, I started serving at Mass almost immediately. I learned the Latin. I had a personal relationship with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament,” Father Thomas says. “It was during this time of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament that I heard the idea of becoming a Catholic priest.”

His mother also became Catholic, so when he approached his parents in his early years at Bishop McGuinness High School and told them that he wanted to become a Franciscan, he was surprised by their negative response.

“I asked them if I could look into formation. They said no; they were not happy about that. They weren’t ready for that,” he explains. “I was an only child. I had no brothers and sisters. My father really wanted to have grandchildren. My father thought I was entirely too young to enter formation for the priesthood.”

It was at Bishop McGuinness High School that his faith grew stronger.

Monsignor Joseph Showfety, who would later serve as the first chancellor of the Charlotte diocese, was the administrator of Bishop McGuinness High School during Father Thomas’ time there. He served Mass for Monsignor Showfety at the high school almost every school day.

“He was a great influence on my vocation,” Father Thomas notes.

Father Thomas persevered, and in his senior year of high school he worked up the courage to speak to his parents again and ask for their permission to apply as a seminarian for the Diocese of Raleigh. They agreed, and

As the first newly ordained priest to be incardinated in the new Charlotte diocese, Father Thomas has blazed new paths for ministries and programs across the diocese over the past four decades.

Among some of the firsts he can claim for the Charlotte diocese: He was appointed the first campus minister, serving at Wake Forest University. He helped develop the diocese’s Campus Ministry Program, the Youth Ministry Program and the Diocesan Youth Council. He helped organize the diocese’s first Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. He also organized the diocese’s Committee of Black Catholic Ministry and Evangelization, which is now called the African American Affairs Ministry.

And the list goes on.

Father Thomas, with lay team leaders, formed the Catholic Charismatic Renewal group in the diocese. In 1974 he began a small Charismatic prayer group in a parishioner’s home and over the years the group grew to more than 90 people meeting in the library of Bishop McGuinness High School.

“I was the unofficial chaplain of the Charismatic Renewal,” he smiles.

He helped coordinate planning assemblies that led up to the Diocese of Charlotte Synod in 1986, including presynod workshops and plenary sessions on various topics designed to prepare for the synod itself.

“One of these assemblies was on evangelization, and I gave the keynote for that,” he says. “We had good representation of all the areas of the diocese and ministries. It was a major effort.”

In the 1980s Father Thomas started working with the priests, through the Father Vincent Dwyer program called the Ministry to Priests. It provided a structure of support groups for priests, centered around their various interests, where they could meet on their own.

He also organized a team of priests that visited priests, offering them encouragement and support.

In the 1990s Father Thomas was appointed “pastor to the pastors” as the diocese’s vicar for priests by then Bishop William Curlin, a position he held from 1998 to 2003.

Father Thomas is also known for his involvement in ecumenical efforts with local churches. During his tenure at St. Aloysius Church in Hickory, he was particularly involved with outreach to Protestant churches in the area.

“We were very much involved with the Lenoir-Rhyne (University) community,” he adds.

He was also involved in the formation of the Aquinas-

Luther Conference, started under the late Lutheran Bishop Michael McDaniel, head of the theology department at Lenoir-Rhyne and head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

“Those were the years of the Lutheran-Catholic covenants, where Catholic parishes signed covenants with Lutheran congregations,” Father Thomas explains. “We worshiped together, studied together and did charitable works together. We had ecumenical services during Lent, on Good Friday, etc. We reached out to many people at that time.”

“None of that was strange to me. It was great,” he adds. “We worked together very well and the ecumenical relationship was very good.”

As an African American priest ministering in the South, Father Thomas has witnessed significant change over the past four decades – not just in society but in the growth and development of the Church he adopted as a teenager.

“It’s been very challenging, to say the least,” he says.

“The parishes where I have been pastor have all seen tremendous growth in numbers. People moving in from other parts of the country bring their own customs they were used to in other parts of the country.

“The challenge for those of us who are pastors is to try to help them to adjust to their new culture. It’s been somewhat of a challenge for many of us.”

Father Thomas points out that “because of the reality of the numbers, we had to build parish facilities and establish new schools to meet the needs of the people who moved to this area. People expected these things. We had to work on expanding our parish facilities and our school facilities.”

Surprisingly, he notes, God has allowed him to stay put in Asheville for the past 18 years.

In 2003 he was appointed vicar forane of the Asheville vicariate, which encompasses nine parishes and two missions.

“In terms of the Asheville area, and farther west, I am the elder priest,” he smiles. “I am the old man on the totem pole, both in experience and in age. It’s good. We’ve had good vicariate meetings over the years and good projects we have been working on as a vicariate. All good progress.”

URGES PEOPLE TO STAY CLOSE TO JESUS

Father Thomas credits his personal relationship with Jesus as the key to his deep faith and the power behind his tireless efforts to help build the Church in western North Carolina.

“Stay close to the celebration of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist,” he encourages. “Try to form a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That is very, very important to stay centered and to be able to deal with the various ways He leads and guides us in various ministries.”

“That relationship has been the anchor for me,” he explains. “Everything flows from that. I trust in His leading and guiding me through His Spirit. I trust myself to His will and His purpose for me every day. In this way I am able to accept these responsibilities without it undoing me.”

“I stand before a crucifix and the Blessed Sacrament several times a day,” he notes.

In his retirement Father Thomas plans to stay in the Asheville area and after a six-month sabbatical help out at vicariate parishes as needed.

June 22, 2018 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

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Retiring priests honored ASHEVILLE — St. Lawrence Basilica parish families turned out in large numbers on a hot day June 17 to honor their retiring priests, Father Wilbur Thomas and Father Maurice Boyd.

Held at Asheville Catholic School, parishioners filled tables with pupusas, tamales, salads of every kind, cakes and more. People lined up for the opportunity to tell Father Boyd and Father Thomas what they have meant to them.

“It’s a bittersweet affair,” one parishioner commented. “We will miss them, but we all hope they have a thoroughly enjoyable retirement.”

— Beth Searles, correspondent

(Opposite and left) Father Wilbur Thomas is retiring from active priestly ministry after serving the Church in western North Carolina for 45 years. He has served as rector of St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville for 18 years. (Above) Father Thomas in an undated photo.

PHOTOS BY JOHN COSMAS | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD; DIOCESE OF CHARLOTTE ARCHIVES

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catholicnewsherald.com | June 22, 2018 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Father Del Giudice retires LISA GERACI CORRESPONDENT

CHARLOTTE — Father Carl Del Giudice is retiring this year from active ministry, where he has most recently served as pastor of Our Lady of Consolation Church in Charlotte and prior to that, many years as pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Brevard. The Catholic News Herald recently sat down to interview him and look back over his ministry:

must enter in their lives. I think we tend to sometimes gloss over that. So regardless of where I am, I have to enter into where they are in their lives and their relationship with Lord, understand where they are at, and help them go in the direction they want to go. I am not the judge, the jury and the hangman. I see what the people are doing, see if they are on point.

Black lives do matter. Unless you are in this community, you don’t understand it. To realize what it means, you have to live here.

CNH: Were you raised Catholic?

Father Carl: Growing up I went to a Catholic church; it was my parents’ church. I grew up with my parents’ faith and my parents’ religion. I was part of that experience, but it is not until I left home that I finally developed my own identity as a follower of Christ. We do our own thing and we come to an understanding, grasping for the Lord because the Lord never abandons us.

Congratulations Father Kenneth Whittington on your 30th Anniversary Ordained a priest on May 21, 1988 in the Diocese of Charlotte Assigned to St. Charles Borromeo Morganton, NC in 1992 Father Ken has enriched St. Charles Borromeo through his teaching, the joyful celebration of the Mass, and his dedication to our multicultural communities.

We have been blessed to have Father Ken as our priest for 26 years!

CNH: Did you feel close to God your whole life?

Father Carl: When I moved to Boone in the 1960s, for a lot of my classmates, I was the first Catholic they ever met. I had never thought anything of that, but in their mind, it was like, what is this Catholic thing? I represented someone they probably read and heard about. I began hearing all kinds of errors, and tragically those errors were not because my classmates thought differently, but from what they were taught in their churches. All kinds of craziness!

I began looking at ways to defend my Catholicism and see who I was as a Catholic.

I doubled-down, studying what it means for me as far as Catholicism. I came to my faith experience on my own terms so I could have a new understanding of Catholicism.

CNH: Tell us about when you were transferred to Our Lady of Consolation Church from Sacred Heart Church in Brevard.

Father Carl: I knew well in advance that I was getting transferred from Brevard. I asked to stay where I was. I was 65. I said to Monsignor (Mauricio) West, “I want to stay, I have five more years to retire and I want to finish doing my swan song and then go into retirement, riding off in the sunset.

This is what you do in private industry. The guy in with a company for many decades, you let him finish his years, give him a gold watch and send him on his merry way.”

Monsignor West replied, “Carl, this is not private industry, this is the Church.” I knew he was right. He told me where I was going, and I understood. The transfer was not about me, but about the life of the parish and the people of the parish. It is not about the priest, so much as it is the needs of the people involved. And the pastor has to respond to those needs. I was also familiar with OLC because I was a transitional deacon there from 1980 to 1981.

CNH: How has OLC responded to you as pastor?

Father Carl: My first two weeks here, a parishioner came to see me. I knew Mary 30 years earlier when I was here as a seminarian. I asked Mary if she could recommend a doctor and a dentist. I needed a physical and I didn’t know where to go here. So, she sits there for a while, and finally she says jokingly, “Well, do you mind if they are black?” I said to her, “I don’t care.” Currently, my doctor is black and my dentist is black because this is where I am living. Why would I need to go anywhere else other than right around here?”

The congregation puts up with me and my eccentricities. I feel comfortable with my parishioners and that is why I am here. In my job, they don’t enter my life, I

TRAVIS BURTON | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

To put it into perspective, Mr. Joe Maguire, my maintenance man, was mowing the lawn and ran out of gas. He took the gas cans to his pickup truck and stopped at Home Depot to get the cylinder to cycle in the oil. He is standing in the back of his pickup truck, pouring oil, when a police car pulls up. The cop rolls down the window and asks him if that is his truck. Right there, asks for his license and registration. And while Joe was talking to the officer, another police car swings around. Well, he is a black man in his truck on a Saturday being stopped.

Why? You mean a black man can’t have a nice truck? That’s racist. If it were a white man there, the cops wouldn’t have stopped. No, that’s white privilege.

CNH: What is the most significant sign from God you have ever received?

Father Carl: Signs from God are unfolding every day of life. The Lord is always addressing us, constantly. If we don’t hear Him, (it is because) we are too busy to stop and listen. Some days it’s clear, some days it’s cloudy, but that’s where we are sometimes.

Every day is a wondrous experience of religious expression. Prayer life doesn’t mean sitting in a room beating your breast for two hours. I see enough of that from people.

People go through all the gesticulations of prayer rather than being present in that moment, even in small ways. Every day I wake up, sit at the edge of the bed, put both feet on the floor – and the dog is looking at me, because the dog has to go out – and I say, “Thank you, Jesus for another day I am awake. Thank you that I am alive and I get to go on another day.” It is as simple as that.

CNH: Do you have any words of wisdom for Catholics?

Father Carl: It is important for anyone – whether they are actively the pastor, a parishioner, or a young man in formation of the priesthood – to develop a solid prayer life, a prayer life focusing on building a relationship with the Lord. We must enter into a prayer relationship for the totality of our nature. We need to express ourselves to the Lord Almighty, so we can be tied, together, with Him. We need time with our Lord. With an ongoing prayer routine and the Lord’s grace, we are able to endure whatever suffering or challenges are laid out before us. Sometimes we turn from the Lord, yet the Lord will never turn away from us. None of us are a lost cause, no matter where we may be from.

June 22, 2018 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

Father Benonis celebrates 60 years of priesthood MAGGIE VALLEY — St. Margaret of Scotland Church has reason to celebrate this year: their pastor, Father Richard Benonis, is marking his 60th anniversary of priestly ordination.

Parishioners congratulated Father Benonis with a surprise party after Mass May 15.

A Pennsylvania native, Father Benonis grew up in a large family and was one of two brothers who were called to the priesthood.

In his early years of ministry, he served in several parishes, he worked with the Boy Scouts, and he planned medical ethics courses for Catholic nurses and students.

He then began his work with the Ecumenical Movement, which included a Philadelphia radio talk show with Protestant clergyman.

He also served as a U.S. Army chaplain for 20 years, with many of those years serving overseas – including Germany and two tours in Vietnam, holding an officer’s rank.

Returning stateside, he earned a master’s degree in counseling from Long Island University.

While he was serving in Germany, Father Benonis became an executive team priest with Worldwide Marriage Encounter for several years before retiring from the Army.

He served again as the chaplain at the San Antonio, Texas, VA Hospital.

