The community also celebrated the early success of its “Making Room” challenge, a diocesan-wide $150 million philanthropic effort – the largest fundraising initiative in the diocese’s 54-year history. It is aimed at strengthening parishes, expanding charitable outreach and responding to rapid growth.

The initiative is being rolled out in phases, and St. Joseph was one of the initial seven pilot parishes to launch their initiatives in June.

The parish has already exceeded expectations – raising $618,200 of its original $448,000 goal – and the intention is to raise millions more between now and the end of December. Additional funds given by the parish’s 1,500 households will be used toward the first phase of construction of a multipurpose space that will temporarily double as their expanded church.

The celebration at the newly purchased 102-acre parcel on 513 Vision Dr. featured a bilingual Mass, followed by the “Gran Kermés,” which brought together hundreds of parishioners for fun, food and fellowship.

Just before the final blessing at Mass, and prior to parishioners leaving their seats and looking to try one of the many food options, Father Ramiro Tijerino introduced Joe DiPaola, challenge co-chair, who gave an overview of the planning and construction process and passionately encouraged them to give so that they can take the next steps.

“Our Church as we stand and sit here today is a sanctuary, a connection between heaven and earth, where Jesus is present,” DiPaola said.

DiPaola said that while the parish has had conversations about building a new church since the 1970s, now is the moment to act. He said the parish has been working with the diocese for the last two years on planning, explaining that they have reached the halfway point in the approval process and hope to be on track to break ground in the fall of 2027 if they hit all future fundraising goals.

“This allows us as a parish community to follow Jesus’ command, make disciples of all and build His Church,” DiPaola said. “Many of us may never get an opportunity to physically build a church.”

In phase one, the parish is planning to build a multipurpose facility and rectory. The planned multipurpose space will accommodate approximately 600 people and will provide a temporary location for Masses while also serving the parish community for baptisms, quinceañeras, weddings and other events. The space is planned to have eight classrooms, office spaces, a commercial kitchen and a temporary sanctuary.

Once the first phase is completed, parking will be double what is offered at the current parish location on West Wainman Avenue.

The second phase of the project will include the permanent location of their new church.

Over the years, the parish has raised approximately $4.6 million, with $2.6 million already invested into the new grounds for land acquisition, site preparation and leveling, environmental compliance and other development-related requirements. The parish estimates that an additional $4 million must be raised over the next five years to push along the development process in Phase 1.

Following the Mass and development announcements, the faithful visited with “Making Room” leaders, where many began making five-year pledges, encouraged along by Father Tijerino. By the end of the day, the “Gran Kermés,” which featured food booths, games for the kids, face painting, electric bull riding, pony rides and a bouncy house, raised $128,600.

“I decided to host this event on the ground because I wanted people to see what we were building,” Father Tijerino said. “It was all really well received by the community.”

According to the pastor, nearly 90% of the 1,500 households at St. Joseph Parish are Hispanic, and he is working to try to help families understand the value of a faithful donation. Pledges made so far have ranged from $50 to $800 per month.

“We come from countries where the processes are different, so it might make people wonder why it takes so long,” said Tijerino. “The idea with this was to help them understand that this is an investment.”

—  Brian Segovia

He officially had retired on July 1 after 23 years as pastor at the North Wilkesboro parish and was looking back at his years of service in the diocese and considering what he will do next.

“I’ve loved everywhere I served in the Diocese of Charlotte,” he said. “I never wanted to leave a place where I was when I got a new assignment, but then I always loved the new place once I got there. Every place I’ve been, something terrific has happened.”

This year, Father Hanic became one of several priests from around the Diocese of Charlotte who started their retirement journeys.

After their many years of service to the faithful in western North Carolina, they will now be among the clergy benefited by the annual diocesan collection for the Priests’ Retirement and Benefits Plan, set to be taken up in all parishes the weekend of Sept. 19-20.

A dream come true

Every priest who retires has his own story of the journey that led him to serving God.

Father Hanic’s is special because he thought his lifelong dream of priesthood would never come true.
An initial stint at seminary in his home state of Massachusetts didn’t work out because he had a problem learning Latin, so he left and took a different life path – marriage, working at Sears and becoming father to a son and a daughter.

After the marriage ended in divorce, he was a single parent and worked as secretary at his home parish.

Then, in the mid-1970s, he thought about becoming a deacon, but couldn’t find a diocese with a program. He visited Bishop Michael Begley in Charlotte to inquire and got an answer he never expected. The diocese had no permanent deacon program at the time, but Bishop Begley instead told him, “You’re going to study to be a priest for me.”

He was allowed to attend seminary in Massachusetts to be with his family, and then in 1983, he moved his children to North Carolina to begin his life of service in parishes.

As pastor of Our Lady of Mercy in Winston-Salem, he helped establish its RCIA program (now OCIA), an experience he loved because it helped him learn to shepherd people on their journey to the Church.

At Our Lady of Assumption Church in Charlotte, he worked on efforts to build a new church. Other assignments included St. James in Hamlet, St. Joseph of the Hills in Eden and chaplaincy at Holy Trinity Middle School.

Finally, he arrived at St. John the Baptist de La Salle in North Wilkesboro at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and its mission, St. Stephen in Elkin. There, he said, he found both a physical and spiritual home and loved watching the growth of the vibrant Hispanic community.

The campus bears many landmarks of his years there, including a building where hundreds gather for Mass in Spanish every Sunday.

Along a wooded road that leads to the house where he lives, a rustic wooden statue of St. John de La Salle, the parish’s patron saint, stands surrounded by trees. Father Hanic asked a parishioner who did woodwork to craft it from a large tree that was felled by a tornado that came through town several years ago.

Over the years, he collected many sacred objects with special meaning to him – chalices, religious artwork and the vestments he was packing on that day in July in an effort to clear space for the new parochial administrator, Father Engelbert Ofon.

The packing brought back memories of some of the priest friends he made over the years, including the late Monsignor Anthony Marcaccio, former pastor of St. Pius X in Greensboro.

“Anthony always loved the vestments I had and I loved his,” he said.

Father John Hanic, talked about sacred art that holds special meaning to him, the joy of fishing trips and reflected on his journey to the priesthood as he prepared to retire as pastor of St. John De La Salle Parish in North Wilkesboro. (Troy C. Hull | Catholic News Herald)

Fishing in the future

Retirement does not mean Father Hanic is slowing down, nor will he be confined by the borders of North Wilkesboro.

He is pursuing one of his lifelong passions – fishing. He grew up hunting and fishing with his father in Massachusetts and brought the love of the outdoors with him to North Carolina.

In a way of celebrating his retirement, he has planned two fishing trips. One, to Alaska in September, will keep up a more than 20-year tradition of traveling to the state to catch salmon.

“I love catching them – they’re the most spectacular fish!” he said. But he’s not a fan of eating salmon, so he ships back what he catches and shares it with others at the parish.

Later in the year, he hopes to take a trip to Belize to pursue his dream of catching a sailfish.

During retirement, he will continue to live in North Wilkesboro near the parish where he served the longest and serve where and when he can – celebrating Masses, visiting the sick, and sharing the love of Christ with others in the midst of the phase he calls “a new adventure.”

— Christina Lee Knauss

Father John Hanic talked about sacred art that holds special meaning to him, the joy of fishing trips and reflected on his journey to the priesthood as he prepared to retire as pastor of St. John De La Salle Parish in North Wilkesboro. Read the story.

This collection provides for the future pension and retiree health benefits of the 147 priests from our diocese, other dioceses and religious order priests serving the Church in western North Carolina. An additional 25 retired priests benefit from this collection now, while there are 27 priests who will be eligible for retirement within the next 10 years.

In his annual letter announcing the collection, Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv., recalled Jesus’ reminder in John’s Gospel that “the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

“Throughout my years as a priest and now as your bishop, I have witnessed countless examples of that faithful love in the lives of our priests,” he wrote. “They have celebrated our joys, comforted us in our sorrows, proclaimed the Gospel, and faithfully offered the sacraments that nourish our lives in Christ.”

He urged parishioners to “Think for a moment about the priest who helped shape your faith. Perhaps he baptized your child, prepared you for marriage, visited a loved one in the hospital, or celebrated the funeral Mass of someone dear to you. Our priests have walked beside us during life’s most sacred moments.”

This collection is “an opportunity for us to express our gratitude in a tangible way by caring for those who have spent their lives caring for us,” he wrote.

Contributions will help fund the Diocese of Charlotte Priests Pension Trust, the Diocese of Charlotte Retired Priests Health Plan Trust, and the retirement programs of the religious orders and other dioceses that are providing priests to serve in our parishes.

The 2026 goal for the collection is $2,194,000. Of the funds raised, 77% will go toward pension contributions to diocesan priests’ retirement plans and retirement benefits expenses for retired diocesan priests’ health plans, 17% for pension contributions for religious order priests’ retirement plans, 3% for administrative fees and 3% for fundraising costs.

The amount assessed each parish is 3% of its annual offertory income.

Many people contribute to this collection during the offertory at Mass, but people can also give online, mail in their donations or drop them off at their parish office.

— Trish Stukbauer

Donate online

At charlottediocese.org/giving/priests-retirement-benefits-collection: Donate through the diocesan website, where gifts will be credited to your parish

Rachel Campos-Duffy, co-host of “FOX & Friends Weekend,” author and nationally recognized pro-life advocate, will be the featured speaker at the Proudly Pro-Life Gala. A former cast member on MTV’s “The Real World,” the mother of nine children – including a daughter with Down syndrome – is an advocate for faith, family and the dignity of every human life.

St. Mark parishioner Dr. Matthew Harrison will receive the Proudly Pro-Life Award at the gala. Harrison, whose son is High Point University Campus Minister Father Matthew Harrison, is being honored for his pioneering work in abortion pill reversal. He is credited with saving the first baby whose mother took an abortion pill by developing a reversal protocol using the hormone progesterone. His work has offered hope to many women seeking a second chance after beginning a chemical abortion.

N.C. Right to Life is a Greensboro-based organization that supports the sanctity of life from conception through natural death. It advocates for pro-life legislation, hosts events for young people, provides speakers for events, and educates voters about pro-life issues. The non-sectarian organization is led by President Dr. Bill Pincus, a parishioner at St. Joseph Church in Asheboro.

“This gala is more than a fundraising event,” said Anne Carmichael, senior fundraising strategist for the organization. “It is an opportunity to celebrate lives saved, honor courageous leadership and inspire the next generation of pro-life advocates.”

— Catholic News Herald

More online
At www.ncrtl.org: Purchase tickets or sponsorships

Room at the Inn is providing scholarships for mothers in their program to take CNA and other medical classes, giving them the career skills they need to take care of themselves and their families (Lisa Geraci)

“A lot of the (graduates) are already working and independent. We are seeing full transformations,” reported Angie Lukhard, RATI’s associate director of education/training.

The mothers come to RATI homeless and jobless with nowhere to turn, their dreams of being able to provide for their children barred by obstacles.

“A lot of single moms don’t have money for childcare or transportation. We provide both,” Lukhard said. “We are the family they never had. We are their support system.”

