www.charlettediocese.ors
"Behold, you
womb and
will
name him
shall
conceive
in
your
He
Jesus.
will
be
be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his great and
est
bear a son, and you
Children's books
will
kingdom there
will
be no end." Luke 1:31-33
DECEMBER 20,
2002
MMBMHMHMHNNMNMNHNHIM9I
giving
NEWS
&
HERALD VOLUME
new church By KEVIN
"With Maria,
MOCKSVILLE
— Over
for the
Bishop William G. Curlin,
In the Nativity ofthe
Lord 2002,
bishop emeritus, presided over
Mass
year
this
ofthe Rosary."
new
build-
15.
"Since 1958, when two first started the
families
church, the parish just began to grow," said Father
Andrew "When
Draper, T.O.R., pastor. I
arrived here three years ago
we had 84 families. Today, we have 180 families." ...
many
Mary Pope was one of "We
those original parishioners.
had Mass lies,
Our Lady
our houses, and
in
when we grew to 1 1 famiwe had Mass in the (local)
then
Vincentian Father Vincent in
dedicating the
ing Dec.
The Spanish-language Mass was celebrated by
of Guadalupe Church
Francis of
St.
Assisi Church.
them.
Finnerty, pastor of
new
ing in the
John Paul II
she has bestowed upon
gifts
illumi-
nated the parishioners celebrat-
Guadalupe. Prior to Mass, many paid tribute to Mary, the mother of Jesus, by placing red, yellow and white roses along with floral bouquets and poinsettias around the statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Various Hispanic groups sang and danced, giving
Mary
stained-
windows, sunlight
glass
Christ's face.
6,000 Hispanics gathered at Cricket Arena Dec. 12 to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of
thanks to
MURRAY
Through an array of
MARY MARSHALL Correspondent
E.
Acting Edtor
we contemplate
CHARLOTTE
14
reflected in
in
Charlotte By
N9
12
Parish growth
Christmas Greetings
celebrate
6
...PAGE
SERVING CATHOLICS IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA IN THE DIOCESE OF CHARLOTTE
Thousands feast day
Christmas
for
armory
Char-
until
she
erty,"
we
got
this
prop-
said.
The new
church, which 300 people, replaces an
seats
older, ?
less
continue to be used as a
will
parish
CNS
said Father Draper.
tive countries.
Michael Roberts, a ninthSee FEAST DAY, page 11
dream
—
"They had
they wanted a
new
church building"
concelebrants
Guadalupe; and Father Jaime Gonzalez, associate pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Mass began with a procession of flag bearers representing their na-
was the parishioners kept the church going,"
"It
who a
Vincentian Father Joseph Elzi, associate pastor at Our Lady of
had a recreational
This is a church," said Pope. "We've come a long way." building.
II, in his own hand, wrote the above greeting in Latin on his 2002 Christmas card that features the painting "Christmas" attributed to Antonio Longo.
with
hall.
"We
Photo
Pope John Paul
lotte,
accommodating
building on the property, which
crated by his love," the pope
Pope hopes Christmas celebrations
said Dec. 15.
highlight importance of family
He said the world
"needs a
sign of hope that should
JOHN THAVIS
from Christian
— As
highlight the importance of the family in modern society. "Christmas is the ideal
the Vatican took on a festive
feast of the family, because
lies
Pope John Paul II said he hoped this year's Christmas celebrations would
God, by being born into a hu-
By
Catholic
News Service
VATICAN CITY holiday
spirit,
man first
family, chose
community
it
The Mary to
come
families."
all
fulfilled
parish as well as the builders,
pontiff prayed to protect
The dream was
through a successful capital campaign and donations, and a lot of hard work on behalf of the
the fami-
of the world, especially those living in great poverty
said Father Draper.
'We've planned a long time, and
it's
for this for
been a
work on everybody's
lot
of
part to get
as the
to be conse-
Healing seen needed after Cardinal Law's resignation ...PAGE
i
4
See DEDICATION, page 10
See FAMILY, page 3
Mercy does
Parishioners keep
Sister of
Mexican traditions alive
God's work
...PAGE
5
in variety
of
roles ...RAGE
12