Upon retirement, he moved to Maggie Valley and has continued to serve the people of God as pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland Church.

Thank you, Fr. David.

“Father gave us his retirement to be our parish leader, bringing years of experience, knowledge and commitment to our community and St. Margaret of Scotland Church,” said parishioners Raymond and Maryellen Hoefer. “His years have not diminished his faith, energy and love for all people.”

“Father continues his service, even after retirement, because he believes we are all disciples and we must continue to spread the word of God,” they added. “We are grateful to have Father Richard Benonis in our church, community and our lives.”

— Catholic News Herald

A joyful vocation Benedictine Father David Kessinger celebrates 60th jubilee SUEANN HOWELL SENIOR REPORTER

BELMONT — Benedictine Father David Kessinger is marking six decades of priestly ministry this year.

A lifelong Catholic from Clifton Forge, Va., he first thought he might want to be a priest when he was training to be an altar server in the fifth grade.

He attended junior and senior college at Belmont Abbey. During his senior year there, he realized he had a call to the religious life. Upon his graduation from Belmont Kessinger Abbey College in 1953, he entered the Benedictine monastery of Belmont Abbey.

After the novitiate he completed four years of major seminary studies before being ordained in the Abbey basilica by Bishop Vincent Waters on May 31, 1958.

Over the years, Father Kessinger has served at Belmont Abbey College, the

Benedictine Military School in Richmond, Va., and a Benedictine high school in Savannah, Ga. He also served as the librarian of Belmont Abbey College for years.

When asked about what he has enjoyed most about his priestly ministry, Father Kessinger responds, “Having the joy of God’s gift of vocation and priesthood in ministering to the people of God, especially offering Mass and hearing confessions, and ministry to the sick and elderly.”

The most significant lessons he has learned over the past 60 years of religious life?

“God’s love for us all,” he replies, and adds, “The witness of the people of God. Learn from mistakes – go forward from there. God has many surprises! Take one day at a time.”

He has also witnessed “God’s loving mercy and the good example of the people of God.” Father Kessinger has a great love of music, reading the Scriptures and spiritual reading. These things were shared with him by his parents, relatives and friends over the years.

His advice to those discerning a call to the priesthood or religious life? “(Spend time in) daily prayer, asking the Holy Spirit for the grace of discernment of God’s call; daily participation in Mass and Holy Communion; faithful, daily reading of Scriptures; regular Eucharistic Adoration and praying of the rosary,” he suggests.

And, he urges, people should “pray daily for abundant and faithful vocations.”

Belmont flbbey.

C O L L E G E That in all things God may be glorified

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catholicnewsherald.com | June 22, 2018 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Vocations news Seminarian summer assignments announced CHARLOTTE — The Diocese of Charlotte Vocations Office announces that the following seminarians will have parish assignments this summer: n Darren Balkey – St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Charlotte n Colton Brown – Sacred Heart Church, Salisbury n Michael Carlson – Saint Therese Church, Mooresville n Alfonso Gamez Jr. – St. Mark Church, Huntersville n Aaron Huber – Our Lady of Grace Church, Greensboro n Jacob Mlakar – St. Mark Church, Huntersville n Harry Ohlhaut – St. Elizabeth Church, Boone n Camilo Salas-Bowen – St. Vincent de Paul Church, Charlotte n Joseph Wasswa – St. Ann Church, Charlotte Assignment dates vary, but overall the date range is June 4 to Aug. 20.

— Catholic News Herald PHOTO PROVIDED BY KATIE KALAROVICH

Celebrating 20th anniversary CANDLER — Parishioners at St. Joan of Arc Parish congratulated Father Dean Cesa, pastor, on the 20th anniversary of his priestly ordination with a potluck dinner June 3 that featured family favorite dishes from around the world. In keeping with the multicultural theme, the parish hall was decorated with flags of the world.

Parishioners welcomed him to the parish hall with music and applause. He was surprised with guests and friends from Brevard and Sapphire and especially his brother Mark and sister-in-law Irene Cesa. He was presented with cards made by the parish’s children, flowers and letters, a cake and a plaque commemorating his ordination for the Diocese of Charlotte on June 6, 1998.

Support our seminarians’ education and priests’ retirement Our seminarians’ education is possible thanks to the generosity of parishioners who give to the annual Diocesan Support Appeal, through the Seminarian and Priests’ Continuing Education second collection on Easter Sunday, and those who contribute leadership and other gifts

Fr. Peter Pham Prayers and best wishes on your 20th priestly jubilee.

From everyone at St. John Neumann Parish Charlotte, NC

to the Seminarian Education Campaign.

These three efforts support both the men in major seminaries and at St. Joseph College Seminary.

There are 16 endowments in the Foundation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte are currently designated for seminarian education.

For information on making a leadership gift to support seminarian education, contact Armen Boyajian, director of leadership giving, at 704-370-3371 or armenb@charlottediocese.org.

Each September, people have the opportunity to celebrate the faithful service of our retired diocesan priests and retired bishop, as well as show gratitude to the priests currently serving in the diocese, by contributing to the Priests’ Retirement and Benefits second collection. Each parish is assessed 3.5 percent of its annual offertory collection to raise the funds needed to support priests’ retirement and benefits. A second collection taken in all parishes the third weekend of September each year helps the parishes pay this assessment.

Three endowments in the Foundation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte are designated for priests’ retirement.

For information about endowments for seminarian education or priests’ retirement, contact Jim Kelley, diocesan development director, at 704-370-3313 or jkkelley@charlottediocese.org.

Interested in becoming a permanent deacon?

deacon? Would you like to know more about the process involved in becoming a permanent deacon? The Diocese of Charlotte’s Office of the Permanent Diaconate continuously collects names of men who are inquiring into the diaconate. If you are interested in finding out more, call Deacon Scott D. Gilfillan at 828-327-7441 or email sdgilfillan@ catholicconference.org. The diocese starts a new formation class every four years. An important cut-off date is approaching. Before being selected for diaconate formation, a man has to complete the two-year Lay Ministry program offered by the diocese. Details and more information can be found at www.charlottediocese.org/permanentdiaconate.

Learn more about your faith through the Lay Ministry program Interested in learning more about the faith as an adult, becoming a catechist or religion teacher, or discerning the possibility of becoming a permanent deacon? The diocesan Lay Ministry Office offers a two-year program with classes in Arden, Bryson City, Charlotte, Greensboro and Lenoir.

Lay Ministry classes will begin this fall, with applications currently being accepted. For details, go online to www. charlottediocese.org/ev/adult-education/ or contact Dr. Frank Villaronga at 704-370-3274 or favillaronga@ charlottediocese.org.

Have you thought God might be calling you to serve the Church as a

— Catholic News Herald

Congratulations Fr. Eric Kowalski

Pastor, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church Our prayers are with you as you celebrate your 25th Anniversary as a priest.

Knights of Columbus Council 12610 - Mocksville

June 22, 2018 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

Congratulations on your 40th Anniversary as a Priest

Fr. Michael J. Buttner "Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.

The Father will honor whoever serves me.�

John 12:26 Thank you for your service to the Church as our pastor, our shepherd, and as a servant for our Lord Jesus Christ.

With gratitude from the clergy, staff, and parishioners of Holy Family Catholic Church in Clemmons.

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DIOCESE OF CHARLOTTE ARCHIVES SUEANN HOWELL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Deacons gather for their annual recommitment Mass with Bishop Peter Jugis at St. Patrick Cathedral.

The first class of candidates for the permanent diaconate process in for Mass at Ovens Auditorium in 1983.

Charlotte diocese marks 35th year of permanent deacon ministry DEACON JOHN MARTINO SPECIAL TO THE CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

CHARLOTTE — This year has been filled with thanksgiving as the Diocese of Charlotte was blessed with 15 men ordained April 14 for the vocation of permanent deacon. With the ordination of these men, our thoughts turn to an important milestone that made all of this possible: This year marks the 35th anniversary of the first ordination and establishment of the ministry of permanent deacons in the diocese. In looking back, the Church of western North Carolina remembers those beginning days and the foundations of diaconal service.

It all began in 1980. In January 1980, the Charlotte Diocese embarked on a new era of service when Bishop Michael J. Begley announced the formation of a permanent diaconate program. By September of that year, a group of men entered the first formation class under the direction of Monsignor Anthony Kovacic. The weekend studies were held at Sacred Heart College in Belmont.

Three years later, these men charted a path of service for others to follow. On May 29, 1983, the first 19 deacons were ordained as permanent deacons by Bishop Begley. From that first class ordained before more than 2,000 people at Ovens Auditorium, there have been eight formation classes. Including the 2018 class, 117 deacons have been ordained by the four bishops of the diocese.

Over the past 35 years, most deacons ordained for Charlotte have remained to serve here. However, some have moved to other dioceses. As other dioceses have received the gift of service of these deacons, the Diocese of Charlotte has also been blessed with deacons moving here from other dioceses across the United States, its territories and other countries.

The following represents the current census of permanent deacons for the Charlotte diocese: n Deacons.................................................................................. 135 n Ordained in Charlotte........................................................... 83

n Ordained in other dioceses.................................................52 n Ordaining dioceses represented........................................37 n Incardinated into Charlotte from other dioceses...........11 n Parishes and communities served....................................62 In looking forward, the Church of western North Carolina envisions the days ahead where permanent deacons will continue to serve where the needs exist within the diocese. Each deacon’s path of service will be unique, yet always rooted in the call to be a Servant of God. Within the diocese, deacons will continue to serve in local prison ministry programs and within ministerial needs of local parishes and communities. In addition, permanent deacons will serve in diocesan areas of Catholic Charities, Airport Ministry, Tribunal Advocacy Ministry, Campus Ministry, Youth Ministry, Faith Formation Ministry, Evangelization Ministry and other ministries where there are ongoing needs.

The seed of service, planted that first ordination day in 1983, flourishes today and will flourish in the years ahead in the footsteps of permanent deacons who have answered the call of Isaiah 6:8 saying, “Here I am Lord, send me.”

DEACON JOHN MARTINO serves as director of the diocesan Permanent Diaconate Program.

June 22, 2018 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

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‘Servants of the Risen Lord’ 15 men ordained permanent deacons SUEANN HOWELL SENIOR REPORTER

CHARLOTTE — “The Diocese of Charlotte is growing, and Church eagerly awaits your service to the People of God.” That was the message from Bishop Peter Jugis as he ordained 15 men as permanent deacons during a two-hour Mass April 14 at St. Mark Church in Huntersville.

With this ordination class, the diocese now has 135 permanent deacons – the most in its history – serving throughout western North Carolina, where the Catholic population numbers more than 450,000.

The newly ordained deacons will now be able to assist at the altar during Mass, proclaim the Gospel at Mass, give homilies, administer the sacrament of baptism and officiate at weddings. Permanent deacons serve in parishes as well as in specialized pastoral areas such as Hispanic Ministry, RCIA, the airport chaplaincy and prison ministry.

During his homily, the bishop looked out at the deacon candidates seated before him at the base of the sanctuary steps, their families and friends seated behind them.

“Your spouses and families, your friends, your pastors, the deacons of the diocese and the faithful of the diocese are here to pray for you as you receive the gift of the

Holy Spirit,” he said.

Bishop Jugis marveled at how the risen Lord not only joy this Easter season, but the gift of 15 new deacons for the Church.

He explained that as they are ordained, they receive the indelible spiritual character which configures them as deacons to Christ.

“Jesus said that He came not to be served, but to serve,” the bishop noted.

“Our deacons are ordained to serve. That is their special ministry. Through the sacrament of holy orders, they receive the sanctifying grace to equip them for this ministry.”

Calling them “dear sons,” Bishop Jugis encouraged the 15 men to “maintain a close friendship with Jesus the Risen Lord. It is He whom you are serving. The faithful must be able to see Christ in you. The Master must be recognized in the disciple.

“It is in the name of Jesus that you are sent out,” he reminded them. “Everything that you are able to accomplish will be done in the name of Jesus Christ. If you do not maintain a vital relationship with Jesus, your ministry will become dull, boring, perfunctory, unable to inspire.

Jesus working in you and in your ministry through the Holy Spirit will keep your ministry fresh.”

A deacon of the Church must juggle a lot in his life, the bishop acknowledged.

“It is a challenging invitation from God that you have chosen to answer – to be a deacon, to integrate your married life, your family life, your career and your diaconal ministry. It can be done and it can be done very effectively, as your brother deacons

can show you by the example of their lives,” he said.

“You do not ordain yourself,” he told them.

“It is the Risen Christ who has called you. But it is a successor of the Apostles who ordains you. The Church authenticates your ministry and sends you forth. You are associates of the bishop and the priests, to assist the bishop and the priests.

Your ministry will be effective to the extent that you are obedient to SUEANN HOWELL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD the faith and obedient to the Church.”