Success stories

That was true for Terri Ethridge, who holds her infant as she watches the new students typing away. She was sitting at that same table months ago. Now she is a certified CNA and a licensed phlebotomist.

She came to RATI in desperation at 32. “I was pregnant and homeless when I called Room at the Inn,” Ethridge said. “The pregnancy was a surprise that all came at the wrong time.”

Before her pregnancy she barely scraped by, and then found herself on the streets.

“It all got to a point where I couldn’t keep up and life happened,” she said. “I didn’t have anyone to depend on really except God and then the Room at the Inn.”

When she heard about the CNA program, she was staying at RATI’s Mary Nussbaum Maternity Home and thought it sounded like an unbelievable opportunity.

“I never thought I would be in the healthcare field,” she said. “I always knew I wanted to help people. I just didn’t know the avenue.”

Now Ethridge is on a path to independence.

The path home

RATI’s third CNA session started this summer with 17 enrollees.

Before starting coursework, they bring their little packages of joy to the RATI volunteer center in Kernersville’s trained staff.

The students start their journey at RATI, then proceed to labs at Arise Health Training Institute in High Point and ultimately end with clinicals at nearby Pennybyrn.

Upon graduation, staff, excited to see the graduated placed, assist them with resume building and interview skills.

“We are trying to get them to a place where they are independent and can take care of themselves and their family,” Lukhard said.

In her graduation gown, Ethridge stood on the stage as she held her most prized possession – the six-month-old boy.

“On the inside I am at peace. I feel more grounded and more confident,” she said. “This has strengthened me and my soul.”

She just bought a home, and her baby and RATI brought her smile back, she said.

“Seeing the pride on their faces, and watching them learn is so rewarding,” Lukhard said.

A founder with a mission

Albert Hodges, founder of Room at the Inn and Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church parishioner, tirelessly fights against abortion and childhood poverty.

“If you are going to be a pro-life community, you can’t be just against abortion, you have to help these women,” he said. “You want to help them find what they want to be … because then they invest in it and you give them hope.”

North Carolina ranks 14th in the nation for childhood poverty, according to the NC Budget and Tax Center. Compounded by the 1990s decline in the textile industry, the 2008 recession, and a shift away from agriculture, the problem has lasted for decades.

Roughly one in five children live in poverty, with more than 504,000 facing food insecurity, according to Feeding America.

Typically food insecurity is fought with food drives and government support, but some, like Hodges, are investing in the person. Hope and education are the path to long-term sustainability, he said.

Surrounding mothers with life coaches, spiritual directors and teachers, RATI removes stumbling blocks that prevent growth.

“This gives them the opportunity to have a career where they can support their families and have some pride. Now they are being who the Lord called them to be,” Hodges said.

— Lisa M. Geraci

The new sacristy cabinet at Our Lady of the Annunciation Church was inspired by its pastor’s visit to a church in South Carolina.

Last year, Father Fitzgibbons officiated at the wedding of a parishioner’s daughter at a South Carolina church where he saw a beautiful and organized sacristy cabinet that left him a bit envious.

“I realize that they probably did not have a lot of money back when they put ours in,” he said of the original 1971 sacristy cabinet at Our Lady of the Annunciation, “but it did not give the respect it should have for the items that it contained – the blessed vestments, consecrated ciborium and chalices.”

Father Fitzgibbons brought back photos of the cabinet, talked it over with staff and mentioned it to parishioners, who quickly stepped up to donate. He then turned to King Richard’s Liturgical Design & Contracting in Roswell, Georgia, who had crafted a Baptismal font for the church in 2006.

Working from those photos and Father Fitzgibbons’ suggestions, the company designed and crafted a cabinet from solid white oak. The piece is 7.3 feet high, 7 feet wide and 30 inches deep and includes space to hang vestments, a 4-foot-wide section of drawers, and storage designed to accommodate the sacred pieces it holds. King Richard’s team assembled the pieces on site in June, and it is already making a difference in the daily life of the parish by better organizing the sacristy.

While it’s not a highly visible space, Father Fitzgibbons said the cabinet is a piece of sacred art fitting for a room set apart for the priest to prepare the sacred vessels.

“Churches are supposed to be places of beauty considering what they contain,” he said. “That is the most beautiful thing in the world – Jesus Christ.”

— Trish Stukbauer

The classroom of St. Gabriel’s PACE teacher Nicole Walton is filled with smiles and laughter as students absorb lessons geared toward the way they learn best. (Lisa M. Geraci)

“They see what your kid CAN do, and they capitalize on that,” said Anna Friemel, parent of Walker, a student enrolled in the program. “They can do things. It’s just a little different.”

PACE stands for Providing an Appropriate Catholic Education, and for the Friemel and Campbell families, the difficult challenge of finding a Catholic education for their children led them to Greensboro – a place they likely would have never known existed if not for St. Gabriel’s PACE.

Now, among the nine students in special education teacher Nicole Wilton’s multi-sensory classroom for children K-3, Walker Friemel and Austin Campbell learn, socialize and practice their faith, all in the same building as their siblings.

The children move about freely. Sometimes they take a break to spin in circles, give hugs or pretend they are dinosaurs, but in general they work at their skill level. Some sit on bean bags happily fidgeting while reading 4th-grade science magazines, while the others work on gluing colorful alphabet puzzles together. The classroom incorporates flexible seating, movement breaks, and sensory supports based on individual student needs.

“We meet them where they are and go from there,” Wilton said.

Austin and Walker returned from classes they attend with their grade-level peers. Before sprinting to the soft couches, they made a beeline for the visitors in the room – their moms.

Mothers Katy Campbell and Anna Friemel hugged them and smiled – still overjoyed by their progress.

Walker spied Father Casey Coleman in the corner and yelled, “Get to Mass, Father Coleman!”

Everyone laughed – a laugh that never would have happened two years before.

Chris and Anna Friemel moved 800 miles from their home in Central Arkansas to give Walker better educational opportunities.

The Arkansas travelers

Chris and Anna Friemel are 800 miles from their hometown in Central Arkansas with no regrets.

Walker, their 7-year-old son with autism, attended Catholic school in Arkansas, but the lack of special programs meant he was unable to thrive.

“How could I go to church on Sunday and teach our neurotypical daughter that we are to love everyone and see them for what they can do, and then turn around and tell her that there is no place for Walker?” Anna Friemel cried at the memory. “We really just needed a miracle, somebody to serve both of our children at the same school, and to see them for what they can do.”

Chris Friemel, who was in Greensboro for business, met Father Casey Coleman at Our Lady of Grace Church. He confided in the pastor that they were pouring resources into Walker’s education to no avail.

Father Coleman shared the St. Gabriel’s PACE program’s successes, and Chris carried that news home to his wife. They followed Father Coleman’s advice and started praying. Months later,

Chris Friemel was offered a transfer to Greensboro.

Both children started school in August of 2025 and are thriving.

“This is a divine program. Just the fact that our children are seen the same. There is just so much support,” Anna Friemel said.

 The students are part of the larger school and faith community.

From Washington to Greensboro

Katy Campbell homeschooled her son, Austin, who has autism, when they lived in Washington state but wasn’t making progress. When she tried to enroll him in her local parish school, he was rejected.

“They’d tell everyone every kid deserved a Catholic school education,” Katy said. “To show up and be made to feel like it was ‘every child except yours’ – that was a major emotional gut punch.”

One day, Katy’s sister randomly called and said she was transferring to Greensboro.

“I had no idea where Greensboro was, but I started researching, and then I saw this Catholic school program for autistic children,” she said.

Excitedly, she left her four children with her husband and drove 2,325 miles to Greensboro.

“It only took me four days, but I was driving like 10 hours a day,” she laughed. “I walked in the school, and they gave me a tour. I was instantly impressed.”

It was all she needed. They moved, fueled by their faith in God and love for their children.

Two years later, they are part of a loving faith community at Our Lady of Grace and a school where all their children can thrive.

“The dream is for all Catholic schools to have something like this, but until we get there, sensitivity, deep listening and compassion go a long way,” she said.

What every student deserves

According to the CDC, 1 out of 36 children nationally is diagnosed with autism. Out of those, only 1%-2% attend private schools, the majority attending public schools, due to the national shortage of specialized programs.

Principal Catherine Rusch has prioritized the growth of St. Gabriel’s, OLG’s continuum of support for students with diverse learning needs. Through St. Gabriel’s PACE and St. Gabriel’s Quest, approximately 40 students are now served across the school.

“This is the way God wants us to live,” Rusch said. “The dignity of the human being isn’t about picking the human beings you want to include. It is about recognizing the dignity of every person, from conception to natural death, no matter how God made them.”

— Lisa M. Geraci

Directed by Christopher Pike, “Scars on the Mountain” spotlights the devastation Helene brought to the state’s mountain regions when it hit in late September 2024, with a particular focus on Yancey County, its county seat of Burnsville, and other nearby areas such as Green Mountain and Egypt. The film depicts the fury of the storm on the day of its arrival and then focuses on recovery efforts, drawing on firsthand accounts from survivors, emergency workers and volunteers. Resilience and faith are two of the film’s main themes.

Yancey County, located about 30 miles northeast of Asheville, is home to Sacred Heart Church in Burnsville, a mission of St. Andrew Church in Mars Hill. In the storm’s aftermath, both churches became important supply hubs, distributing thousands of items to storm survivors including water, diapers, food and toiletries. Through the Sister Parish program that the Diocese of Charlotte ran, Sacred Heart was also partnered with Holy Family Parish in Clemmons and Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral in Raleigh to receive long-term aid.

Pike has said the film not only tells the story of the storm and its aftermath, but also presents a vision of what happens when people come together to work through a natural disaster and its aftermath.

“For me, it’s a quiet meditation on what America could be – not the loud fractured version we so often see, but something more enduring and essential: a country where strength is not measured by power or politics, but by our willingness to care for one another,” he said.

 — Christina Lee Knauss

How to watch
At www.angel.com/watch/scars-on-the-mountain: Learn about the film and sign up for Angel Guild membership to stream it.

"We cannot remain as unengaged spectators; rather, we must listen with our hearts, allow ourselves to be challenged, and become involved," the pope said Sept. 2 in St. Peter’s Square.

"With Christ and sustained by the power of His Spirit, believers are called to take on the burdens of their brothers and sisters, especially those who are crushed by injustice, discrimination and violence," he said.

Pope Leo began a new series of reflections on the Second Vatican Council's pastoral constitution "Gaudium et Spes," which examines the relationship between the Church and the modern world.

Recalling St. John XXIII's warning against the "prophets of doom," who regarded their own times as worse than the past, Pope Leo said Christians are instead called to share in the life of humanity as Christ did.

Such closeness to humanity, the pope said, also opens the way to a deeper understanding of events and of Revelation itself.

"This is not, in fact, merely a moral imperative," he said.

Addressing English-speaking pilgrims, Pope Leo said it is the Church's pastoral responsibility to engage with the contemporary world, share in its joys and sorrows and advocate for the poor and marginalized.

The Church, he said, also must remain "attentive to the signs of the times," confronting "pressing issues such as the technological progress that benefits only some and the persistence of widespread poverty."

His remarks came months after the publication of his first encyclical, "Magnifica Humanitas," which detailed his account of the global implications of artificial intelligence and warned against allowing technological development to proceed without prioritizing human dignity.

"In our own day, marked by profound change and much injustice, each of us, then, is called to play our part in welcoming and listening to the deepest questions and longings of the human heart, making present to all the merciful love of Christ our Savior," the pope told English speakers.

During a period of profound change that is producing "worrying imbalances," Pope Leo said the Church is called to serve the human person by listening to "the deepest questions of their heart and the longings that dwell within them."

The Church must point people toward Christ, he said, as "the key, the focal point and the goal of all human history."

— Josephine Peterson, Catholic News Service

Parishioners at Holy Redeemer Church in Andrews welcome Bishop Martin for his first visit. The parish has just 77 families and also serves the Prince of Peace Mission in Robbinsville, about 20 miles away. (Christina Lee Knauss)

Bishop Michael Martin made his first visit to the parish, the smallest in the diocese at about 77 households, for the 6 p.m. Bilingual Mass on Aug. 29, and shared worship, prayer, laughter, song and a delicious meal homemade by parishioners. Father Joseph Wasswa, parochial administrator, concelebrated the Mass.

The visit was a special event for members of the parish, which has a large Hispanic community and also serves Prince of Peace Mission in the small town of Robbinsville about 20 miles away. Bishop Martin offered prayers for both congregations during the service and as he said grace before the meal.

Holy Redeemer started in 1958 when it was opened as a Catholic chapel in a rented store building, a station of St. William Church in Murphy run by the Glenmary Missioners, who served extensively in the North Carolina mountains.

Masses were also held in the basement of the Andrews Public Library until plans for a dedicated building were begun in 1960.

Ground was broken for the new church in 1962 and it was completed in 1963. In 1972, Holy Redeemer – like all the churches in western North Carolina – became part of the Diocese of Charlotte, and in 1976 it became a parish.

The community regularly meets for worship, prayer and other activities, and the parish hosts a popular procession in downtown Andrews on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe each December. The small congregation is vibrant, with many young families.

Leticia Jaime, a member of Holy Redeemer for 20 years, attended Mass with her daughter Bryanna, 17, and was grateful to welcome and meet the bishop.

“It’s a blessing for us to have him, because I know it’s a long drive out here,” she said. “I’m glad to have him visit us. This is a very friendly parish, a beautiful and faithful place to live in peace.”

— Christina Lee Knauss 

MURPHY — Members of St. William Church in Murphy, a mountain parish of just 280 households and the westernmost parish in the Diocese of Charlotte, gathered with Bishop Michael Martin on Aug. 30 to celebrate: It’s the first parish to reach its goal in the diocese’s “Making Room” philanthropic challenge.

The $150 million initiative – the largest in diocesan history – is designed to help all parishes such as St. William respond to local needs and demands brought on by growth.

The “Making Room Challenge” launched with seven pilot parishes in late June and has already seen tremendous success, diocesan leaders say, having raised more than $38 million, or 25% of its total two-year goal. Bishop Martin has been instrumental in that early success, personally raising more than $34 million.

Collectively, the seven first-phase parishes have reached 39% of their goal with four months to go. St. Joseph in Asheboro was the second parish to exceed its goal, raising $606,200 of $448,000 so far.

At St. William, challenge committee chair Mary Welch reported that people have pledged $294,000 so far, surpassing its $244,000 goal.

“It’s really great that St. William parish, the western gateway to the diocese, is the first to reach its goal,” said Jim Kelley, diocesan development director. “It just goes to show how clergy, parish leaders and parishioners are embracing this moment in our history and are ‘all in’ in supporting the impact that “Making Room” will have across the diocese for generations.”

At the parish’s celebratory luncheon, Bishop Martin told parishioners: “You have made commitments for blessings that are going to go well beyond St. William.”
investing in the future

“Making Room” will invest in parishes, Catholic Charities, Catholic schools and land acquisition, among other things – all in the name of reaching more people with the Church’s Gospel message.

All 93 parishes and missions will take part in a phased rollout, keeping 50% of the funds raised for local capital projects, ministry needs and endowments. Parishes that hit designated stretch goals will retain 100% of any additional funds.

St. William hopes the effort will be enough to refurbish the sanctuary, repair the roof and update its HVAC systems, add an electronic road sign, install LED lighting in the outdoor pavilion, and install rubber flooring in the playground.

Peggy Strand, parish business manager, said their success reflects parishioners’ generosity and a strong committee chaired by Welch, who has a background in fundraising.

“St. William is full of loving people who love the Church and love each other,” she said.

Father Augustine Ogar of the Missionaries of St. Paul was appointed St. William’s parochial administrator just last year and says the initiative’s rapid success demonstrates the strength of the people he shepherds.

“It’s given me a lot of confidence in this parish community because, being new here, I needed to get to know the people and their abilities,” he said. “I’ve discovered the strength of this parish is their ability to come together and push for the common good.”

Showing God’s love

St. William has grown thanks in large part to retirees drawn to the mountains. So many have come from Florida that parishioners have jokingly dubbed part of the sanctuary “The Florida section.”

Members say the community is a tight-knit, caring group in a town known for its natural beauty and outdoor recreation, particularly along the Hiwassee River.

At the Aug. 30 celebration, parishioners lined up to greet Bishop Martin, laughing and talking and posing for photos.

Under a picnic shelter, Bishop Martin told the crowd, St. William “is sending a strong message to the rest of the diocese about our communion with one another: This is a small community but part of the greater whole.”

Parishioner Dixie Buckborough reflected the church’s welcoming spirit, offering hugs to Massgoers as they walked through the door.

She joined the parish 22 years ago when she and her husband moved from Florida and immediately “fell in love” with St. William. When he passed away in 2013, the parish was there for her.

“I got through it because of my church family,” she said. “Because of the love I felt here I started offering hugs at the door – and so many people say they want and need a hug.”

Mercedes Engler is another Florida transplant who found her spiritual home at St. William 18 years ago and sings in the choir.

“The people here are good, “she said, “truly good and honest.”

Bob Adams, who moved from the Tampa Bay area, said the parish’s small size helps foster the sense of community.

“The parish is small and the people are great, and very giving,” he said. “You can see that through the fact that we met our goal already.”

— Christina Lee Knauss. Photos by Christina Lee Knauss and Gabe Swinney.

From having Mass in a theater to building  a larger church

St. William Parish can trace its beginnings to Father Lane, who preached on the steps of the Cherokee County Courthouse in 1937. The following year, Father Ambrose Rohrbacher became pastor of St. John Church in Waynesville, which at the time included the state’s seven western-most counties. He and other Diocese of Raleigh priests offered Mass in Murphy every fifth Sunday in private homes, a theater, a hotel dining room and even a funeral parlor.

The original St. William Church was built in 1952. Although there were only five Catholic families in town at the time, the church was built to seat 70. The Glenmary Home Missioners served the parish from 1954 to 1987. The current church was completed in 1985. The parish also serves the mission of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Hayesville.

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"We are in such need of life, hope, serenity and peace -- within ourselves, in our cities and among people and nations. For this reason, whatever the wound, whatever the offense, let us not allow evil to disfigure our humanity or corrupt our hearts!" he said in his homily at a Mass Aug. 29, marking the feast of Our Lady of the Lake in the town of Castel Gandolfo.

"Let us not conform to the mindset of this world" and not get discouraged, he said. "Let us continue to love, to give and to forgive, offering ourselves 'as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God,' so that we may preserve and nurture -- in ourselves and in others -- the infinite dignity of the divine image we bear in our souls."

Pope Leo was the third pope after Sts. Paul VI and John Paul II to mark the Aug. 29 feast day in Castel Gandolfo, which overlooks Lake Albano, and take part in the Mariano procession from the Church of Maria Santissima del Lago, where the Mass was celebrated, to the volcanic lake.

Surrounded by yellow and white flowers on a small platform, a statue of Our Lady of the Lake was carried through the streets to the lake where more than a dozen boats -- including kayaks and jet skis -- awaited.

Pope Leo, however, was the first pope to get on the main boat for a ride along the lake, symbolizing the Barque of Peter and highlighting the Gospel call to go out into the deep and hold fast to Christ under Mary's maternal gaze, especially while navigating troubled or uncertain waters.

The boat, adorned with flowers, the Marian statue and the Vatican flag, slowly made its way in the setting sun and flickering lights to another beach where Pope Leo blessed the small crowd and those whose livelihoods depend on the lake.

When the early disciples were frightened by the terrible storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus assured them to "have faith and pray, so that they might find peace again and, together with him, continue sailing toward their desired destination," the pope had said earlier in his homily at Mass.

Jesus reveals "that only love saves. The love that God showed us by becoming man, dying and rising again for us," Pope Leo had said.

Those who wish to follow Christ must also respond with love, he said, and "humbly offer ourselves to Him and to our brothers and sisters: in the faithful constancy of daily charity as well as in the most extraordinary acts, even to the point of martyrdom at times -- as, unfortunately, still happens today to many Christians in various parts of the world."

"With God's help, we want to sow the seeds of his infinite charity everywhere in the world, tirelessly and without limit, so that today and always someone may rejoice in reaping their fruits," the pope said.

Unfortunately, he said, not everyone understands the beauty, goodness and practicality of this dream of the Creator; in fact, many think it is a utopia."

The naysayers insist that "turning the other cheek is for losers; giving in the face of rejection is for the naive; forgiving without limits is for the weak," he said.

"Let us not delude ourselves. Hatred and violence bring nothing good, but only destruction and death, always, even when they are a response to injustices suffered," Pope Leo said. "Only the way of love is the way of life."

"Let us, then, draw close this evening to Jesus and Mary, to the Son and the Mother, so that, united, not only on the lake but on every night throughout the world, we may be a soothing reflection of God's presence and an irresistible echo of his love that invites us to love," he said in his homily.

— Catholic News Service, Catholic News Service

The assignments are:

Effective Aug. 1, Father Juan Miguel Sanchez has been appointed a Promoter of Vocations, joining Father Brian Becker to serve the diocese’s growing vocations program. Vocations promoters help individuals discern and explore God’s call to the priesthood or consecrated religious life. He will also continue as priest-secretary to Bishop Michael Martin.

Father Reji Joseph, OSFS, has been appointed parochial vicar of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in High Point, effective Aug. 15.

Effective Sept. 1, the following parochial administrators will become pastors:

• Father Marcel Amadi, Our Lady of Consolation Parish in Charlotte
• Father Stephen Hoyt, St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Morganton
• Father Elliott Suttle, St. Mary Help of Christians Parish in Shelby and Christ the King Mission in Kings Mountain
• Father Ramiro Tijerino, St. Joseph Parish in Asheboro
• Father Anthony Mbanefo, M.S.P., St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Mars Hill and Sacred Heart Mission in Burnsville

Effective Sept. 9, Father Stephen Grozio, C.M., has been assigned to priestly ministry at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Charlotte, replacing Father Diogenes Arauz Gonzalez, C.M., who is moving to a new assignment with his order.