The newly ordained deacons will also HUNTERSVILLE — Bishop Peter J. Jugis ordained two men to the transitional conduct funeral rites diaconate June 2 at St. Mark Church. Alfonso Gamez and Britt Taylor became the and preside over public Diocese of Charlotte’s newest deacons and took the next step on their journey to prayers. the priesthood during the two-hour, standing-room-only Mass. “It is a ministry of “By your ordination, service,” Bishop Jugis told them during his homily. “You are now to be given your the Holy Spirit part in the ministry of salvation that Jesus commissioned His Church to do until the configures you to Christ end of time.” “You have been loved by Christ, loved by God for this sacred order,” the Servant,” Bishop he said. “And God willing, and only by His choice of you, may you also arrive at Jugis told them. “The ordination to the priesthood.” More than 25 priests and 20 deacons participated at Risen Lord gives you the Mass and were on hand to congratulate the new deacons. a special strength to serve Him and represent Easter joy must at all times give life to your Him in your ministry. That Easter joy ministry.” which marked the first disciples continues The 15 new deacons join an estimated to live on in the Church, not only during 18,500 active permanent deacons in the the Easter season, but at all times. Easter United States today. joy permeates the life of the Church. That

Transitional Deacons Gamez, Taylor ordained

Rev. Mr. Andrew Cilone Congratulations on your 35th Anniversary of your Deaconate Ordination Date of Ordination: May 29, 1983 Ordained by: Bishop Michael Joseph Begley First Deaconate Class of the Diocese of Charlotte We congratulate you for 35 years of service as a deacon in the Diocese of Charlotte and at the Parish of Immaculate Conception, Forest City.

We are grateful for all of the times that you have preached, taught, blessed, brought communion to the sick, perform baptisms, weddings, gravesides services, holy hours and benediction. We are blessed to have you and Joann in our Parish for 42 years.

We thank you for saying “Yes” to God 35 years ago. Our parish and the world is a better place because of your ministry.

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Celebrating our 2 Priests

5 YEARS

10 YEARS

15 YEARS

Father Jason Christian

Father Brandon Jones Father Tri Truong

Father Matthew Buettner Father Julio Dominguez Father Enrique Gonzalez-Gaytan Father Marcel Amadi

25 YEARS

30 YEARS

Father Eric Kowalski Father Carmen Malacari

Father Kenneth Whittington

Deacons

35 YEARS

Father John Hanic Father Martin Schratz, OFM Cap Bishop Peter Jugis Father Vang Cong Tran, CSsR

45 YEARS

50 YEARS

Father Thomas Norris, OSFS Father Wilbur Thomas Father Charles Strollo, CM

Father George Kloster

5 YEARS

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Deacon John Panzica

Deacon Luis Flores

Deacon Carl Hubbell Deacon Bernard We Deacon Peter Duca Deacon Charles Deacon Guy PichĂŠ Deacon Ronald Deacon Timothy Rohan Deacon Bruc Deacon Vincent Shaw Jr. Deacon Arthur Deacon Curtiss Todd

35 YEARS Deacon Andrew Cilone Deacon Charles Desautels Deacon Joseph Mack Deacon Harold Markle Deacon Joseph Schumacher Deacon Rudolph Triana Deacon Gerald Potkay Sr. Deacon James Hamrlik

Women religious

50 YEARS Sister Brigid McCarthy, RSM Sister Paulette Williams, RSM

NEWS HERALD

June 22, 2018 | catholicnewsherald.comiii

2018 Jubilarians 20 YEARS Father Basile Sede Father Dean Cesa Father Matthew Leonard Father Peter Pham

S

40 YEARS

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Father Michael Buttner Father Morris Boyd

55 YEARS

60 YEARS

Father James Hawker Father Edward Sheridan

Father Richard Benonis Father David Kessinger, OSB

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enning Jr. s Brantley d Caplette ce Haslett r Kingsley

40 YEARS Deacon Myles Decker Deacon Louis Pais

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23 permanent deacons celebrate jubilee anniversaries DEACON JOHN MARTINO SPECIAL TO THE CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

CHARLOTTE — The vocation of a permanent deacon is rooted in the call to be a servant of God. As an example we can look at the life of a deacon in the life of St. Francis of Assisi. He is a great role model for all deacons. He was a living gospel in every word, every deed and every moment of his life.

Like St. Francis, a deacon’s ministry of the Word, the Altar and Charity, is to be a living gospel. A deacon is to be a servant of God each moment of every day. The Diocese of Charlotte is blessed with permanent deacons who serve the Lord each moment of every day.

This year marks milestone anniversaries for 23 permanent deacons in the diocese. With the support of their wives, families and friends, these men carry on God’s work through various ministries. In this year in which we celebrate 35 years of permanent diaconal service in the Church of western North Carolina, we celebrate their anniversaries with great joy.

40 YEARS

Deacon Myles Decker, 76, and his wife Brenda live in Mooresville. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Denver on April 15, 1978, by Archbishop James Casey.

After ordination, he served in the Diocese of Denver until 1987 and then moved to the Diocese of Palm Beach, Fla., where he served until moving to North Carolina. Deacon Decker’s first assignment in the Diocese of Charlotte in 2006 was at St. Joseph Parish in Kannapolis. In 2013 he was assigned and still currently serves St. Thérèse of Lisieux Parish in Mooresville. Deacon Decker was granted formal retirement in 2017 and continues to faithfully serve at St. Thérèse at the request of his pastor.

St. John Neumann. In those many years Deacon Mack extended his ministry and reached out to many in the Charlotte community. Currently Deacon Mack lives in Macedon, N.Y., and is inactive as a deacon.

Deacon Harold Markle, 90, was also in the first class of permanent deacons for the Charlotte diocese, and after ordination was assigned to St. John Baptiste de La Salle Parish in North Wilkesboro. In 1995 he transferred to St. Joseph Parish in Newton, but two years later, in 1997, he returned to St. John Baptiste de La Salle Parish with additional ministry duties to St. Stephen Mission in Elkin.

In 2002 he retired but remained active in ministry for the Boonville area’s Hispanic community, serving at Divine Redeemer Parish. In 2007, along with his wife Virginia, he returned to his home parish of St. John Baptiste de La Salle, where he serves today.

Deacon Joseph Schumacher, 90, was also one of the first permanent deacons ordained for the Charlotte diocese on May 29, 1983. Along with his now deceased wife Virginia, they became members of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Winston-Salem in 1957. After ordination, Deacon

for the Archdiocese of Hartford, Conn., by Archbishop John F. Whealon. After ordination he was assigned to St. Ann Parish in Devon, Conn. In 1990 he and his wife Carol moved to Mayodan, and he was assigned to St. Joseph of the Hills Parish in Eden. Deacon Potkay also served the parish of Holy Infant before returning to St. Joseph in 2015. On Sept. 4, 1996, he was incardinated into the Charlotte diocese. He was granted retirement in 2015 but continues to serve his parish in Eden.

Deacon James Hamrlik, 72, was ordained for the Diocese of Joliet, Ill., by Bishop Joseph L. Imesch on Oct. 29, 1983.

His first assignment was to St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Bolingbrook, Ill. After moving to Charlotte with his wife Mary Anne in 1984, he was assigned to St. Gabriel Parish in Charlotte until 1988, when he was transferred to St. Matthew Parish in Charlotte. On Sept. 4, 1996, he was incardinated into the diocese. During his time in Charlotte he has taught deacon candidates and coordinated the continuing education program for deacons. Deacon Hamrlik continues to actively serve the diocese and St. Matthew Parish.

Deacon Louis Pais, 76, was ordained for the Diocese of Buffalo, N.Y., by Bishop Edward D. Head on May 14, 1978. While with the Diocese of Buffalo, he was involved with the diaconate formation program, and served as the director of its permanent diaconate program. In 1996, he and his wife Josie moved to the Charlotte area, where he was assigned to St. Gabriel Parish. As his roots took hold, in the year 2000, he was incardinated into the Diocese of Charlotte. In 2004 he was assigned to St. Mark Parish in Huntersville. During his tenure in this diocese, his ministry has taken a similar path as it did in the Diocese of Buffalo. Deacon Pais has served as director of formation and has also served as diocesan director of the permanent diaconate. In 2016 Deacon Pais was granted retirement but remains active in diaconal ministry at St. Mark Parish.

35 YEARS

Deacon Andy Cilone, 80, was in the first class of permanent deacons ordained for the Charlotte diocese May 29, 1983, by Bishop Michael J. Begley. As the men were ordained in alphabetical order, he was actually the first deacon ordained in that first class. Upon ordination, Deacon Cilone was assigned to his home parish of Immaculate Conception in Forest City. Twelve years later in 1995, he was assigned the first vicar for permanent deacons of the Hickory region, a position which he held for 21 years. Deacon Cilone and his wife JoAnn continue to be active in parish activities and in diocesan activities as well.

Deacon Cilone retired in 2016 but continues to be active in ministry at Immaculate Conception Parish.

Deacon Charles Desautels, 70, is also a member of the first permanent deacon class, ordained by Bishop Begley on May 29, 1983. The youngest in his class to be ordained, Deacon Desautels was assigned to his home parish of St. Francis of Assisi in Jefferson. He and his wife Peggy moved to Fayetteville, where he was granted faculties for the Diocese of Raleigh and served at St. Patrick Parish for eight years. In 1991, Deacon Desautels moved and served in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where he ministered at Our Lady of Grace, a primarily Polish parish in Penndel, Pa. In 1994 he returned to North Carolina and now lives in the Winston-Salem area. Currently he is assigned to St. Leo the Great Parish in Winston-Salem.

Deacon Joseph Mack, 93, was also ordained in the first class of permanent deacons for the Charlotte diocese on May 29, 1983, by Bishop Begley and was assigned to serve at St. John Neumann Parish in Charlotte. Deacon Mack retired in 2000, but he remained active until 2004. During his 17 years of ministry, with his now deceased wife Helen by his side, he served the needs of the parishioners of

PHOTO PROVIDED BY LISA CASH

PHOTO PROVIDED BY AMY BURGER

Deacons honored at St. Mark Church HUNTERSVILLE — Deacon Louis Pais and Deacon Ron Sherwood were honored at St. Mark Church in May for their jubilee anniversaries.

Schumacher was assigned to his home parish. In 2003, he was granted retirement, yet still to this day remains active in his diaconal responsibilities. Every year he opens his home to the deacons who serve in the Triad for an annual Christmas gathering. His ministries through the years have involved visiting prisons, visits to the homebound, helping with the poor in crisis, and preparing the faithful for the sacraments of marriage and baptism. Currently Deacon Schumacher serves during daily and weekend Masses at Our Lady of Mercy Parish, where he has now been a member for 61 years.

Deacon Rudolph Triana, 80, was also ordained in the first class of deacons for the Charlotte diocese. His first assignment was to St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in Maggie Valley. After serving in the Maggie Valley area, Deacon Triana, along with his now deceased wife Mary, moved to the Asheville area where he served at both St. Joan of Arc Parish in Candler and for a short time at Immaculate Conception Parish in Hendersonville. In 2009 he began serving at St. Barnabas Parish in Arden, where a significant focus of his ministry has been with the Hispanic community. Deacon Triana was granted retirement in 2012 and participates as he can in serving the St. Barnabas Parish.

Deacon Gerald Potkay, 77, was ordained on June 3, 1983,

Deacon John Sims retires MOORESVILLE — St. Thérèse Parish celebrated Deacon John Sims with a retirement party on June 10. Parishioners came out to show their appreciation and say thank you to Deacon John for his many years of service at the parish and to wish him well in his retirement. He is pictured with his wife Cheryl.

30 YEARS

Deacon Carl Hubbell, 84, was ordained for the Archdiocese of Miami on May 14, 1988 by Archbishop Edward McCarthy. Upon ordination he was assigned to St. Bartholomew Parish in Miramar, Fla., where his main focus of service was with youth and family life ministry. In 1998 he, along with his now deceased wife Carole, moved to North Carolina. In 1999 Deacon Hubbell was assigned to St. William Parish in Murphy. He was granted retirement as a deacon in 2011, but even in retirement he continues to actively serve St. William Parish and its mission parish of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Hayesville in many ways.

Deacon Peter Duca, 66, was in the second class of deacons ordained for the Charlotte diocese by Bishop John F. Donoghue on June 18, 1988, at St. Gabriel Church.

In that same year, he was appointed a permanent deacon for Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Charlotte. In 2003 he was appointed vicar of permanent deacons for the Charlotte region, serving for five years until 2008.

Along with his wife Martha, he remains active in parish ministries and continues to be active in serving Our Lady of the Assumption Parish and community. Deacon Duca has served this parish for 30 years.