The new appointments follow the annual priest assignments announced in May, most of which took effect July 1.

— Catholic News Herald

Father Sanchez

Father JosephFather AmadiFather HoytFather SuttleFather TijerinoFather MbanefoFather Grozio

"The faithful 'cannot and must no longer remain silent and passive. Their physical presence cannot be reconciled with their spiritual absence,'" he said, quoting Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini of Milan, the future Pope Paul VI and saint, who was attending the council's first session at the time in 1962.

The Council Fathers expressed "a renewed awareness of the value of the liturgy," Pope Leo said during his general audience talk in St. Peter's Basilica Aug. 26, which focused on the constitution on the sacred liturgy, "Sacrosanctum Concilium," and why the council sought to promote the liturgy's reform.

It was the pope's final catechesis dedicated to the council's first constitution after beginning his new series of talks on the documents of the Second Vatican Council Jan. 7, so people would be motivated to reread and reflect on them rather than base their understanding of the texts on "hearsay" and the interpretations of others, he had said.

While the liturgical reform promoted by the council is "firmly rooted in the living tradition of the Church," Pope Leo said, the reform must also be properly understood.

"A correct understanding of it also enables us to reject the abuses that occurred in certain sectors of the Church during the post-conciliar period, and which, unfortunately, still occur from time to time today, where some of the principles underlying the reform itself have been taken to extremes or misunderstood," he said.

During the liturgy, "the memorial of the work of salvation is celebrated," and the Church's ritual actions also provide an opportunity "to experience a true relationship with God, coming into contact with the salvific event," the pope said. "Since the gestures and words of the sacred liturgy are critical to realizing this experience, the participation of the faithful cannot be passive."

The council's reform put "at the center that which constitutes the heart of the ecclesial experience," he said. Therefore, the intention was "to allow the liturgy to shine forth as 'the primary source of that divine exchange in which the life of God is communicated to us.'"

Because of the importance of language, teaching and "intelligibility," there was "the need to make the richness of the biblical texts and prayers more accessible to all the faithful, and to streamline the order of the celebration compared with that set out in the liturgical books then in use," he said.

The liturgy is "a living entity," he said, and it has always been subject to developments and changes over the centuries.

Therefore, it is "not surprising that the Second Vatican Council, too, with the utmost respect for the heritage of tradition, and precisely in order to make it more accessible, considered it necessary to revise the liturgical books," Pope Leo said.

Quoting the conciliar constitution, he said, "the liturgy is made up of immutable elements divinely instituted, and of elements subject to change. These not only may but ought to be changed with the passage of time if they have suffered from the intrusion of anything out of harmony with the inner nature of the liturgy or have become unsuited to it."

Texts and rites should thereby be "drawn up so that they express more clearly the holy things which they signify; the Christian people, so far as possible, should be enabled to understand them with ease and to take part in them fully, actively, and as befits a community," he said, citing the constitution.

"In this way, the Christian people learn to recognize sacred realities, offer themselves with and through the hands of the priest, and become more open to receiving God's grace," he said in his summary to English speakers.

In his main catechesis in Italian, he said it is still the primary responsibility of bishops and priests "to safeguard and promote a liturgy which, while respecting liturgical norms, shines with noble simplicity and thus manifests the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church."

As the council teaches, "Liturgical services are not private functions," but are celebrations that pertain to the whole body of the Church, "which is the 'sacrament of unity,' namely, the holy people united and ordered under their bishops," he said, quoting from the constitution.

"At every celebration of the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, let us ask for God's help to be strengthened on our journey and to enter into a deeper relationship with the Lord," he said in his English summary.

— Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service

HIGH POINT — On the Feast Day of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Bishop Michael Martin traveled to Pennybyrn Aug. 22 to celebrate Mass with retired priests Father Edward Sheridan, Father Lawrence Heiney and Monsignor John McSweeney, alongside the community's residents.

With a combined priestly service of more than 165 years, the three priests still happily live out their faith through daily Mass and offering the sacraments.

While the Church nationwide is celebrating a resurgence among youth, the bishop thanked the elders who helped pave the way.

Bishop Martin said, “Truly I am honored by these men and by the gift of their lives, and I want them to know how much I appreciate them.”

Father Patrick Hoare, chaplain of Pennybyrn, and Father Miguel Sanchez, priest-secretary to Bishop Martin, concelebrated the Mass while the retired priests listened to the bishop’s message encouraging discipleship.

His homily noted the tactics of preseason football – how players want to win, but not enough to get injured.

“There are spaces in our lives where we realize that we are maybe not in it to the full,” Bishop Martin said. “Sadly that reality takes place often in our following of Jesus Christ in the Church, where we find ourselves just doing enough. Playing the game, but not getting injured.”

“All of us in today’s Gospel are called onto the carpet. We can no longer sit in the stands, up in the cheap seats, and simply be a fan of Jesus,” he said. “Jesus calls us down onto the field, to play the game.”

As Catholics at any age and level of physical ability we need to “get in the game” and play hard in Christ’s league, he said, joking that his homily was not recycled from a visit to Charlotte Catholic High School.

“I am not messed up in my paperwork. Father Pat told me that this community is vibrant,” Bishop Martin said. “No matter what our age, we are always being invited more deeply into relationship with Jesus Christ and in the Church.”

The path of discipleship is still theirs to take, he said.

“Are you ready for that?” Bishop Martin asked.

And, with the energy of teenage cheerleaders and an entire football team, the residents shouted, “Yes.”

The bishop smiled at their reaction.

“I knew I wasn’t coming to any sleepy retirement community with bad hearing aids,” Bishop Martin said. “There is no fourth quarter when it comes to discipleship; it is always gametime. Christ wants you on His team, proclaiming every day that He is the Christ.”

Their leadership days are not over, the bishop reminded them.

“Even to my brother priests in their older years, they are still leading. They’re still holy priests. Not just leading you, but leading by example,” Bishop Martin said.

The bishop emphasized that there is still fuel in the tank, still a message to preach, and still life to give.

“Never, ever think that one day of your life is not worthy for the call of God to be a disciple,” he said.

During the Eucharistic prayer, the retired priests were the loudest on the team, reciting every word with the same passion as when they were newly ordained.

“When I am up there serving, I can hear them all the way on the other side of the altar,” Deacon Francis Skinner said.

With Mass offered daily, a 24-hour perpetual adoration chapel, and the retired priests hearing confessions, the community proves to be a faith-filled home for its senior parishioners.

At the end of Mass, Bishop Martin spent some time with the residents and clergy.

“I am delighted the bishop came,” Monsignor McSweeney said.

Sacristy volunteer and resident Judith Griffin feels closer to God than ever in retirement.

“I started volunteering only after my husband passed away,” Griffin said. “I have more time for God now, and I feel so blessed. Every morning I wake up and say to the Holy Spirit, ‘We have to do this, this, this and this.’ I tell Him, ‘Here, you take care of it,’ and He does. It’s amazing.”

A volunteer since 1995, Alice Gottschalk was delighted by the bishop’s visit.

“He is a Franciscan and I’m a secular Frasiciscan. I was the one that started clapping at the end,” she said, noting “there is a spitirual growth happening in this community that is palpable.”

While the retired clergy and religious continue to make her smile, Gottschalk believes parishioners can keep them smiling as well.

“They could have been a husband, a grandfather, a father…but instead they chose to follow Christ with all they had. It can be a lonely life,” Gottschalk said, noting that Catholics have a responsibility to “recognize them for the gifts they gave to us.”

“If you had a direct connection with these priests remember them, remember where they are,” she encouraged. “Invite them for dinner, send letters.”

— Lisa Geraci

Pope Leo XIV elevates the Eucharist during Mass at the port of Rimini, Italy, during a halfday visit Aug. 22, 2026. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

VATICAN CITY — The Catholic vision and culture of love and mercy must overcome the false narratives that create enemies and convince people and nations to "re-arm" in a "culture of power," Pope Leo XIV said.

"Let us, then, together free our lives from suspicion, culture from arrogance, education from ideology, work from the idolatry of profit, and technology and finance from the business of death," he told thousands of people attending the annual Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples Aug. 22 in the eastern seaside town of Rimini. The Vatican broadcast the events live on its channels.

"Let us expose unjust structures of power that lie at the root of poverty, inequality, war and environmental disasters. Let us disarm technological development whenever it becomes invasive and destructive," he said, calling for convincing, credible and "courageous pioneers," who take the first step "by first changing course in their own lives."

The pope's lengthy speech, which was repeatedly interrupted by applause, was the highlight of a daylong journey which brought him first to the micronation of the Republic of San Marino nestled on a mountain on the Italian peninsula, then to Rimini, where he celebrated Mass along the Adriatic Sea and attended the annual Rimini Meeting organized by the Catholic lay movement Communion and Liberation.

While every pope has sent a written message to the international event every year since it was launched in 1980, it was the second time after St. John Paul II's visit in 1982 that a pope attended in person.

Pope Leo picked up on the same appeal the Polish pope made 44 years ago: to tirelessly bring forth a civilization born of truth and love in a world seriously threatened by selfishness and indifference to others' suffering.

Humanity "hungers and thirsts for justice," Pope Leo said, and "peace is fostered and spread by people who love to encounter one another and are not afraid to engage with one another."

"This is a time for responsibility" for Christians, he said, because "to follow Jesus Christ in the wake of the tragedies and new beginnings of the twentieth century indeed requires a clear awareness that evil is not overcome by evil."

"Love is the law of life and the means of redemption," the pope said. "Catholic culture must counter the false realism that re-arms minds, words and nations, with the realism of mercy which recognizes that there can be no enemies, and that everyone, even those who oppose us, is a brother or sister to be looked in the eye and encountered in truth."

Christ's redeeming love is stronger than sin, he said, and Christians need to continually purify their own "thoughts, interests, habits, associations, plans and investments -- indeed, every aspect of our lives -- from all that the culture of power has tainted."

Authentic conversion requires seeking God's glory over one's own, he said. And it will be "courageous pioneers who, by first changing course in their own lives, can make the transformation required of everyone convincing and credible."

Pope Leo spoke often to the many young people in attendance, putting the spotlight on their great enthusiasm, "which is a sign of the Spirit!"

The world needs communion, which starts with friendship, he told them in off-the-cuff remarks before his main speech. "The world needs you, your enthusiasm, your love, your faith."

"Dear young people, today the world seems surprised by your commitment to Christ, by the attraction you feel toward him and his word, and by your sense of belonging to the Church," he said in his main address.

"This is not a matter of numbers, although it is moving to see thousands of your peers seeking Baptism in societies considered among the most secularized in the world. It is, rather, a matter of freedom because the truth can be encountered only in freedom," he said to great applause.

The importance and true meaning of freedom was the focus of his meeting with the authorities, distinguished guests and residents of San Marino -- the oldest republic in the world that traces its founding to St. Marinus; according to tradition, he fled Rome in 301 during the persecutions of the Roman Emperor Diocletian.