JUBILARIANS, SEE PAGE 15B

June 22, 2018 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

JUBILARIANS FROM PAGE 14B

Deacon Guy Piché, 71, was also ordained in the diocese’s second class of deacons on June 18, 1988. After ordination, he was assigned to Queen of the Apostles Parish in Belmont. In addition he has formerly served the diocese as properties director and director of the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory. In 2003 he was assigned as permanent deacon for St. Helen Mission in Spencer Mountain. In 2014, he retired from his diocesan responsibilities and as a deacon. He and his wife Rachel live in Gastonia and he continues to serve St. Helen and its community.

Deacon Timothy Rohan, 83, was also ordained for the Charlotte diocese on June 18, 1988, and after ordination he was assigned to Our Lady of Grace Parish in Greensboro. In 1997 he was appointed vicar of permanent deacons for the Triad region, a role he held until 2004. In 2010 Deacon Rohan was granted retirement. He and his wife Eileen remain members of Our Lady of Grace Parish, where he has served for 30 years. Deacon Rohan is currently inactive as a deacon but continues to participate in church activities in support of his fellow deacons and parishioners.

The Diocese of Charlotte is blessed with permanent deacons who serve the Lord each moment of every day.

Deacon Vincent Shaw, 79, was also ordained for the Charlotte diocese in 1988, and after ordination he was assigned to St. Mary Parish in Greensboro. In 2004 he was assigned as vicar for the permanent deacons of the Triad region and in 2005 became police chaplain for the Greensboro Police Department. During his years as a deacon, he has served as editor of the deacons’ newsletter “The Servant,” maintains the deacon files and communications for deacons, and serves as treasurer for the Diocesan Association of Deacons. He was granted retirement in 2016 and still actively serves St. Mary Parish.

Along with his wife Catherine, he remains involved in parish activities, the diaconate community and diocesan ministry.

Deacon Curtiss Todd, 80, was also ordained in the second class of permanent deacons for the Charlotte diocese in 1988.

For most of his ministry, Deacon Todd has served at Our Lady of Consolation Parish in Charlotte, where he was assigned upon ordination. In many ways, this parish is the springboard of his diaconate service within the community and the diocese. He also served the parishes of St. Gabriel and St. Benedict the Moor. In a diocesan role, Deacon Todd served as vice chancellor for the diocese. He retired in 2009 but still participates in ministry at Our Lady of Consolation Parish.

Deacon Ben Wenning, 82, was also ordained for the diocese on June 18, 1988 at St. Gabriel Church, and it was at that parish that he began his ministry as a deacon. In 1990, Deacon Wenning was the first deacon assigned as chaplain for the Charlotte Airport and served on the Airport Chaplaincy Board. It was then that he also started to take on diocesan responsibilities. As the ministry of permanent deacons evolved, Deacon

Wenning served as assistant director of post ordination affairs, as vicar of the Triad region, and as administrator and director of the Permanent Diaconate for the diocese. He retired in 2007. Deacon Wenning and his wife Dot are still involved at St. Gabriel Parish, the place of his ordination three decades ago.

Deacon Charles Brantley, 88, was in the second class of deacons ordained for the diocese, ordained by Bishop Donoghue on June 19, 1988, at St. Joseph Church in Newton. After his ordination he was assigned to St. Phillip the Apostle Parish, his home parish in Statesville, and this is where he has served for the past 30 years.

He retired in 2005, and he and his wife Mickey continue to live in Statesville.

Deacon Ronald Caplette, 80, was also ordained for the diocese on June 19, 1988, at St. Joseph Church in Newton. After ordination Deacon Caplette was assigned to that parish, where he served for the next nine years. In 1997 he was assigned to St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Lenoir, where he served for 12 years until retiring in 2009. In his retirement, Deacon Caplette continues to serve at St. Aloysius Parish in Hickory at the request of his pastor. He and his wife Louise live in Hickory.

Deacon Bruce Haslett, 75, was in the second class of deacons ordained for the diocese by Bishop Donoghue on July 3, 1988, at St. Barnabas Church in Arden.

After ordination he was assigned to St. John the Baptist Parish in Tryon, where he served for 10 years. Deacon Haslett and his wife Marie relocated several times outside of the diocese and now live in Oregon. He retired as a deacon in 2015.

Deacon Arthur Kingsley, 83, was also ordained on July 3, 1988, at St. Barnabas Church, where he also was assigned to serve after ordination. Deacon Kingsley actively served the Arden parish for 19 years. In 2007, after moving to the Gastonia area, he was assigned to Saint Michael Parish. During his years of service to the diocese, Deacon Kingsley has served as Cursillo spiritual director, vicar of permanent deacons for the Asheville region, and has been instrumental on the organizing committee for the annual Eucharistic Congress. As a retired deacon, Deacon Kingsley and his wife Rosemary live in Tryon, where they remain involved in ministry at their parish.

THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE COUNCIL KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS “IN SOLIDARITY WITH OUR PRIESTS” CONGRATULATES Rev. Mr. Britt Alexander Taylor Rev. Mr. Alfonso Gamez, Jr. ON THEIR ORDINATION TO THE DIACONATE Special Congratulations to Bishop Peter J. Jugis

15 YEARS

Deacon Luis Flores, 57, was ordained by Bishop William Murphy for the Diocese of Rockville Centre on May 17, 2003. Upon arriving in North Carolina in 2007, he received faculties for the Charlotte diocese on Sept. 20, 2007, and was assigned to Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Charlotte. He and his wife Adela have been active in this parish since relocating to the Charlotte area. Deacon Flores is very active and invaluable to the needs of the Hispanic community within the parish he serves.

5 YEARS

Deacon John Panzica, 59, was also ordained by Bishop William Murphy for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, on May 18, 2013. He and his wife Jeanmarie moved to North Carolina in the summer of 2016 and reside in Charlotte. On Nov. 28, 2016, Deacon Panzica received faculties for the Charlotte diocese and was assigned to Queen of the Apostles Parish in Belmont.

Deacon Panzica and his wife are active in their parish and are becoming active with diocesan ministries.

DEACON JOHN MARTINO serves as director of the diocesan Permanent Diaconate Program.

on his 35th anniversary of his ordination to the Holy Priesthood And all other Priests, Deacons and Religious who are celebrating their continued service to the faithful of the Diocese of Charlotte. www.kofcnc.org

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catholicnewsherald.com | June 22, 2018 16B CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Deacon Todd: 30 years of service as a black Catholic, unapologetically following Christ LISA GERACI CORRESPONDENT

CHARLOTTE — More than 200 people came to the Embassy Suites in Charlotte June 16 to congratulate Deacon Curtiss P. Todd on the 30th anniversary of his ordination to the diaconate as well as his continued service to Our Lady of Consolation Parish, the diocese and the community at large.

The celebration was hosted by the “Spiritual Intercessors” of OLC, led by Naomi Byrd, and remarks from guests including Deacon Stephen Pickett, Rosheene Adams from the Diocese of Charlotte’s African American Affairs Ministry, Willis Joseph, Catherine Gomez, Pat McDonald and a special presentation from Priscilla Duncan. OLC musical performers Toni Tupponce and Morris Whitaker entertained with musical numbers in between tributes from the numerous guest speakers.

The 80-year-old Deacon Todd reflected on his 30 years of ministry, which included service as vice chancellor for the Diocese of Charlotte, leadership in the diocesan African American Affairs Ministry, RCIA, the Black Catholic Congress and civil rights advocacy.

“You know, 30 years is important but to be honest with you, to me it has been more than 30 years of service; it has been 30 years of growth,” he said. “I don’t mean personal or physical growth, I mean spiritual growth. Those of you who knew me – as a boy, as a teenager, as a young man, as a middle-aged man, as a newly-ordained man – those who knew me know that I had little to no spirituality.

None whatsoever. In all honesty, I was arrogant, opinionated, egotistical, selfish, didn’t go to church, had no prayer life, and my only interest was in getting what physically appeased me and not spiritually.

“I didn’t see God in my life, but He was, and He had a plan for me.”

God was calling him from a young age, he said, and at first he felt he should become a Lutheran minister. He joined the Lutheran Church and made plans to attend a Lutheran seminary after finishing school.

But that was “my plan, not God’s, because it didn’t happen,” he said.

He graduated from college and “left religion,” he said. “Then at 28, I started having feelings: Curtiss, you have to start doing something more with your life than you’re doing.”

He explored different religions and his research led him to Catholicism.

“The Catholic Church was the only religion that I could chase all the way back straight to Jesus,” he said. “I said, ‘That’s got to be the church for me.’”

He entered the Catholic Church, still feeling called by God somehow, but not knowing to what exactly. At first, he thought perhaps God was calling him to the priesthood – “again, my plan, not God’s.”

He grew discouraged and drifted away from the Church for a time. At 45, he recalled, the feeling returned that God was calling him to something more: “Curtiss, you’ve got to do more. There is more here to life than what you are doing.”

One day while he was driving to Sunday Mass, he realized he couldn’t make it in time to the church in Rock Hill where he had been attending.

“I looked down at the clock and it was almost 11 o’clock. I called myself a few choice names and said, ‘‘You can’t make it back in time for Mass.’ And then I remembered: Our Lady of Consolation is just two exits up.”

His daughter had gone to OLC’s school, so he was familiar with the parish. He arrived just in time for Mass, slipping in to the back pew. And he kept going back to OLC for Mass, gradually getting involved in parish life. He met with then pastor Father Wilbur Thomas, and described to him the feelings he had been having.

“He finally asked me one day, ‘Curtiss, have you ever thought about the permanent diaconate?’ And I said no.”

Father Thomas suggested that he apply, even though he did not know much about the program at the time. “I applied for the diaconate and was accepted – not my plan, but God’s plan,” Deacon Todd recounted.

“God did not plan for me to be a Lutheran minister, He did not plan for me to be a Catholic priest. His plan for me was to be a Catholic permanent deacon.”

Since he was ordained on June 18, 1988, Deacon Todd has made it his mission “to minister to the people of African American decent, while at the same time making other cultures aware of the positive contributions, talents and abilities of African Americans to the Church and the world.”

In a 2005 interview with the Catholic News Herald, he reiterated that goal: “I would like the Church – meaning the people in the diocese – to establish a true and honest relationship with Jesus, knowing without a doubt what He would say, do and think in any situation. If and when this happens, it would erase racism, egoism, self-importance and so on. We wouldn’t have any concerns about the Church, for it would truly become what it was intended to be.”

Thirteen years later conversations and dialogue have been exchanged, protests have been waged, movements have been created and the Church in western North Carolina is getting closer to “eradicating

Deacon Todd ‘is a leader who is unafraid to speak truth to power. He does not change regardless of who he is talking to.’

‘He doesn’t need a whole lot, just a listening ear as he tells you what he thinks. And you better be ready for what he thinks, because it’s not all the time that sweet, good stuff.’

TRAVIS BURTON | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

racism” in the name of Jesus – largely thanks to the leadership of strong black Catholics such as Deacon Todd.

Through these past 30 years, Deacon Todd’s experience and wisdom have grown but his philosophy has remained intact: “think, act and talk like Jesus.”

“Deacon Todd walks his faith daily without fanfare. He is one of the most powerful men of God I know,” said OLC parishioner Toni Tupponce. “Deacon Todd is the humblest leader I know. He uses humor when necessary and then ‘tells it like it is.’ He does what he has to do that is right. He tries to stay on the side of the angels, even if he upsets people in the process. He is a leader who is unafraid to speak truth to power. He does not change regardless of who he is talking to.”

Tupponce said she is grateful for Deacon Todd’s continuing service, especially his work advocating for “black cultural inclusion, fairness and equity in the diocese and in our parish.”

“We need him more than ever!” she said.

“If you have ever been in his presence, he just enjoys being with people,” noted Deacon Pickett. “He doesn’t need a whole lot, just a listening ear as he tells you what he thinks. And you better be ready for what he thinks, because it’s not all the time that sweet, good stuff.”

Although Deacon Todd technically retired in 2009, he remains active at OLC by assisting at Mass and delivering homilies, leading workshops and mentoring people – and parishioners and friends say they are grateful he continues to devote his life to the people of God. “He goes around taking the love of God to those who are in need,” said Deacon Pickett. “He is a wonderful father and grandfather, and he is a man of God. He is

a man of integrity. He is the same whether he is in clericals or in bermuda shorts, whether he has on dress shoes or flip-flops.

He doesn’t change.”

“The past 30 years have been a growth process here to learn and develop,” Deacon Todd reflected. “I had to learn things about the ministry, about the Church, about the people in the Church, about people not in the Church. All of these are important, but the most important thing learned about was me: how God made me to be. I had to learn that who I was, and what God called me to be, were two different people, totally opposite.

“I had to come to that learning in two primary ways. One, I had to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

I had to learn that not only is He my Savior, He is my friend. He leads me, He teaches me. I have to develop that personal relationship with Him and I have to make my every thought, word and deed exactly what He would think. I have to come that close to Him. “Two, I had to ask God for the gift of the Holy Spirit. That is because Jesus tells us in John’s Gospel that when He leaves He is going to send the Holy Spirit to teach us everything and remind us of all He taught us. What that says to me is if the Holy Spirit has to teach me everything, then I know absolutely nothing. I had to develop that spiritual wisdom, I had to take me out of what I want, what I feel, what I think and what pleases me. I have done both of those things and I do those things daily.

As a result, thanks be to God, I am not the same person I was 30 years ago, 20 years ago, 10 years ago – I’m still learning, still developing, still a work in progress.

“The only thing I think God is telling me to do is to live by Jesus and God’s Holy Spirit.”

June 22, 2018 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

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A man of mercy Deacon Joe Schumacher celebrates 35 years of service SUEANN HOWELL SENIOR REPORTER

WINSTON-SALEM — To witness a life well lived, one has to look no further than Deacon Joe Schumacher, Ph.D., of Our Lady of Mercy Church.

He may be 90 years old, but he confesses, “I still don’t have time to do all that I want to do every day.”

Most of us would be taking it easy at that age, but not Deacon Joe. A member of the first class of 19 permanent deacons ordained for the Diocese of Charlotte in 1983, he is celebrating 35 years of service to the people of the diocese, and is still going strong.

Deacon Joe rises each morning at 5 a.m., prays morning prayer and the rosary, takes a walk, and then heads to church to assist at the 8:30 a.m. weekday Mass at the parish. He still preaches the homily every Wednesday at Mass. He also assists at the Saturday evening Mass and the Sunday 11 a.m. Mass.

“I love the people,” he says. “I fell in love

with Our Lady of Mercy.”

That is obvious when you consider all the ways he has served his parish over the years.

The father of nine children, he and his late wife Virginia were always active in their parish, even when he worked fulltime at R.J. Reynolds in Winston-Salem.

In fact, he was so committed to serving the people of Our Lady of Mercy Parish that he left his job just four years after becoming a permanent deacon so he could serve the church full-time.

Always a family man, Deacon Joe baptized many of his 24 grandchildren and even some of his 11 great-grandchildren.

He has also officiated at the wedding of three of his granddaughters.

One of the hallmarks of Deacon Joe’s vocation to the diaconate has been works of mercy.

For 25 years he visited the sick in hospitals and nursing homes. For the past 22 years, he has led a Communion service at a local nursing home. For 12 years he was active in prison ministry, bringing prisoners to his home for family gatherings.

Over the course of three decades, Deacon Joe has prepared dozens of couples for marriage, as well as couples seeking to baptize their children in the Church.

In the past 35 years he also served in soup kitchens, taken in boarders, conducted funeral services and served on Cursillo retreats, helping to lead people closer to God. A talented woodworker, he has made hundreds of wooden crosses and also some

Deacon Joe Schumacher was honored on his 90 birthday and 35th anniversary as a deacon during an April Mass and celebration at Our Lady of Mercy Church in WinstonSalem.

PHOTO PROVIDED

BY MARÍA CRUZ

tables and cabinets for use at the church.

He says “all of these little acts of service have been done with love.”

Deacon Joe’s pastor, Conventual Franciscan Father Carl Zdancewicz, says he is “a man of great service. He is a Renaissance man. He reads, walks, plays pickle ball at the YMCA and works in his woodshop, making very creative gifts.”

Father Zdancewicz believes Deacon Joe “creates a model for people, especially for the elderly.”

“He does a tremendous job at the parish,” he adds.

Recently Deacon Joe ministered to a woman whose 16-year-old daughter had become pregnant, when she approached him at one of the baptismal preparation classes he conducts. The teenage motherto-be was ashamed and didn’t know where to turn. Deacon Joe assured them that God

loved her and her baby, too. When the baby was born, he administered the sacrament of baptism.

The grandmother approached Deacon Joe at church recently and told him, “If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be here.”

“That blows my mind,” he recalls. “I pray every day, ‘Lord, help me to do the good that I strive to do.’ And that is what He does.”

Deacon Joe explains, “I have always wanted to do my best as a deacon because I wanted what I did to be a good experience for them. I didn’t want to be clumsy, fall on my face and be a distraction for them. So I studied, worked hard and prayed.

“In the 35 years of my ministry there was a lot of turnover in our parish, but I have loved them all. After 35 years, I realize how much I have touched people over the years.”

Our Lady of Consolation would like to congratulate Rev Mr. Curtiss Todd on his 30th Anniversary

Prayerful Best Wishes Deacon Joseph Schumacher On your 35th Anniversary

St Helen’s would like to congratulate Rev. Mr. Guy Piché on his 30th anniversary

From your parish family at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church Winston – Salem, NC

Thank you both for your years of generous service!

catholicnewsherald.com | June 22, 2018 18B CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Deacon Hamrlik has served growing St. Matthew Parish from the start KIMBERLY BENDER ONLINE REPORTER

CHARLOTTE — For 35 years, Deacon James Hamrlik has been a pioneer in the Church in western North Carolina.

He is one of the first permanent deacons in the Diocese of Charlotte as well as one of the founding families and only original clergy still serving at St. Matthew Church in Charlotte. And he continues to think ahead as he works toward becoming a board-certified chaplain to minister to the aging.

Deacon Hamrlik was ordained in October 1983 for the Diocese of Joliet, Ill. He and his wife Mary Anne have two children and four grandchildren. He has a self-described adventurous spirit that has taken him to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro and enabled him to tackle the base camp trek of Mount Everest.

“It’s all been very moving,” Deacon Hamrlik says, reflecting on his past 35 years of ministry as a deacon. “I find that what the Lord has done is open up all kinds of doors I never thought were there. The doors opened, and I just walked through.

I’ve had a lot of very moving moments in my life. I thank the Lord for allowing me to get to those stages and be able to do all I have.”

Four decades ago, Deacon Hamrlik wasn’t even sure what a deacon did during Mass.

“I familiarized myself, and the more I learned the more it sort of snowballed into me feeling like I was being called in that direction,” he recalls.

After years of training and formation,

he was ordained a permanent deacon. A few months later, Deacon Hamrlik learned that his employer was transferring him to Charlotte. His first assignment was at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte, where he served for three years.

“It was a relatively large parish for the area and the time,” he says. “For whatever reason, I thought I’d like to get to a smaller parish. I was looking around and heard about a new parish happening in the farmland of south Charlotte, and Monsignor (Joseph) Kerin (the pastor at the time) was looking for a deacon.”

A couple hundred families who would become the founding members of St. Matthew Parish were meeting for Mass in a movie theater at the time.

“I became part of the founding families.

As St. Matthew Parish grew, I became a charter member of the Knights of Columbus. I just kept growing with the parish itself,” Deacon Hamrlik says.

Over the past 30 years, Deacon Hamrlik has been involved in just about every ministry at St. Matthew Church, says its current pastor, Father Patrick Hoare. He is currently assisting couples seeking annulments and with marriage preparation in addition to preaching during Masses.

“He’s been the one person who’s really been here since the beginning on the staff and clergy. He’s our link to that part of our history,” Father Hoare notes.

As St. Matthew Church grew over the years, Deacon Hamrlik spent a lot of that time as its sole deacon, preaching at eight to 10 Masses each weekend.

“The interesting aspect is, about the first

With great joy the St. Matthew parish community congratulates our native son Deacon Britt Taylor, ordained as a Transitional Deacon on June 2nd by Bishop Peter Jugis.

“Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also my servant will be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.” (John 12:26)

half of the time I’ve been here I was the only deacon,” he says. “Even though the parish was growing from 300 to 600 to 1,000 to 3,000, I was the only deacon. My wife and I would start a program, get it up and running, and then in most cases have someone who graduated from the program to take it over. We kept doing that over and over again.”

The south Charlotte parish now boasts more than 11,000 families and is reportedly the largest Catholic parish in the United States. Five other deacons have joined Deacon Hamrlik in serving the parish.

Being a deacon is a true calling for Deacon Hamrlik. The key is a personal relationship with God, he emphasizes.

“It’s very meaningful because if you’re in tune with God – with a personal relationship with Him developed through prayer and in meditation – you understand that doors are open or closed. The ones that are closed, even though you want them to be open, you follow the path that the Lord wants you to follow. And you find that all sorts of wonderful things start to happen in your life and to those you are ministering to,” he says.

While Deacon Hamrlik was ordained shortly before the first class of permanent deacons in the Diocese of Charlotte was in 1983, he is often considered as part of the founding deacon class.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY JIM ALVAREZ

Deacon Hamrlik is continuing his journey as a deacon by completing Clinical Pastoral Education, which is learning to minister to the sick or dying. He has spent 10-15 weeks at a time at hospitals over the past five years in an effort to apply to be a board-certified chaplain. Most recently, he completed a stint at Emory Hospital in Atlanta.

As the Baby Boomer generation retires, ages and dies, retirement homes, hospitals and hospices are in need of more people to provide spiritual guidance, he notes. He hopes he may be able to help fill that need.

“That would be rewarding. Being a board-certified chaplain, you understand death and dying. You can help people going through the end stages of their life,” he says. “Having someone to help spiritually could make it easier.”

The St. Matthew Parish community offers our congratulations and prayers for Deacon Jim Hamrlik on the 35th anniversary of his ordination to the Diaconate.

Thank you for your years of dedicated service to our parish!

June 22, 2018 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

Two Sisters of Mercy celebrate golden jubilees BELMONT — Mercy Sister Brigid McCarthy and Mercy Sister Paulette Williams are both celebrating their 50th anniversary as Sisters of Mercy this year.

Sister Brigid McCarthy is co-foundress of Well of Mercy, a retreat for individuals in Hamptonville. Previously, she ministered as a therapist and as secretary to the superior general in Belmont.

In addition, Sister Brigid taught at St. Michael School in Gastonia, Our Lady of the Assumption School in Charlotte, and St. Mary School in Wilmington.

Sister Paulette Williams is executive vice president and director of the Sisters of Mercy of North McCarthy Carolina Foundation Inc., based in Belmont.

She served on the Community Leadership Team for the Sisters of Mercy-South Central Community (2000-2016), including one four-year term as president of the community and two terms as vice president.

Williams A native of Concord, Sister Paulette also taught and served as principal of Charlotte Catholic High School from 1973 to 2000.

The Sisters of Mercy dedicate their lives to God through vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and service.

For more than 150 years, motivated by the Gospel of Jesus and inspired by the spirit of their founder, St. Catherine McAuley, the Sisters of Mercy have responded to the changing needs of the times.

Through prayer and service, the sisters address the causes and effects of violence, racism, degradation of Earth and injustice to women and immigrants. The sisters serve in more than 200 organizations that work with those in need in the U.S., Central and South America, Jamaica, Guam and the Philippines.

— Beth Rogers Thompson, Sisters of Mercy

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‘Spiritual union is the most precious possession that a consecrated person has’ Bishop Jugis honors religious jubilarians SUEANN HOWELL SENIOR REPORTER

‘Joy fills the hearts and lives of all those who encounter Jesus.

That joy is constantly being renewed by our daily encounter with Jesus, by our remaining in Jesus as He is remaining in us.’

CHARLOTTE — At the annual Mass for the World Day for Consecrated Life, celebrated Feb. 3 at St. Patrick Cathedral, several women and men religious were honored for their decades of service to the Church.

Religious brothers and sisters celebrating special jubilee anniversaries this year include: Benedictine Father David Kessinger of Belmont Abbey (60 years); Mercy Sister Brigid McCarthy (50 years); and Mercy Sister Paulette Williams (50 years).

Bishop Peter Jugis drew inspiration for his homily from the readings selected for the Mass and the words Pope SUEANN HOWELL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD Francis shared with Religious sisters sing the opening hymn as they gather for the annual Mass for the World Day for Consecrated Life Feb. 3 at St. Patrick consecrated religious Cathedral in Charlotte. Bishop Peter Jugis celebrated Mass and honored consecrated religious who have given decades of service to on his recent visit to the Church.

Peru.

“Jesus says, ‘Remain in me as I remain in was expecting more of us.” met with hundreds of men and women you (John 15:1-8).’ “Beautiful words which The joy of following Christ also marks religious and spoke to them about this He spoke during the Last Supper, with the the life of a consecrated person, Bishop spiritual union with Jesus. theme of the vine and the branches. We Jugis noted from the pope’s talk in Peru.

“He talked about this theme in his must always remain in the Lord, as He “Joy fills the hearts and lives of all discourse, of spiritual union with Jesus, is always remaining in us,” Bishop Jugis those who encounter Jesus. He (Pope and called our spiritual union with said.