Celebrating 100 years of formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See, the republic's motto is "Libertas," or "Freedom."

"There is no true civil liberty without personal liberty -- that is, without respect for and the promotion of the dignity of the human person," Pope Leo said in the grand chamber of the general council in the main Public Palace.

Individual freedom is "bestowed and guaranteed by God, whose voice resounds in the conscience of every human being," he said, which is why promoting liberty requires defending human conscience.

With its source and roots in God, freedom is like "a plant that grows and produces branches and leaves to offer everyone oxygen, shade, fragrance, fruit, and new seeds," he said.

That root is damaged, he added, by an "idolatry" that presents political or economic projects as bearing the hallmark of freedom, when instead they are really "enslaved to idols and power."

True freedom is realized "in giving, in communion, in encounter and in dialogue," he said. In fact, "freedom and communion stand or fall together."

While the ancient republic has a strong Catholic heritage and more than 91% of its population of almost 35,000 people identify as Christian, there is no official state religion and its constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and worship.

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln -- who became an honorary citizen of San Marino -- praised the tiny nation for showing that governments founded on the principles of a representative republic can be "secure and enduring." Pope Leo was shown the president's handwritten letter from 1861 in a display case.

The pope told the governing authorities his visit was much like his visit to the small principality of Monaco -- to "highlight the unique value of a small state, one 'on a human scale,' where it is possible to experience politics that is attuned to the needs of citizens and, therefore, a more effective democracy," especially when it is also guided by Christian values.

"For this reason, the Republic of San Marino can serve as a 'laboratory' for good governance, where -- without compromising the state's secular nature -- one can draw upon the principles of Catholic social teaching: the pursuit of the common good, the universal destination of goods, the harmony of subsidiarity and solidarity, and social justice," Pope Leo said.

He encouraged officials, citizens and the Catholic Church to continue their "courageous dedication" and cooperation in promoting everyone's human dignity and the common good.

The pope then visited the Basilica of San Marino, where he venerated the relics of St. Marinus and met with local Catholics.

The early founders and leaders of the nation, he said, "were able to translate the message of the Gospel into a new communal and political model, strongly characterized by the Christian principles of freedom, mutual respect, and communion -- a model that remains alive to this day."

The Gospel is the path to freedom and meaning for humanity of every age, he said, and "the greatest gift we can offer to the brothers and sisters whom the Lord places on our path is to help them encounter Him."

The Gospel inspires a society built on respect for one's own freedom, that of others, and for God's will, which "commands care for the weakest, forgiveness, communion and solidarity," he said.

Pope Leo then went by helicopter to Rimini for the afternoon, where he spoke at the meeting and then visited people receiving care and support from the local Caritas.

The pope spent a long time blessing and talking to the elderly, infirm and marginalized in the city's cathedral in a festive atmosphere, as an ecumenical choir and orchestra played jazz and big band hits, like "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (with Anyone Else but Me)" by the Andrew Sisters and "Shake That Thing" by Papa Charlie Jackson.

The pope then celebrated an outdoor Mass at the city's port as thousands gathered along the beach and blue sea. Hundreds of people, still sporting bathing suits, shorts, caps and straw hats from their afternoon outing, stood behind metal barricades and scores of others wore traditional striped sailor shirts. A giant ferris wheel lit up brightly as the sun set over the horizon.

In his homily, the pope said the world "offers many forms of entertainment, some of which, however, lead more to distraction and ruin" and emptiness.

This idea of "escapism," he said, assumes that everyday life is "a prison from which to flee."

The best way to find "refreshment," he said, is "where we encounter God and truly encounter one another," which is not "out there in the chaos, but within us, in the depths of our souls."

"As a Christian community, we are therefore called in a special way to cultivate this experience and to pass it on," he said, through a readiness to help and be welcoming, and a caring and contemplative atmosphere in Church.

"And this applies both to those seeking a well-deserved time of rest after a year of work and to those who, wounded in body and spirit, seek refuge, food, and assistance far from their homeland," he added.

Albanian Cardinal Ernest Simoni, 97, was among the many priests, bishops and cardinals who concelebrated at the Mass, and the original painting of Our Lady of Mercy, patroness of the city, was displayed for veneration.

— Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service

"The world does not need an artificial intelligence that diminishes humanity; rather, it needs human intelligence enlightened by wisdom, political authority guided by conscience and technological innovation directed by charity," the pope told members of the International Catholic Legislators Network Aug. 21.

"Only then will artificial intelligence become not a rival to humanity but a servant of the common good," he said.

According to its website, the ICLN, which was founded in 2010, seeks to provide "Christians in public office with faith formation, expert education and a global network of peers and friends" to encourage leadership "that is committed to the dignity of every human being."

The group held its annual meeting Aug. 20-23 in Rome to discuss the theme, "Human Dignity and Artificial Intelligence: Challenges, Chances and Control."

Reflecting on the meeting's theme, the pope said its focus on artificial intelligence was an "opportunity to reflect upon one of the defining questions of our age."

"The extraordinary progress of artificial intelligence is opening horizons that previous generations could scarcely have imagined," he said. "Yet every technological achievement also confronts humanity with a moral question: not merely what can we do, but what ought we to do?"

Citing his encyclical on safeguarding the human person in the age of artificial intelligence, "Magnifica Humanitas" ("Magnificent Humanity"), Pope Leo said humanity is facing "a decisive choice."

Humanity, he said, can either "be tempted to construct a new Tower of Babel, where power, efficiency and control obscure the face of the human person; or we can build a civilization in which technology serves the integral development of every person."

The pope told the Catholic legislators that their vocation places them "at the heart of this challenge" and that the Church's social teaching can help them discern whether technology helps people "become more fraternal and responsible toward themselves and toward one another."

"Sound legislation should encourage scientific and technological creativity while safeguarding fundamental human rights and freedoms," he said. "It should protect users from exploitation, preserve personal privacy, ensure transparency in the use of emerging technologies and guarantee that they strengthen democratic institutions."

Independent oversight and legal frameworks, the pope continued, are necessary guardrails for artificial intelligence that help ensure "that no single ideology or interest dictates the values embedded in artificial intelligence systems."

Nevertheless, he added, AI's rapid development "risks creating new forms of technological dependence, with poorer nations increasingly reliant on wealthier ones."

Pope Leo warned that such developments "reveal a new face of the ancient temptation to domination and mastery without service."

"We must remain vigilant in this regard, lest innovation become another vehicle for ideological or economic colonialism," he said. "Sadly, we are presented with a subtle form of domination when algorithms decide who is seen and who remains invisible, when digital platforms shape public discourse without accountability, and when the dignity of workers is subordinated to the optimization of systems."

For this reason, the Catholic Church proposes "the civilization of love" as a response to the "culture of power," which would govern artificial intelligence through "charity, compassion and responsibility."

The family, the pope said, is at the heart of this response as the first place one learns "trust before calculation, generosity before competition, dialogue before division, and love before power."

Pope Leo encouraged the group of Catholic lawmakers to promote policies that "strengthen marriage and families," as well as support parents in "their educational mission and enable young people to look to the future with confidence."

"Artificial intelligence must never be allowed to erode this primary cell of society -- whether by reducing persons and relationships to data and simulations, by flooding young minds with content that distorts desire, or by economic models that make family life economically precarious," he said.

— Junno Arocho Esteves, OSV News

One year ago, Franciscan friars launched a street ministry to start conversations that open a door to exploring faith while caring for those on the margins. The ministry is called SEARCH – “Seek, Encounter, Accompany, Renew, Convert, Heal,” – but it’s peoples’ search for meaning that underpins their work. (Troy C. Hull and Liz Chandler | Catholic News Herald)

CHARLOTTE — It’s Saturday night and two Franciscan friars in brown robes walk into one of Charlotte’s most popular South End breweries.

Heads turn.

“Hey wizards,” a man drinking beer with his buddies shouts over blasting music.

Actually, the friars explain, we’re Catholic priests.

The man wisecracks: That may be so, but you still practice sorcery.

Fathers Casey Cole and Tito Serrano smile and keep moving through hundreds of revelers gathered at Monday Night Brewing. After a year of ministering on the streets, in bars, on college campuses and on the light rail, they’ve heard it all. Their hooded habits always attract attention.

“We’ve been called wizards, Jedi, assassins – from the video game Assassins Creed. A lot of people think we’re from Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings,” says Father Casey, 37. “But usually when people find out we’re priests, they come over and apologize and strike up a conversation, and maybe share something they’re struggling with.”

“Not every interaction is fruitful,” he says. “Sometimes, there’s no connection made whatsoever, and there are lots of off-handed comments. But if just our presence can plant a seed of faith out in the world, then we’ve succeeded.”

Indeed, says Zack Maher, a young engineer, the friars’ ministry has inspired him. He went from searching for a Catholic community to regularly attending the friars’ events.

“They break down every wall they can to connect with people,” says Maher, 28, whose always had an affinity for St. Francis. “They are just fun, pleasant, holy guys to be around.”

Ministering on the margins

A typical day for the friars often takes them from ministering to the homeless on the streets of Charlotte to events in local bars that help young adults connect to their faith while enjoying fellowship.

The friars launched their outreach ministry called SEARCH with a simple goal: to start conversations that open a door to faith.

SEARCH stands for “Seek, Encounter, Accompany, Renew, Convert, Heal,” but it’s the searching – people’s search for something more in life – that underpins their work.

“For me the encounter is the pivotal part of our ministry,” says Father Tito, 39. “We are willing to encounter people wherever they are…Once we do that, the rest is about facilitating an encounter with God.”

The friars’ ministry certainly is not all about barhopping. On this Saturday, Aug. 15, the Feast of the Assumption, the friars begin with morning Mass and prayers for people they’d met the previous day. Then comes gardening, video editing and an interview with CNN.

At 5:30 p.m., Fathers Casey and Tito arrive Uptown, in full habit, in 90 degrees, pulling a wagon filled with peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches, crackers, candy and water. Over the next hour-and-a-half, they walk a 1.3 mile-circuit – up Tryon Street from St. Peter Catholic Church, to The Square, to the bus station, and back – handing out comfort to people living on the streets and others in need.
Many of these people know the friars, perking up at the prospect of food and water. One woman calls them “The Pastors of the Streets.” The friars fist-bump and chat with people on benches and sleeping on the sidewalk. One of their regulars – Moses – downs a cup of water, then a second, and asks Father Casey to fish medicine out of his backpack. He’d recently lost a leg to diabetes and now parks his wheelchair across from Charlotte’s iconic Firebird.

“Reaching out to people in need is an important part of evangelization – it is the work of the Gospel,” Father Casey says. “And when we’re downtown, a lot of people going to work see the witness of what we’re doing.”

At 7 p.m., the two friars meet a group of 14 young people at a brewery called 4001 Yancey for a “guerilla” Bible study with beers at high-top tables. At 9:30, they head to Monday Night Brewing – a warehouse with lines eight-deep at the bar and an acre of outdoor space – where they meet the “wizards” wisecracker and go on to engage in more than a dozen more meaningful conversations with strangers.