Francis) said in our daily encounter Him ‘the most precious possession of a “He is speaking about our spiritual that we have with the Lord Jesus, (we consecrated person.’ Beautiful words, union with Jesus, which we know is so find) that joy that we first experienced in beautiful description that he gave! Our vital to and is so critical to the vocation to knowing that He had come especially to spiritual union is the most precious the consecrated life.” us and chosen us for a special purpose possession that a consecrated person Bishop Jugis shared that when Pope in His Church and in the world. That joy has.”

Francis traveled to Peru last month, he is constantly being renewed by our daily That “most precious possession,” he encounter with Jesus, by our remaining continued, recalls the parable Jesus told in Jesus as He is remaining in us.” of the pearl of great price.

Bishop Jugis thanked all of the religious He also noted that Pope Francis asked gathered at Mass and those from the religious to take time periodically to Diocese of Charlotte serving in religious recall those days when they were first orders throughout the world. discerning their vocation, when they “We pray that by your presence here began to realize that the Lord was calling in the midst of our local Church in the them.

Diocese of Charlotte that all of us in the “When we experienced that gaze of local Church, inspired by your example, Jesus in a very special, unique, very by your witness of holiness, may be personal encounter with the Lord, where inspired to a closer following of Jesus He came to meet us and encounter us… ourselves,” he said. when He let us know He was expecting “It really is a wonderful daily spiritual something different, something more of adventure each one of us is on – an us.” adventure of grace, an adventure of Bishop Jugis said that this time in a walking with the Lord on a daily basis, religious person’s life is similar to when as we renew our relationship with Him the disciples were being called, as they too and grow in our love for Him and grow in “experienced the gaze of God, penetrating holiness.” into their heart…as He knew them and At the conclusion of Mass, he joined loved them.” members of more than seven religious “Each one of us in consecrated life has communities from across western North had a similar experience – where the Lord Carolina in the Family Life Center at St. came and decided to encounter each one Patrick Cathedral for a luncheon in their of us personally, in a unique way, in a honor. unique situation, and He let us know He

Vocaciones

catholicnewsherald.com | June 22, 2018 20B CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

¡La vocación es hoy!

La misión cristiana es ahora Más personas están respondiendo el llamado de Dios para servir a la Iglesia

Quince hombres fueron ordenados diáconos permanentes para la Diócesis de Charlotte en abril.

La diócesis tiene hoy el número más grande de diáconos en sus 46 años de historia, y el número de vocaciones para el sacerdocio, diaconado y vida religiosa continúa en aumento.

SUEANN HOWELL SENIOR REPORTER

CHARLOTTE — La Diócesis de Charlotte ordenó sus primeros sacerdotes en 1974, y desde entonces el número de clérigos ha seguido creciendo al igual que la diócesis. Los cuatro obispos de la diócesis, comenzando con el primero, el Obispo Michael Begley, hasta nuestro actual Obispo Peter Jugis, han alentado a los fieles a apoyar a las personas que siguen sus vocaciones religiosas y a orar por un aumento de las vocaciones.

Esas oraciones y apoyo, semillas sembradas en tierra fértil, han generado una cosecha de bendiciones. La Diócesis de Charlotte está experimentando un auge de vocaciones, con más hombres y mujeres discerniendo por el sacerdocio, diaconado permanente y la vida religiosa, especialmente en la década pasada.

Mientras la población católica que reside en la zona oeste de Carolina del Norte ha aumentado de un estimado de 35.000, cuando la diócesis fue establecida en 1972, hasta el calculado de hoy de 450.000, el número de personas que sirven a la Iglesia local también se ha incrementado.

En las 92 parroquias y misiones de la diócesis, 81 sacerdotes y 135 diáconos trabajan sirviendo al pueblo de Dios en el oeste de Carolina del Norte, más de los 72 sacerdotes y 96 diáconos de hace solo diez años. Cerca de dos docenas de órdenes religiosas de hombres y mujeres, aproximadamente 36 sacerdotes religiosos, 128 hermanas y 11 hermanos religiosos también sirven en la diócesis.

Para este otoño se anticipa que la diócesis tendrá 38 hombres estudiando para el sacerdocio, incluyendo 16 seminaristas en tres importantes seminarios en Estados Unidos y Roma, así como 22 estudiantes en el nuevo Seminario Universitario San José en Charlotte.

Inaugurado en 2016, el seminario universitario ha sido un imán para las vocaciones, y los jóvenes han respondido a la oportunidad de estudiar y discernir una vocación religiosa cerca de sus hogares y parroquias.

El gran interés por el seminario universitario ha generado el empeño de la diócesis en expandir la vivienda para ellos en el campus de la Iglesia Santa Ana en Park Road. Los estudiantes actualmente ocupan dos casas adyacentes a la iglesia, y una tercera propiedad, recientemente desocupada por las Hermanas de San José que sirvieron a la parroquia por más de 32 años, está siendo remodelada para recibir más estudiantes.

Mientras tanto, la diócesis ha comprado 86 acres a dos millas de Belmont Abbey College para levantar un edificio permanente para el seminario universitario. La recolección de fondos para la campaña de construcción debe comenzar este otoño.

Y los dos primeros graduados del seminario universitario se dirigirán a Ohio este otoño. Allí se reunirán con otros tres seminaristas que se encuentran estudiando en el Seminario Monte Santa María en el Ateneo en Cincinnati.

Otros ocho seminaristas están estudiando cerca de ahí, en la Pontificia Universidad Josephinum en Columbus.

Además, tres hombres estudian en la Universidad

JOHN COSMAS | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Norteamericana en Roma.

En junio pasado cinco hombres fueron ordenados sacerdotes para la diócesis por el Obispo Jugis, él mismo una vocación local. Nacido en Charlotte, el Obispo Jugis está celebrando su 35 aniversario de ordenación: él fue ordenado el 12 de junio de 1983 por el Papa San Juan Pablo II en la Basílica San Pedro en Roma. Este año también marca su 15 aniversario como el cuarto obispo de Charlotte.

Mientras no hay más ordenaciones planeadas para este año, la diócesis espera ordenar tres hombres al sacerdocio en 2019.

En cuanto a parroquias, la Iglesia Santo Tomás de Aquino en Charlotte tiene la distinción de contar con cinco feligreses que estudian actualmente para el sacerdocio.

El Padre Matthew Kauth, rector del Seminario Universitario San José, está sorprendido por el número de hombres que están en discernimiento por un llamado al sacerdocio.

“Lo que sabía era que las vocaciones a menudo surgen en un corazón en el momento en el que un joven comienza a hacerse la pregunta, ‘¿Cuál es el propósito de mi vida?’

Lo que no sabíamos es que 24 hombres en tres años mirarían a nuestro incipiente seminario y dirían, ‘Esto es por lo que quiero vivir. Voy a vivir para Cristo como su sacerdote’”.

“Los números simplemente han sido asombrosos y no hay un final a la vista”, dijo el Padre Kauth. “Ahora debemos construir un edificio para que todos podamos estar bajo un mismo techo. Ellos han respondido el llamado al sacrificio, y ahora los fieles deben responder al llamado de apoyo”.

DIACONADO PERMANENTE

Desde 1980, cuando la Diócesis de Charlotte estableció el ministerio de Diaconado Permanente, hasta el día de hoy, el diaconado permanente ha florecido de igual manera que el crecimiento de la diócesis.

Diecinueve hombres fueron ordenados por el Obispo Begley en la primera promoción de diáconos permanentes el 29 de mayo de 1983.

Las dos pasadas ordenaciones, en 2014 y 2018, vieron un total de 31 hombres ordenados como diáconos permanentes para la diócesis. En el oeste de Carolina del Norte hay ahora más de 130 diáconos permanentes sirviendo en el ministerio de la Palabra, del Altar y de la Caridad.

Y la corriente constante de personas interesadas en el diaconado permanente continúa con 18 hombres

actualmente en el programa de aspirantes. De ellos se seleccionará una nueva promoción de candidatos este verano para comenzar la formación en el programa de Diaconado Permanente a fines de agosto.

RELIGIOSOS CONSAGRADOS

Cuando la Diócesis de Charlotte fue formada en 1972, 15 comunidades religiosas de hombres y mujeres estaban activas en la diócesis. Hoy son 23 comunidades esparcidas a lo largo del oeste de Carolina del Norte.

Actualmente hay 36 sacerdotes de orden religiosa que sirven a la diócesis, así como 128 mujeres religiosas activas y 11 hermanos religiosos.

Las parroquias de la diócesis son testigos de feligreses, hombres y mujeres jóvenes, que ingresan a órdenes religiosas en todo el país.

La Parroquia Santa Ana en Charlotte, por ejemplo, tiene dos parroquianos que se han unido a las comunidades religiosas en los últimos años. También hay dos hombres de la parroquia que estudian para el sacerdocio diocesano.

¡LA VOCACIÓN ES AHORA!

Las semillas sembradas en el pasado están produciendo una cosecha abundante, pero siempre hay necesidad de más personas que respondan al llamado de Dios de servir a su Iglesia.

En su mensaje por el Día Mundial de Oración por las Vocaciones, el Papa Francisco animó a los fieles que puedan estar sintiendo ese llamado a responder sin demora.

“Nuestra lentitud y pereza” no debería retrasar una respuesta, y los cristianos no debemos “temer nuestras limitaciones y pecados, sino abrir nuestros corazones a la voz del Señor”, escribió el Papa.

“Todo cristiano debe crecer en la capacidad de ‘leer dentro’ de su vida y comprender dónde y a qué está siendo llamado por el Señor, a fin de llevar a cabo Su misión”.

“Si (Dios) nos permite darnos cuenta de que nos está llamando a consagrarnos totalmente a Su reino, ¡entonces no deberíamos tener miedo!”, dijo. “Es hermoso, y una gran gracia, estar completamente y para siempre consagrado a Dios y al servicio de nuestros hermanos y hermanas”.

“No llenaremos nuestros corazones si nos mantenemos de pie junto a la ventana con la excusa de esperar el momento adecuado, sin aceptar este mismo día el riesgo de tomar una decisión”. ¡La vocación es hoy! ¡La misión cristiana es ahora!“, dijo.

Al parecer muchos hombres y mujeres en la diócesis están escuchando.

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Our Lady of Guadalupe Church

Semillero de vocaciones CESAR HURTADO REPORTERO HISPANO

CHARLOTTE — La Iglesia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en Charlotte no es solo la parroquia con el mayor número de fieles de origen hispano, ni la iglesia con más programas y servicios para los latinos católicos que cualquier otra, o la iglesia con el mayor número de Misas en español que se celebran semanalmente. Desde sus inicios la parroquia se ha destacado como un semillero que ya ha entregado seis hombres de la comunidad latina que han sido ordenados para servir al pueblo de Dios.

Según el párroco, Padre Vicente Finnerty, la generación de vocaciones se debe a que “desde el principio nos hemos centrado no tanto en la vocación sacerdotal sino en la vocación laical”, al promover “la participación de los laicos en un proceso de conversión” con la visión “de comprometerse concretamente con su comunidad y su realidad”.

P. Vicente señala que la comunidad latina, “que tiene su cultura, su modo de pensar, su manera de vivir, de celebrar la vida y sus valores muy fuertes de familia de comunidad”, vive contínuamente “bajo el radar” y, de una u otra manera, sufre discriminación.

“Entonces lo que hemos tratado de hacer es crear un ambiente de mucha unión, de familia, de que la gente se sienta en casa. Y de hecho muchos nos dicen que esta es su segunda casa”, asegura.

El párroco reconoce que la parroquia trata de atender a todas las personas -sin importar de dónde o por qué vienen“en determinado momento no podemos responder a todo, pero la gente sabe que si tiene alguna necesidad viene a La Lupita”.

Es en la reputación de estar siempre disponible, de acoger a amorosamente a la gente, en la que el P. Vicente cree que las personas empiezan a sentir internamente “que quieren dar más que la vocación laical” y “les nace el deseo de misión, de que quieren entregarse de una manera más plena, más clara, a su propio pueblo”.

El P. Vicente explica que una de las características de la comunidad latina es la fe y respeto hacia sus sacerdotes.

“Entonces uno puede aprovechar esto para vivir de ellos (del pueblo) o uno puede realmente vivir más humildemente a la orden (servicio) de ellos. Y ahí es donde la gente crece y ve un modelo de cura que es distinto”, muy diferente a la idea que traemos de nuestros propios países, donde el “cura anda enojado todo el tiempo, manda, tiene cierto poder sobre el pueblo” pero, al mismo tiempo, no tiene esa cercanía emocional con sus feligreses.

La parroquia anteriormente tuvo una casa de discernimiento en el campus de la iglesia. El Padre le da el crédito a esa iniciativa por el enfoque en el discernimiento vocacional. Ahí podía aconsejar a jóvenes curiosos sobre el sacerdocio proveyendo un espacio para el estudio, aprendizaje de Inglés y crecimiento en su fe.