Friars reaching young people

Father Casey Cole leads a “guerilla” Bible study at a local bar. The friars will often show up at a local establishment, break out their Bibles, and talk with anyone who stops by the table. What began as a humble ministry of walking and talking has become a robust operation with thriving events, street outreach, campus ministry and more – all intended to “meet people where they are.” The pair of

Father Casey and Father Tito began as a trio and now is recalibrating responsibilities since Father Jason Damon was recently called back to serve as a parish priest.

The friars chose Charlotte because of its high concentration of young adults – roughly a third of the population is between 20 and 39 years old, with a median age of 34. Bishop Michael Martin, himself a Conventual Franciscan, loved the idea and offered to host the ministry in his diocese.

“Opportunity is the word for what we see here in Charlotte,” Father Casey says. “I think the seeds have been planted, but the full nature of what we’re trying to do here has not been realized yet.”

The seeds are sprouting for people like Zack Maher, who regularly turns out for friar events including their recent “Rosary and Rye,” hosted by Father Tito, which featured saying the rosary followed by a whiskey tasting.

“The fact that Charlotte is continuing to grow and change seems to make people more open to the unique and the new,” says Father Tito, “and in the case of our way of life, the very old.” It has been 800 years since the death of St. Francis of Assisi, the Franciscans founder.

If whiskey does not appeal, the friars invite people to:

• Free Wednesday dinner-and-discussion nights in South End
• Monthly trivia nights at St. Gabriel Church
• “Brews and Good News,” an informal Bible study at local breweries.
• Young Catholic Professionals’ events.

This fall, they’re also planning a weekend retreat – $50 for two nights at a mountain getaway.

“The friars keep me coming back,” Maher says. “They are very devout and also very genuine.”

He joined the friars on a recent visit to Pins Mechanical Co. – a lively bar with duckpin bowling, pinball, retro games and craft beer – and felt moved by the connections they formed with those who approached them.

“They were consistent and loving whether people just wanted to chat or go deeper,” he said. “One woman really wanted prayers and to get something off her chest, and it was powerful to see how intentional they were with her. I just sat back and watched them work, watched them pray with her right there in the middle of the bar. It was a powerful, true imitation of Christ.”

Friars on campus

Colleges have proven to be particularly fertile ground for sharing the faith, the friars say. They regularly visit UNC Charlotte, UNC Greensboro and Belmont Abbey College – and have ventured out to Appalachian State University in Boone and Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

“There’s a tremendous openness to faith right now among college students, definitely something going on nationwide,” Father Casey says.

They set up tables on campuses – and sometimes on street corners – and begin discussions with passersby. No topic is off limits.

Those tabling events stuck with Jessica Mathew last year as a senior majoring in computer science at UNC Charlotte. Although she volunteered with campus ministry, the friars’ outreach motivated her to do more to reach out to others.

“It pushed me to learn new things about the faith,” said Mathew, who has since graduated. “It helped me realize where I might be lacking...opened my eyes a bit more in the sense that I need to better prepare myself to answer such questions in daily life.”

— Christina Lee Knauss and Liz Chandler

Want to help?

At www.charlottediocese.org/giving/franciscan-friars-donation: Support SEARCH with a tax-deductible donation

The Missionaries of the Poor brothers go out into the streets to serve the poor and sick. Their work takes them to some of most dangerous locations in the world, which their founder has said they have no intention of changing.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Father Richard Ho Lung, 86, didn’t allow his recent brush with death to hinder Founder’s Day and the 45th anniversary celebration of the Missionaries of the Poor (MOP) order he founded in 1981.

Instead, “I still plan to … dance for you,” he joked at the July 18 celebration, even though he was barely able to walk.

He shared his love for his order, for Christ and for the poor with everyone present – including the 150 MOP brothers and 20 MOP sisters in Jamaica, dozens of residents, seven missionaries from St. Luke Church in Mint Hill and the Catholic News Herald.

“Brothers and sisters, love the Cross, love the poor, love the sick, love the dying,” he told them. The same beliefs that fueled the global mission keep many Charlotte missionaries visiting each year.

He reflected, “I thought this past week, maybe this would be it. Maybe God was saying this is the time. And I was at peace.”

He described his hospital visit the way many of his centers’ disabled residents would explain the care they receive 24 hours a day from the MOP brothers and sisters.

Home away from home

Parishioners from St. Luke Church in Mint Hill traveled to Jamaica on a mission trip to assist the Missionaries of the Poor. While there, they formed connections with medically fragile patients cared for by the MOP brothers.

With the only MOP mission in North America in Monroe, Diocese of Charlotte parishioners have gotten to know the brothers and embrace their work.

From serving locally, some take the leap to journey to Kingston, Jamaica – the homebase from which brothers and religious sisters spend their lives behind high-gated communities in prayer and service to the poor and sick.

In between Mass, Holy Hours and rosaries, they feed, bathe and care for 600 medically fragile residents housed at six centers.

This is where many visitors from Charlotte have said they enhanced their prayer lives and relationship with God.

The residents with their mangled limbs and immovable bodies, mostly nonverbal, still smile. They still blink. In their eyes the face of Jesus is revealed, many have said.

‘Pure joy’

“The poor are not merely recipients of charity. They are our brothers and sisters, mirrors of God’s image,” Father Ho Lung said.

Children without legs, adults only able to crawl, and people in all types of pain can sometimes be difficult to watch. But the St. Luke parishioners choose to smile and laugh with the residents.

“Ultimately you will find unwavering expressions of pure joy,” said St. Luke parishioner Kelly Reeder, on her fifth visit with her husband, Greg, who brought their son Austin for his first trip. “It is like visiting your family that you haven’t seen in ages. You never want the time to end. Jesus is in everyone you meet.”

For other first timers, like Erika and Nancy Barranco, the trip took on a life-changing dimension.

“I went with a confused and troubled heart, carrying so many questions, and after this trip, God answered them all,” Nancy Barranco said. “God’s love comes in different forms.”

Advocacy to action

Father Ho Lung, a Chinese Jamaican who converted to Catholicism in grade school, has made an impact on Jamaica over the past 45 years.

He first shed light on the deplorable conditions of a governmental healthcare institution called Eventide, where patients were being eaten alive by rats, packed into overcrowded rooms and given improper care.

Eventide experienced the deadliest fire in Jamaica’s history, claiming 150 elderly women’s lives.

The catastrophe motivated the young priest.

Father Ho Lung left his life as a Jesuit priest and started the Missionaries of the Poor, where he would take his advocacy, transfer it through reform, and then act for the good of others.

“Christian faith cannot remain only in words, prayer or good intentions. It must deliver love and action, hands that serve, hearts that welcome, voices that contain human dignity,” Father Ho Lung said.

Growing influence

Today, the brothers serve in 12 countries, making inroads in South Vietnam, pushing deeper into Africa and gearing up to serve South Korea and China.

Many are dangerous places, but despite the deaths of two of their own –Brother Suresh and Brother Marco, who were shot in Kingston in 2005 – and the recent violence in Haiti, the brothers refuse to relocate,

Father Ho Lung told the Catholic News Herald.

“These brothers have gotten held up by gunmen, and they just keep on going,” Father Ho Lung said. “The brothers say they will never leave.”

Closer to home, Father Ho Lung cherishes his Charlotte connections.

“Our relationship with the Diocese of Charlotte is just wonderful. We look forward to seeing people come down every year,” Father Ho Lung said. “The people there know us, and the brothers, of course, are there.”

Father Ho Lung said that while providing healthcare is not the direction they are taking in the U.S., they have found a disease here that is curable … loneliness.

“I like how the brothers are going out [to make home visits]. The way they describe it, some have no visitors. They feel rejected and alone,” Father Ho Lung said. “I would love to see that continued, built up, and expanded even more. … We would love to also have the homeless and destitute there – like a night shelter.”

In the meanwhile, the fragile man who built an order from Jamaica’s scraps encouraged people in the Diocese of Charlotte to keep visiting the MOP, to bring friends and to do their part to care for the poor and the sick at home.

And, while many missionaries go to Jamaica with the intent of helping others, in the end they find something more.

As Erika Barranco said about her first-ever mission trip, “Sometimes God sends us to bless others only to realize He was also there to bless us.”

Visit missionariesofthepoor.org to learn more.

— Lisa M. Geraci 

The moment my eyes adjusted

Lisa M. Geraci: A personal perspective on my mission trip to Jamaica

I was one of the seven St. Luke Church in Mint Hill “missionaries” who went on the Missionaries of the Poor (MOP) trip to Jamaica. I had never gone out of the country before or thought of being a missionary, but when I saw the ad in the St. Luke Church bulletin announcing one open spot, I knew it was meant for me.

I imagined I would be painting the fingernails of elderly people and blowing bubbles with disabled children – and I was, but there was much more.

My initial fears of being in gunned down in the streets or having my passport stolen subsided when we arrived in Kingston. Brother Benedict and Brother Peter greeted us at the airport with their long white cassocks held together by light blue sashes and wooden rosary beads. They hugged us like we were old friends.

My eyes met the Jamaican terrain, and it was not a slum, there were mountains surrounded by the sea.

Perhaps one of these mountains is the Mount Zion Bob Marley is always singing about, I thought.

The city streets, while colorful, were trash-ridden, and peppered with dilapidated buildings . Some people walked with music in their step while others lay on the sidewalk with desperation in their eyes. 

A grey solid 18-foot-high gate with a huge lock on the side and a peep hole out front, guarded the monastery, and when Brother Benedict opened it, Kingston instantly shifted into a beautifully manicured landscape of mango trees and Marian grottos.

Though we were hungry, we would pray first, Brother Benedict said, as we followed a dozen flowing robes into the small chapel. The sticky 90-degree weather intensified as we entered the building.

The brothers kneeled barefoot in the pews, before a humble crucifix above a simple altar, joyfully singing evening prayers with a Caribbean twist as if time did not exist, and then we said the rosary. 

The brothers sat among us for a dinner of rice and fish, where they laughed at our stories, genuinely interested in every word.

During night prayers, I realized I entered a land that never stops praying. I have spent more time praying in those first few hours than I had the three months prior.

Lying in my single bed, I listened to the soft reggae soundtrack of the Kingston night while drowning in sweat from the Jamaican heat. The breeze and a fan saved my life, as they had for probably hundreds of missionaries before me.

I woke up early to take a shower before morning Mass. Though it was too hot for warm water, my Americanized mentality still desired the option.

The drinking water was okay, but I really wanted a cold Diet Coke.

My clothes were already stuck to my body, and I was in desperate need of an air conditioner.

I laughed and almost cried at what a spoiled brat I am. I thought to offer my suffering up to the Lord and then felt ashamed for equating my subtle discomfort with suffering.

Mass at 6 a.m. was followed by morning prayer, and then a Holy Hour. Prayer definitely dictated the rhythm of the day instead of work. By 8 a.m. I was already tired, and we had not even eaten breakfast yet.