“Los enviábamos al CPCC (Colegio Comunitario local) y, al mismo tiempo, estaba ese acompañamiento a nivel espiritual para que encontraran si su camino era el matrimonio o el sacerdocio”, dice P. Vicente, añadiendo que el siguiente paso, si se inclinaban por la vocación sacerdotal, era enviarlos a Nueva York, donde la orden cuenta con un seminario y

la Universidad St. John.

El crecimiento en la fe y el considerar la vocación religiosa significa luchar con las dudas, anotó el Padre Finnerty.

“Todo mundo duda de su fe, eso es positivo porque nos permite hacer preguntas de nuestro compromiso. Lo veo como normal, como un proceso de crecimiento humano. Me preocupa más un muchacho que no duda”, señala.

El P. Vicente se enfoca en dar la bienvenida a otros, así como él mismo fue acogido por la congregación Vicentina.

Seedbed of vocations CESAR HURTADO HISPANIC REPORTER

CHARLOTTE — Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Charlotte is not just the Diocese of Charlotte’s largest Hispanic parish, or just the church with more programs and services for Latino Catholics than any other, or the church with the highest number of Spanish Masses celebrated weekly. Since its inception, the parish has stood out as a vocations seedbed that has already produced six men from the Latino

FOTO CORTESÍA MEDALLA MILAGROSA

El Diácono Luis Romero se pone de rodillas para recibir los Evangelios de manos del Obispo Alfonso Cabezas, CM, Obispo Emérito de Villavicencio, Colombia, mientras el recíen ordenado Diácono Leo Tiburcio, a su derecha, lo observa. Dentro de un año el Diácono Tiburcio espera convertirse en sacerdote.

Nacido en una familia de pocos recursos, era el séptimo de ocho hermanos y obtuvo una beca para estudiar en la Universidad de Niágara en Nueva York.

Con un trabajo de sacristán para ayudarse en los estudios, recibió una invitación que primero rechazó pensando que no era para él. Algunos meses después el pensamiento daba vueltas en su cabeza y corazón, por lo que volvió a hablar con el sacerdote y le dijo “aquí estoy”.

Su servicio en Panamá, donde pudo ver de cerca la pobreza de la gente y el compromiso de los sacerdotes marcó la vida del joven.

“Para nosotros, los Vicentinos, evangelizar es también responder a todas las necesidades sociales. No es solamente celebrar misa o los sacramentos o evangelizar en esa forma. Se evangeliza a través del ejemplo, de la caridad para con el prójimo”. Todo ese ejemplo, asegura, “ayuda a la gente a inclinarse hacia el sacerdocio” porque ve a un cura distinto que “sale de la iglesia y está respondiendo a lo que la gente necesita”.

La más reciente vocación que ha surgido de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe es Leo Tiburcio, de 41 años, quien acaba de regresar a Charlotte tras ser ordenado diácono transicional el pasado 26 de mayo en la Iglesia Sagrado Corazón de Oxford, Pensilvania.

Nacido en Santa María Zacatepec, Cholula, estado de Puebla en México, de una familia de 9 hijos, en 1994 abandonó su tierra a los 16 años para ayudar a la VOCACIONES, PASA A LA PÁGINA 23B

community who have been ordained to serve the people of God. According to Vincentian Father Vincent Finnerty, pastor, the growth of vocations is because “from the beginning we focused not so much on the priestly vocation but on the lay vocation,” by promoting “the participation of laypeople in a process of conversion” with the vision “to concretely be committed to their community and their reality.”

Father Finnerty points out that the Latino community “has its culture, its way of thinking, its way of life, its own way to celebrate life, and it has very strong values ​​as a family and community.” The community also lives continuously “under the radar” and, one way or another, suffers discrimination.

“So what we have tried to do is create an atmosphere of unity, of family, of people feeling at home. And, in fact, many people tell us that this is their second home,” he says.

Father Finnerty recognizes that although the parish tries to serve all people – no matter where they come from or why they are here – “at a certain moment we cannot respond to all the requests, but people know that if they have any need, they can come to ‘La Lupita,’” the nickname parishioners have for Our Lady of Guadalupe.

It is in the reputation of always being available, of welcoming people with love, that Father Finnerty believes people begin to feel “that they want to give more than the lay vocation.” Because “they are born with the desire for mission, they want to

give themselves in a fuller, clearer way to their own people,” he notes.

Father Finnerty explains that one of the traits of the Latino community is faith in and respect for its priests. “One can take advantage of this by living on them, or one can really live more humbly to the service of them.” People here observe a different model of priestly ministry, he notes, “very different from the idea we bring from our own countries,” where the “priest is angry all the time, he commands, he has some power over the people” and he does not enjoy a close relationship with his flock.

The parish formerly had a house of discernment on the church campus, which Father Finnerty credits for the focus on vocational discernment. There he was able to advise men curious about the priesthood and provide space for studying, learning English and growing in their faith.

“We sent them to CPCC (Central Piedmont Community College) and at the same time, there was that accompaniment at the spiritual level so they could find out if their path was marriage or the priesthood,” says Father Finnerty, adding that the next step, if a man were inclined towards a priestly vocation, was to send them to New York, where the Vincentian order has a seminary and St. John’s University.

Growth in one’s faith and considering a religious vocation means wrestling with doubt, Father Finnerty notes.

“Everybody doubts their faith. That is good because it allows us to ask questions about our commitment,” he says. “I see it as normal, as a process of human growth.

I’m more worried about a boy who does not doubt.”

Father Finnerty focuses on welcoming others just as he was welcomed by the Vincentians.

Born into a family with few resources, he was the seventh of eight children and received a scholarship to study at Niagara University in New York.

With a job as a sacristan to help himself with his studies, he received an invitation that he first rejected, thinking it was not for him. Some months later, the thought was spinning in his head and his heart, so he spoke again with the priest and told him, “Here I am.”

He served in Panama, where he saw close-up the poverty of the people and the commitment of the priests. The experience marked the young man’s life.

“For us Vincentians, evangelizing is also responding to all social needs. It is not just celebrating Mass or the sacraments or evangelizing in that way. It is evangelized through example, of charity towards our neighbor.”

This example, he notes, “helps people to lean toward the priesthood” because they see a different priest who “leaves the church and is responding to what people need.”

The latest vocation to spring from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church is Leo Tiburcio, 41, who has just returned to Charlotte after being ordained a transitional deacon on May 26 at Sacred Heart Church in Oxford, Pa. Born in Santa María Zacatepec, Cholula, state of Puebla in Mexico, from a family of nine children, he left his home at the age of 16 in 1994 to work in restaurants in New York in order to help his family financially.

He moved to Atlanta, then to Charlotte.

Once in Charlotte, he began attending Mass VOCATIONS, SEE PAGE 23B

catholicnewsherald.com | June 22, 2018 22B CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Abriendo caminos Tres diáconos latinoamericanos abrieron paso a nuevas generaciones en la Diócesis de Charlotte CESAR HURTADO REPORTERO HISPANO

CHARLOTTE — El 1 de julio de 1995, después de completar varios años de formación para el diaconado, tres hombres de origen hispano esperaban inquietos y emocionados en los pasillos de la Iglesia San Gabriel para recibir las sagradas órdenes que los consagrarían como diáconos de la Iglesia Católica.

Carlos Medina, nacido en Nicaragua, Rafael Torres y Edwin Rodríguez de Puerto Rico, fueron parte de un grupo de once candidatos ordenados ese día por el entonces Obispo William G. Curlin.

Era la primera ordenación en la que participaban varios candidatos latinos, y estos tres hombres se convirtieron en el núcleo de los que es ahora un creciente diaconado latino con presencia en todas las parroquias de la diócesis.

OTROS TIEMPOS

En los años 90 los hispanos eran pocos y encontrar un sacerdote o diácono que hable español muy raro. La comunidad latina se reunía para asistir a Misa en el Centro Católico, en la esquina de Shenandoah Avenue y The Plaza, donde estaba la antigua Iglesia Nuestra Señora de la Asunción.

Los tres nuevos diáconos fueron asignados al Centro Católico, donde el Obispo Curlin los invitó a “encender a sus comunidades con el fuego de Jesús.

El padre Vicentino, Vicent Finnerty, a cargo del Ministerio Hispano en ese

momento, recibió a los flamantes diáconos y los envió al servicio del naciente ministerio en diferentes parroquias.

Desde entonces la diócesis ha crecido y cambiado, y la comunidad latina ahora es aproximadamente la mitad de la población católica en el oeste de Carolina del Norte.

La necesidad de sacerdotes que hablen español persiste, pero ahora la mayoría de las parroquias ofrecen la liturgia en español y tienen clérigos que pueden pastorear la creciente y diversa comunidad latina.

La oficina del Ministerio Hispano de la diócesis, liderada por el Padre Fidel Melo, cuenta hoy con nueve coordinadores de Vicariato. Eventos diocesanos como el Congreso Eucarístico y el Congreso Mariano del Rosario tienen ahora programas regulares en español que atraen a miles de fieles. Tres seminaristas y seis jóvenes que estudian en el Seminario Universitario San José son latinos.

Todo comenzó con estos pioneros, que pavimentaron el camino para una nueva generación de católicos latinos que están cosechando las semillas que esos hombres plantaron en tierra fértil hace 20 años.

DIÁCONO CARLOS MEDINA

Nacido en Nicaragua, el Diácono Medina llegó a Estados Unidos en 1978 escapando de la revolución que desangraba su país.

Con 29 años, inicialmente se instaló con su esposa y sus cuatro hijos en Miami.

Quería regresar a Nicaragua, pero la guerra con los Sandinistas lo hacía imposible.

Buscando mejores horizontes para su familia, en 1981 decidió trasladarse a Charlotte. “El viaje me hizo llorar a mares”, confesó, pues la incertidumbre de llevar a su familia a lo desconocido, a una aventura, lo quebró.

“Dios me sacó de la guerra y tenía que hacer algo”, pensó, y ahí mismo se transformó su compromiso y futuro.

Al llegar a Charlotte se presentó en la Catedral San Patricio diciendo: “no tengo nada y no vengo a pedirles nada, solo quiero hacer algo por mi iglesia”, y empezó a colaborar como lector, ujier y ministro extraordinario de la comunión.

Su fe se incrementó gracias al Cursillo de

FOTOS CORTESÍA DIÁCONO CARLOS MEDINA; DIÓCESIS DE CHARLOTTE ARCHIVES

(Arriba) Los Diáconos Carlos Medina, Rafael Torres y Edwin Rodríguez, ordenados el 1 de julio de 1995, abrieron camino a la generación de sacerdotes y diáconos hispanoparlantes que hoy sirve a la floreciente comunidad católica hispana de nuestra diócesis. (Abajo) Una de las primeras reuniones de participantes en el Cursillo de Cristiandad que fue organizado por la hermana Pilar Dalmau en el antiguo Centro Católico.

Cristiandad y el programa de Ministerio Laico, y pronto sintió el llamado para servir más a Dios y su Iglesia. Después de conversar con su esposa, respondió positivamente a la invitación del Obispo John Donoghue al diaconado.

Oró por una confirmación de Dios sobre que fuera un deseo divino de que se convirtiera en diácono. Fue ante el Santísimo Sacramento y rezó para que se hiciera la voluntad de Dios. “Si tu quieres que yo sea diácono lo voy a ser, no importa quien se oponga. Pero si tu no lo quieres, no importa quien me pueda ayudar”, rogó.

Fue ordenado en 1995 y asignado a la parroquia Sagrado Corazón en Salisbury con el P. Thomas Clements, para iniciar el ministerio hispano. Luego sirvió por cinco años en la Iglesia Santa Dorotea en Lincolnton. En 2002 fue asignado a la Catedral San Patricio, donde permanece asistiendo diariamente al Obispo Peter Jugis en su trabajo pastoral.

DIÁCONO RAFAEL TORRES

Nacido en Puerto Rico, el Diácono Torres

es un veterano de la guerra de Vietnam que se trasladó a Texas después que su trabajo como supervisor de una refinería en Puerto Rico concluyera cuando la refinería cerró en 1982. Al no encontrar trabajo en Texas, él, su esposa y sus tres hijos se trasladaron a Charlotte, donde vivía otro de sus hermanos.

Residiendo en Charlotte, comienza a frecuentar el Centro Católico los viernes para rezar el Rosario.

Ahí conoce a la hermana Pilar Dalmau, quien estaba a cargo del Centro en ese momento y ofrecía el Cursillo de Cristiandad con instructores de Miami.

Ellos capacitaron a varios fieles, entre ellos el Diácono Torres. Él estuvo entre los tres que completaron el programa y continuaron hacia la formación del diaconado.