We spent the day at Bethlehem House, a home for children with severe physically and developmental disabilities. A boy that could have been anywhere from 12 to 18 with Down syndrome took my hand, while another child locked his arm around my shoulder, using my body as a crutch. Other residents rushed to the Reeder’s, a couple from St. Luke who visit each year. There were long hugs and residents screaming their names as if they were local celebrities.

Another teen in a wheelchair, with arms and no lower body, rolled beside us. The boys were a welcome relief, but then I walked into the other room.

Most of the children lay in cribs,with some connected to feeding tubes. Their heads were large and did not match their small, distorted bodies.

“Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy,” explained Jennifer Starnes, another St. Luke Church missionary who is a nurse, “it happens when there is not enough oxygen in the womb."

While their bodies lacked functionality, their eyes seemed to tell a different story – one of creative brains held captive within an immobile bodies.

Some looked like infants or toddlers, but their name tags listed an age at least a decade older.

Despite their condition, they were clean, fed and cared for by the brothers and the caregivers, their vital signs carefully monitored throughout the day by a nurse.

“What do I do here?” I thought.

A memory of my grandmother on her deathbed returned. At that point, there was not much left to say or do, but I cherished time with her silently praying and in soft conversation, making sure she was comfortable.

I felt that same urge to comfort each resident by lightly scratching an arm or giving a gentle hug, to sitting quietly with them for a bit.

Although other children were capable of more, I felt a deep connection with the quiet and still.

“Why did they have to suffer in this way?” I asked God, but in their eyes, I saw He was there.

“I could do this. Why am I not doing this at home?” I thought during midday prayer and another communal meal of fish.

At dinner, Brother Peter sat next to us.

“What did we think about the Center?” he asked.

Nancy Barranco, another missionary from St. Luke, explained how truly joyful the residents were, smiling and laughing through their suffering.

“In heaven, they will be whole again, and they will dance and sing with us. They will remember us,” Brother Peter said.

That was simple and comforting—not that they would remember me, or the dancing and singing, but that they would be whole. I asked myself why did I not know that already.

I slept better that night than I had in years.

The cold shower the next morning was refreshing, and the prayer could have lasted even longer.

Halfway through Mass, it was like my whole attitude shifted, a peace filled me, and I felt a void I never knew I had filled. “I need to pray like this every day,” I thought.

At 8 a.m., I was not very tired. I wanted to go to the centers.

“What a quick change of heart! What an easy adjustment”! I thought.

That morning we went to another center, this time filled with elderly women. I spoke to those who could speak. Most were medically fragile and discarded, without any family, and left on the streets to die before they came to the brothers.
Joyce, a stroke victim, was more content than ever at her new residence. After being a Protestant, she was interested in becoming Catholic. She spoke about her inevitable death, comforted by the fact the brothers would provide her with a proper burial on top of their mountain cemetery on Mt. Tabor.

The residents sang and danced to songs of praise, while I drifted to a room in the back with the still and quiet. They may have been older, but they still looked like children.

Just like the previous day, I preferred spending my hours there. The caregiver let me feed them, and afterward, one of the brothers asked me to help bathe them.

A flashback of my ex-husband bathing his elderly father, who had dementia, ran through my mind. “I can’t,” my memory told me, and I froze like a statue.

“Come on,” the brother said with a gentle smile. And I did. I started undressing strangers, drying them after their baths, redressing them, applying powder and lotion. After that initial hesitation, it was fine, maybe even pleasant. I never knew how natural something I didn't believe I was capable of doing would quickly become.

“I am not here for them”, I thought. “They are here for me. I am made for this.”

I realized I could bring them home with me, not physically, but by serving people like them at home – hospice and cancer patients, nursing home residents, the residents of Holy Angels.

During Holy Hour the next morning, I sobbed to the point of embarrassment. I tried to hide my face.

“My life before was wrong. This is right,” I thought. “This is the prayer life. This is the service I meant to do.”

When I looked up, other missionaries were whimpering, too.

The tears were telling. We had all found something in Jamaica; we found a part of ourselves.
After hearing biblical references to Mount Zion all week intermingled in the Liturgy of the Hours, I had to look it up.

I learned Mount Zion spiritually represents the dwelling place of God, divine protection, ultimate redemption, and the spiritual home of the faithful.

On the plane ride home, I sat next to a Jamaican woman from Kingston. She asked what I was doing in Kingston.

I showed her pictures, and she laughed, and in her Jamaican accent said, “You may have been somewhere, but these pictures are not from Kingston. I lived in Kingston my whole life, and this is not Kingston.”

She shook her head and smiled, “When you come back, I’ll show you the real Kingston.”

After we exchanged numbers and false promises, I knew she was right. I did not stay in Kingston that week. I stayed in a spiritual place made by God. 

We, just like all previous missionaries from the diocese, discovered the real Mount Zion right there in the middle of Kingston, behind the monastery gates in the hearts of every Missionary of the Poor and every resident.

 — Lisa M. Geraci

The four-acre farm used to be home to a saddle maker and some miniature therapy horses. Now it will be a place of respite where students and parishioners can detach and learn lessons about theology and agriculture.

Father Cook, pastor of St. Pius X Church, and Aguilera, principal of St. Pius X School, invested in the four-acre property on behalf of Farms of the Good Shepherd, a nonprofit they created to support the mission.

“The very first time I toured the school, we started talking about this vision,” Father Cook said. “It is inspired by the Catholic tradition of Ora et Labora (“prayer and work”). It is a teaching and retreat farm that invites us to step away from the distractions of modern life.”

The idea stemmed from their roots. Father Cook’s German grandfather often praised the European trade school concept and Aguilera experienced the beauty of agrarian life both in Italy and with the nuns at her school.

“Here, families can rediscover God through the beauty of His creation,” Father Cook said. “We believe it will help to foster a deeper relationship through faith, nature and meaningful work.”

The farm in Colfax is just outside the city limits of Greensboro and is expected to welcome families and children this year.

“We were trying to find a central location to our schools, and this is not too far from Bishop McGuinness or Immaculate Heart of Mary, and very close to St. Pius and Our Lady of Grace,” Aguilera said.

Sheep, goats, rabbits and chickens are moving in soon, and the 1800s Quaker-style log cabin and barn are being renovated.

Agricultural designs are being drawn up, while the minds of Father Cook and Aguilera are on overdrive with possibilities.

“We have parishioners who raise sheep, own chicken farms, engage in agritourism, and make their living as farmers,” said Father Cook, who notes they are learning from them.

A lifestyle of purpose

Father Christian Cook is known for baking the best sourdough bread, a recipe he may consider sharing at the new Farms of the Good Shepherd.As Father Cook explained, “The reason we called it ‘farms’ instead of ‘farm’ is because we want the ‘Farms of the Good Shepherd’ to be a program, not just one spot, but a community of people living this life.”

The purpose? To detach, disconnect from technology and foster the message of God through real life experience in nature, Father Cook and Aguilera say.

“In my work, I see the destruction caused by cellphones, the internet and gaming. It is probably the single most destructive thing we have introduced to children in hundreds of years,” Aguilera said. “If you take those things away, you have to fill those gaps with something, and so we advocate bringing them back to the Creator. There is no greater joy than the joy that He provides.”

Drawing from the lessons of St. Thomas Aquinas, the parables of Jesus, and the lifestyle of St. Benedict, visitors will battle the real-life elements of agriculture, farming, raising livestock, and the basics of baking and cooking.

“Each activity is intentionally designed to cultivate gratitude, simplicity, stewardship and a greater appreciation for God’s gifts,” Aguilera said.

In this effort, hands large and small are needed.

“The plan is for students to participate through service hours in rehabilitating the ‘fixer-upper’ right now, and then later in growing the farm,” Father Cook said.

With chicken coops, goat shelters, plant beds and feeding troughs that need to be built, the help of volunteers, carpenters, agricultural experts and animal enthusiasts is welcomed.

“We are blessed to have parishioners who are excited about handing down their old-world trades and their traditions of cooking, baking and self-sufficiency,” Father Cook said.

“Being in God’s creation, being with His animals, learning how to tend to them, giving them affection, learning how to bake bread – kids just don’t have many opportunities to do that,” Aguilera said. “This is why we wanted to invest in this and find the right spot, to get as many families to feel this joy of the Creator because we know ourselves just how beautiful it is.”

— Lisa M. Geraci

More online
At www.farmsgoodshepherd.org: Learn more about the farm

Local Scouts have the opportunity to visit Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico – a 140,000-acre spread in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Scouts hiked five to 12 miles a day through difficult terrain whose natural beauty gave them the opportunity to reflect on God’s creation and their place within it.

CHARLOTTE — Three Scouts from the Diocese of Charlotte spent almost two weeks in the mountains of New Mexico in July, pushing themselves physically while also being introduced to spiritual contemplation.

Joseph Horne, Joshua Vari and Jack Chuma were selected by the diocese’s Catholic Committee on Scouting to undertake the St. George’s Trek, held every two years at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. Philmont, a 140,000-acre spread in the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains, is Scouting America’s premier high-adventure camp. The St. George Trek – named for the patron saint of Scouting – adds a spiritual dimension, including daily reflections, Mass and Adoration.

Charlotte Catholic Committee on Scouting Chairman Mike Nielsen was pleased that each of the boys had some interest in discerning possible vocations.
“That’s one of the huge points of the trek,” he said. “If you’ve not spent time around priests and deacons and seminarians, this can help demystify them. You know, they can learn they’re just people too.”

The three Scouts were assigned to different crews and routes, but each backpacked five to 12 miles a day at elevations of 6,500 to 12,500 feet.

Charlotte-area Life Scouts Jack Chuma, Joseph Horne and Joshua Yari were selected by the diocese’s Catholic Committee on Scouting to tackle the St. George Trek - a wilderness trek that combined faith with physical challenges.

Joshua Vari
Age: 15
Home: Conover, NC
Home Church: St. Marks - St. Aloysius
Troop: 97; 1
Chartered by: St. Mark Catholic Church; Corinth Reformed Church
Scout Rank: Life
Scouting positions of note: patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, quartermaster
Parents' names/jobs: father, Nathan Vari/network architect, step-mother,  Nicole Vari; mother, Aimee Supran/payroll sales manager
Siblings: older brother, Alexander Vari, Cub Scout through the Webelos rank
What Crew number at Philmont: Crew 5
After taking this Trek, do you have any interest in a religious vocation? I am interested in going by the seminary to discern more. Chaplains Aide for my crew it was my job to arrange when and where we did mass while on the trek. We couldn’t do it every day because of how busy we were. But, we did do it every other day.
Highlight: The Tooth of Time was great.

Joshua Vari started Scouting at the age of 3, when he tagged along to his older brother’s Tiger Cub meetings. He’s now reached Life Scout, one step away from the highest rank of Eagle Scout.

“I’m actually working on (my Eagle project) right now,” he said. “I’m going to be building a fence for my church school at St. Aloysius.”

Vari was the only Charlotte Trekker selected to serve as a chaplain for his crew, charged with finding a place to celebrate Mass each day.

Vari said the physical challenge of the trek was manageable, although he battled a bout of altitude sickness.