El Diácono Torres ha servido en el Centro Católico, en el Tribunal diocesano y la parroquia Nuestra Señora de la Asunción. Por más de 20 años asiste en la parroquia San Lucas de Mint Hill, donde cada domingo predica en la Misa bilingüe de la una de la tarde.

Gracias a su empeño la asistencia a esa Misa se ha incrementado hasta alcanzar las más de 400 personas que hoy llenan el templo.

DIÁCONO EDWIN RODRÍGUEZ

También ordenado con los Diáconos Medina y Torres en 1995.

Nacido en 1948 en Rincón, Puerto Rico, estaba casado y tenía tres hijos. Antes de su fallecimiento en 2012 sirvió en la Parroquia San Marcos en Huntersville.

Opening ways Three Latin American deacons pave way for new generations in the Charlotte diocese CESAR HURTADO HISPANIC REPORTER

CHARLOTTE — On July 1, 1995, after completing several years of formation for the diaconate, three Hispanic men waited excitedly in the halls of St. Gabriel Church to receive the sacred orders that would consecrate them as deacons of the Catholic Church.

Carlos Medina, a native of Nicaragua, and Rafael Torres and Edwin Rodríguez of Puerto Rico were among 11 deacon candidates ordained that day by then

Bishop William G. Curlin. It was the first ordination featuring several Latino deacon candidates, and the three men became the nucleus of what today is a growing Latino diaconate presence among the diocese’s parishes.

EARLY DAYS

In the early 1990s, there were few Hispanics in the Charlotte diocese and finding a Spanish-speaking priest or deacon was rare. The Latino community gathered for Mass at the Catholic Center, on the corner of Shenandoah Avenue and The Plaza, where Our Lady of the Assumption Church was formerly located.

The three new deacons were assigned to the Catholic Center, where Bishop Curlin urged them to “ignite their communities with the fire of Jesus.”

Vincentian Father Vincent Finnerty, who was in charge of Hispanic Ministry in Charlotte at the time, welcomed the new deacons and put them to work in various parishes.

Since then the diocese has grown and changed, and the Latino community now

comprises approximately half of the estimated 450,000 Catholics in western North Carolina.

The need for Spanish-speaking clergy remains, but most parishes across the diocese now offer liturgies in Spanish and have clergy who can minister to the growing and diverse Latino community.

The diocese’s Hispanic Ministry, led

by Father Fidel Melo, now comprises nine vicariate coordinators. Diocesan events such as the Eucharistic Congress and the Marian Rosary Congress now regularly have Spanish programs that attract thousands. There are three Latino seminarians, and six of the young men studying at St. Joseph College Seminary are Latino.

It all began with these pioneers, who paved the way for a new generation of Latino Catholics who are reaping the harvest that these men planted in fertile ground more than 20 years ago.

DEACON CARLOS MEDINA

Born in Nicaragua, Deacon Medina came to the United States in 1978 to escape a

revolution that was bleeding his country.

At the age of 29, he initially settled with his wife and four children in Miami. He wanted to return to Nicaragua, but the war with the Sandinistas made going home impossible.

Looking for better horizons for his family, in 1981 he decided to move to Charlotte.

“The trip made me cry a lot,” he confesses, because the uncertainty of taking his family into an unknown future was hard to bear.

“God took me out of the war and I had to do something,” he thought, and that’s when his commitment and future were transformed.

After moving to Charlotte, he went to pray at St. Patrick Cathedral, thinking: “I do not have anything, and I do not come to ask for anything. I just want to do something for my church.”

He got involved at church, serving as an usher, lector and extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. His faith deepened DEACONS, SEE PAGE 23B

June 22, 2018 | catholicnewsherald.com CATHOLIC NEWS HERALDI

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Quince años al servicio de la comunidad católica hispana CESAR HURTADO REPORTERO HISPANO

CHARLOTTE — Dos sacerdotes mexicanos, el P. Julio Domínguez y el P. Enrique González, ambos especialmente dedicados al servicio de la creciente comunidad católica hispana en la Diócesis de Charlotte, cumplieron quince años de ordenación sacerdotal el pasado 7 de junio.

Un aniversario que fue celebrado con sendas Misas en las parroquias Sagrado Corazón y Divino Redentor, donde recibieron el cariñoso saludo de sus congregaciones que reconocieron el esfuerzo y dedicación de sus pastores.

PADRE JULIO DOMÍNGUEZ

Nacido en Tampico, estado de Tamaulipas en México, pasó su adolescencia en Altamira, una ciudad cercana.

Chela, su maestra de catecismo, le hizo descubrir la belleza de la Eucaristía y antes de su primera comunión le dijo a su madre que queria ser sacerdote.

A los 15 años se hizo catequista y luego, con ocho amigos de la parroquia Santísimo Sacramento, decidió ingresar al seminario.

Comunicar la decisión a sus padres no fue tarea fácil. “Mi madre se puso a llorar pero me dijo ‘Si es la voluntad de Dios, adelante’. En cambio mi papá se puso muy duro y me pidió que termine primero la carrera”. Sin embargo todo estaba dicho, “Es el momento y quiero irme al Seminario”, sentenció.

Estudió en México y Roma, Italia. En 2001, cuando retornaba a México para buscar un seminario diocesano, una tía que vivía en Gastonia, Carolina del Norte, lo invitó a visitarla.

Allí se encontró con el padre John Allen, entonces director vocacional de la Diócesis de Charlotte, quien le informó de la necesidad de sacerdotes hispanos en Charlotte. Tras una duda inicial se enroló.

Padre Julio ha servido en la parroquia Sagrado Corazón de Salisbury, Hickory y Lenoir para hoy desempeñarse como coordinador del Ministerio Hispano en la Diócesis de Charlotte con seis

parroquias y una misión a su cargo.

Afirma que todavía hay necesidad de sacerdotes hispanos. “Tenemos párrocos que muchas veces no llegan al fondo de los hispanos. No se trata solo de celebrar una Misa, se trata de saber entender la cultura, las tradiciones”, por lo que “hay una necesidad de expandernos un poquito más y ayudar a los que necesitan más, poder formar a los hispanos. Me siento muy contento y siento que los hermanos están respondiendo muy bien”.

PADRE ENRIQUE GONZÁLEZ

Nacido en Querétaro, México, en un hogar católico muy cercano a la iglesia, “tanto que la capilla estaba a media cuadra de casa”. Inspirado por un sacerdote, desde los ocho anõs empezó a ayudar como monaguillo.

“Yo quiero ser como él” pensó, y sin saber qué se necesitaba para ser sacerdote comenzó a soñar con ello.

Su deseo se mantuvo y las dudas e inquietudes no lo apartaron del camino. En 1999, a través del P. Fidel Melo, director del Ministerio Hispano, es invitado a visitar Estados Unidos. “Somos del mismo estado, nos conocíamos de hace mucho tiempo y me invitó a conocer la Diócesis y ver si estaba dispuesto a ayudar aquí. Me gustó y aquí estoy con mucho gusto sirviendo”.

Después de recibir la ordenación, P. Enrique ha servido en la parroquia San Aloysius, como capellán de las escuelas católicas del Charlotte y, desde 2007, como pastor en la parroquia Divino Redentor de Boonville.

Afirma que se siente contento trabajando con todos los grupos pero se enfoca en los padres de familia “porque a través de ellos se puede ir transmitiendo muchas cosas buenas hacia los hijos, hermanos y jóvenes”.

Padre Enrique reconoce que es la necesidad de servicio, en especial a los hermanos hispanos, lo que lo atrajo a permanecer en Estados Unidos.

“Como todo hombre extraño la familia, los amigos, los compañeros de estudio, visitar los lugares donde crecí, espacios que valoro pues forjaron mi persona, pero respetaré los designios de Dios de colocarme en el lugar donde se me necesite”, subrayó.

BILL WASHINGTON | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

El Padre Julio Domínguez festejó 15 años como sacerdote en una Misa celebrada el 10 de junio en la Iglesia Sagrado Corazón en Salisbury. Recibió la sorpresiva visita de su madre (foto de arriba, recibiendo la Comunión). La Misa fue seguida de un almuerzo ofrecido para él y su familia en el salón Brincefield.

SERGIO LOPEZ | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

El Padre Enrique González, nacido en Querétaro, México, llegó en 1999 a Charlotte. Desde 2007 sirve como pastor en la parroquia Divino Redentor de Boonville.

VOCACIONES

VOCATIONS

DEACONS

VIENE DE LA PÁGINA 21B

FROM PAGE 21B

FROM PAGE 22B

economía de la casa y se dirigió, junto con dos amigos, a Nueva York, a trabajar en restaurantes.

Después de una trasladarse a Atlanta vió una oportunidad en Charlotte, donde tomó contacto con la iglesia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.

Pocos meses después es invitado -junto con otros tres jóvenes- a ser parte de la casa de discernimiento, lo que rechazó de plano. “No quiero ser sacerdote, yo quiero casarme”, le dijo al párroco. Sin embargo la semilla estaba sembrada.

Tras las dudas, decide dedicar su vida a Dios y es enviado a Nueva York para su formación. Hace dos semanas, después de su ordenación como diácono, regresó a Charlotte donde dice sentirse “feliz de predicar lo que me ha nutrido Dios en estos años”.

Para el Diácono Tiburcio fue la recepción especial que sintió en ‘La Lupita’ la que lo atrajo al sacerdocio. “El trato humano, el amor de Dios vivido. Desde cuando me contestaron el teléfono cuando llame por informes hasta el retiro, el grupo juvenil, el pastor, todo”.

“Es como que me dijeron ‘primero vamos a amarte y luego tu mismo vas a descubrir el amor de Dios’”, sentenció.

at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church.

A few months later he was invited, with three other young people, to be part of the house of discernment. But he rejected the idea outright.

“I do not want to be a priest, I want to get married,” he told the pastor.

However, the seed had been planted.

He soon decided to dedicate his life to God and went to New York for his formation. After his ordination as a deacon two weeks ago, he has come back to Charlotte for the summer, where he says he is “happy to preach what God has nourished in me these years.” He will serve at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church this summer before returning to his priestly formation studies in New York this fall.

For Deacon Tiburcio, the special welcome he felt at “La Lupita” is what first attracted him to the priesthood.

“The humane treatment, the love of the living God. From when they answered the phone when I called for information, until the retreat, the youth group, the pastor, everything,” he says.

“It’s like they said, ‘First we’re going to love you and then you’ll discover God’s love by yourself.’ ”

through involvement with the Cursillo Movement and the diocese’s Lay Ministry program, and he soon felt called to serve God and His Church even more. After talking with his wife, he presented himself to then Bishop John Donoghue to inquire about the diaconate.

He prayed, seeking confirmation from God that it was His will he become a deacon. He went before the Blessed Sacrament and prayed that God’s will be done. “If you want me to be a deacon, I will be, no matter who opposes. But if you do not want it, it doesn’t matter who can help me,” he prayed.

He was ordained in 1995 and was assigned to Sacred Heart Parish in Salisbury, to assist Father Thomas Clements in starting a Hispanic ministry. Then he served for five years at St. Dorothy Church in Lincolnton.

In 2002 he was assigned to serve at St. Patrick Cathedral, where he continues to attend daily to Bishop Peter Jugis in his pastoral work.

DEACON RAFAEL TORRES

Puerto Rican native Deacon Torres is a veteran of the Vietnam War who moved to Texas after his job as a refinery supervisor in Puerto Rico ended when the refinery

closed in 1982. He did not find work near his brother in Texas at the time, so he and his wife and three children moved to Charlotte where another of his brothers lived. The disruptions in his life caused him to draw closer to his Catholic faith, and he began frequenting the Catholic Center in Charlotte on Friday nights to pray the rosary.

There he met Sister Pilar Dalmau, who was in charge of the center at the time and offered the Cursillo de Cristiandad with instructors from Miami. They trained several faithful, among them Deacon Torres. He was among three who completed the program and continued through to diaconate formation.

Deacon Torres has served at the Catholic Center, in the diocesan Tribunal, and at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Charlotte. For the past 20-plus years he has attended Mass at St. Luke Church in Mint Hill, where every Sunday he preaches the homily for the 1 p.m. bilingual Mass.

Thanks to his commitment, attendance at that Mass has increased notably until reaching more than 400 people who fill the church today.

DEACON EDWIN RODRÍGUEZ

Also ordained with Deacon Medina and Deacon Torres in 1995 was Deacon Rodríguez. Born in 1948 in Rincón, Puerto Rico, he was married and had three children. Before his death in 2012, he served at St. Mark Parish in Huntersville.

catholicnewsherald.com | June 22, 2018 24B CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Congratulations and Prayerful Best Wishes Deacon Art Kingsley on the 30th Anniversary of your ordination to the Diaconate.

Thank you for your generous service to the people of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church - Tryon, NC St. Barnabas Parish, St. Michael and the Diocese of Charlotte.

May God continue to bless you in the years ahead.