He spent a few days in the infirmary, completing about 80 miles of the more than 100-mile route. He rejoined his crew at Cimarroncita, where all the St. George Trekkers gathered.

“I came back from the infirmary just in time to have Mass with the bishop, and that was really awesome,” he said.

He said the program has affected his faith, and he encourages others to participate – particularly if they are discerning vocations.

“I definitely recommend Philmont for every Scout” he said. “It’s an awesome experience.”

Joseph Horne
Age: 17
Home: Charlotte, NC
Home Church: St. Gabriel
Troop: 174
Chartered by: St. Gabriel Catholic Church
Scout Rank: Life
Scouting positions of note: Patrol Leader
Eagle Scout project: constructed a gravel path at St. Patrick's elementary school
Parents' names/jobs: Patrick Horne - lawyer, Karen Horne, works with the church with confirmation.
Siblings: Anne Marie Horne, 15.
What Crew number at Philmont: 2
Highlights: We had Mass on a little 1.5 lb backpacking table that I brought. Abreu, we got to play with all the farm animals and Cimmaroncito, we got to meet with all the other St George crews in the middle of our trek, and there were also showers there.

This was Joseph Horne’s second time at Philmont – he took a regular trek with his troop in 2024 as a freshman.

“It was slightly easier because I’m two years older,” he said.

Horne’s crew had one of the shorter routes, but it ended up being longer for him. It mirrored the route being taken by a girls’ crew. After two adult counselors for the girls’ crew were required to leave, the organizers combined the groups into a “SuperCrew” with separate campsites. Joseph assisted Sister Teresita, the remaining adult from the girls’ crew, as he was able.

“He basically walked that thing twice,” his mom, Karen Horne, said. “And they all had 50-pound packs.”

One lighter moment came at Abreu, a farm area of the ranch where the Scouts got acquainted with baby goats. Another highlight was the 15-minute hot shower at Cimarroncita.

“It was like the one time in that trek that I felt somewhat clean, because the rest of it, there’s just dirt everywhere,” he said.

The mountain scenery became part of his discernment experience.

“One of the times, we stopped mid-hike and we went up the little ridge and we could see off both sides and we could see for miles in every direction. It was just like, all the world was so big,” he said.

The spiritual conversations – particularly a question-and-answer session with a priest and a religious sister – also made an impression.

“I feel like that helps a lot of people in their discernment,” he said, noting that it “opens the door a little bit more.”

Jack Chuma
Age: 15
Home: Huntersville, NC
Home Church: St. Mark Catholic Church, Huntersville
Troop: 97
Chartered by: St Mark Catholic Church, Huntersville
Scout Rank: Life; working on Eagle Scout project for St Mark Catholic Church (Recognition Wall)
Scouting positions of note: Chaplain, patrol leader multiple times to assistant senior patrol leader.
Catholic Scouting awards: Light of Christ and Parvuli Dei (Cub Scout awards) Working on Ad Altare Dei, first of two Scout-level.
Parents' names/jobs: Emily Chuma, director of leadership giving, Diocese of Charlotte; John Chuma, middle school teacher at Our Lady of Assumption Catholic School
Siblings: Luke 13, eighth grader at St Mark Catholic School), Paul, 5, kindergarten at St Mark Catholic School, is considering joining Cub Scouts at introductory Tiger Cub rank.
What Crew number at Philmont: 3
After taking this Trek, do you have any interest in a religious vocation? Not interested in a vocation at this time, but I enjoyed the experience.
Highlights: We had Mass every day, as well as daily adoration.My crew conducted what we were told was the first Eucharist Procession on Philmont property.

Jack Chuma’s crew had the shortest itinerary, covering about 70 miles. They averaged roughly five miles a day but completed 12 miles on one day to make up time. That long day was one of his favorites because it included learning how to reload and shoot rifles and visiting an old mine.

Chuma’s crew arrived at Cimarroncita carrying a large wooden cross in a Eucharistic procession – the first at the ranch, according to staff.

“It was something kind of planned once we got out on the trail,” Chuma said. “I don’t remember who brought it up to my group, but my crew agreed that it’d be cool to do a Eucharist procession out in that country, so we did that going into Cimarroncita.”

His crew also included a young seminarian. When he discovered that Chuma was from the Charlotte area, he immediately asked if he knew his friend from seminary – Father James Tweed.

“And we’re like, ‘Yeah, he’s at St. Mark with us,’” Chuma said.

Jack’s troop plans to return to Philmont in 2028, but he did not want to wait. When his mother learned about the St. George Trek, he applied. He had also volunteered with the Catholic Committee on Scouting and served as an altar server during the committee’s national convention in Charlotte.

The spiritual aspects of the trek were new to him.

“It was just an experience I had never really had before, like having six days of Mass in a row,” he said. “Especially in those locations, like it was just gorgeous out there.”

Jack said the experience gave him another opportunity to consider a possible vocation.

“I’ve thought about the priesthood before,” he said. “I don’t think that’s really my life, but still just getting to think about it again out in Philmont was a great experience.”

Trail tales

The Scouts did have some encounters with wildlife both large and small on the trails.

Jack Chuma’s crew mostly used their backpacks as makeshift altars for daily Mass. One day, a squirrel decided to investigate the altar, apparently interested in the hosts.

An adult member of the crew threw a rock near it to scare it away. The squirrel fled – but almost immediately, the skies opened up with a hailstorm. The Scouts quickly decided the weather was the adult’s fault.

Another evening animal encounter at Miner’s Park camp was potentially more dangerous, when Chuma looked down after he heard a familiar and scary rattling sound.

“I almost stepped on a rattlesnake,” he said. “I stood there for a second and then just slowly backed out to where I didn’t really scare it.”

It’s also a time to plan for a legacy of giving. St. Matthew parishioner Dan Troy is leaving a bequest in his will that will further fund an endowment he created in memory of his wife. When she passed away in 2020, Troy was so touched by the support he received that he joined the parish’s bereavement team, walking with others in their grief.

When he established the Kathleen A. Troy Memorial Endowment Fund to support the work of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, that experience made the choice of an endowment recipient obvious.

“I thought it would be nice to have something available for people who don’t have the financial resources to take care of a loved one who has died,” he said. “Every family deserves to bury a loved one in the proper way so that they can feel the blessings that accompany a Catholic funeral.”

That gift came at the perfect time to assist Catholic Charities’ Piedmont Triad office, which found its burial budget fully depleted last fiscal year as the need for burial assistance grew and costs rose.

One way of ensuring that gifts left in a will can continue to benefit future generations is by creating an endowment. An endowment is a permanent fund, the principal of which is invested, that generates income for projects that can be specified by the donor.

Thanks to the endowment, the office was able to help Carolina* bury her sister, whom she had cared for full-time for many years due to a brain tumor. Carolina feared she would not be able to lay her sister to rest with dignity. She had lost her income because of her caretaking responsibilities, and her sister’s insurance policy would not cover the full cost of final expenses.

Around the same time, Kathy*, a daughter recovering from a serious accident, faced the sudden loss of her father. Already in a difficult situation, she was overwhelmed by the cost of laying her father to rest.

Through Troy’s endowment, both families were able to bury their loved ones with dignity.

Carolina shared that when she learned Catholic Charities could help with the cremation costs, she felt a deep sense of relief.

“My sadness was still there, but the stress was gone,” she said.

For Troy, hearing stories like these is an affirmation of his commitment to adding to his endowment with a bequest in his will. “I think there’s a benefit of seeing the good that the endowment can do. It allows you to see the benefits while you are still alive,” he said.

There’s another reason he encourages Catholics to consider the Church in their wills.

“You know that the Church is going to use the money for goals that are consistent with Catholic values, and it will be run by a group of professionals who also adhere to those Catholic values,” he noted.

“I also feel a great sense of confidence that the money is going to be there for the long term because I receive quarterly statements on how it is growing and how the funds are being distributed,” he said.

During Make-a-Will Month, consider creating a lasting impact by establishing or supporting an endowment or including a bequest in your estate plan.

“Make-a-Will month is a great time for those who don’t have a will to do so, to take care of themselves and their loved ones,” said Jim Kelley, diocesan director of development. “It also presents an opportunity to do what Dan Troy did to support a ministry that is important to them. When they do so, people become members of the Catholic Heritage Society, a group of almost 1,900 who have remembered the Church in their wills.”

 — Catholic News Herald and Catholic Charities

*First names used to preserve client privacy.

Why make a will?

August is National Make-a-Will month, serving as a reminder of the importance of proactive estate planning. Regardless of your age or asset level, creating or updating a legal will ensures that your intentions regarding asset distribution, guardianship and end-of-life care will be honored. Beyond securing your personal wishes, a properly written will can simplify the probate process – reducing costs for your family and preventing administrative delays. You can create a legally binding document through qualified legal counsel or via reputable online platforms, including MyCatholicWill.com or CRESWILL.com.

Just make sure the document you create is legally binding in your state, get it properly notarized, and give a copy to your loved ones. Taking action this month can safeguard your family’s future and create a legacy through bequests to the Church.

Plan Ahead
Interested in making a planned gift or setting up an endowment to benefit your parish, Catholic school, Catholic Charities, the diocese or the foundation?

You can make a gift through a bequest in your will, beneficiary designation from a retirement plan, a trust or annuity, or a gift of life insurance, real estate or securities.

For details, contact Gina Rhodes at gmrhodes@rcdoc.org or Heidi Kelley at hmkelley@rcdoc.org.

More online

At www.catholicnewsherald.com: Read the Funeral Guide for more in-depth information on estate planning

OSV News: Describe your role. How do you advise the bishops on Catholic education?

John DeJak: I am the primary staff to the bishops' Committee on Catholic Education, and my jurisdiction is Catholic K-12 education across the United States, with an emphasis on institutional settings, (including) Catholic higher education, so all our Catholic colleges and universities, and then public policy regarding the same.

I have three other staff members and consultants who assist me, and I speak with Bishop David O'Connell several times a week. He's the bishop of the Diocese of Trenton, the former president of The Catholic University of America, and the chairman of the (USCCB's) Committee on Catholic Education. My job is to execute his priorities -- and that of the other bishops on the committee -- in line with the mission directive of the USCCB.

OSV News: What trends are new, and what trends continue in Catholic education?

DeJak: The committee of bishops has focused on several things that have carried on between different chairmen.

Prior to Bishop O'Connell, Bishop (Thomas) Daly (of Spokane) took a very keen interest in an evangelization effort to those who are religiously unaffiliated or disaffiliated from the Church, with a special focus on young adults and youth.

He said (that) looking at the data, many of our young people are leaving the Church at age 13 or 14. They see confirmation as "graduation" from Church, and they don't darken the door again. We have to examine that: What are we doing right, and what are we missing?

That's one area -- a re-examination of Catholic pedagogy and practice in light of what the Church has always done -- that's been a project of the committee for a number of years now.

Another is the emphasis and inclusion of students with disabilities in our Catholic schools. There's been a lot of development in the past 10 years, with the support and encouragement of the bishops, as to how we serve all of our Catholic people. It's a mandate.

Another trend that has emerged since COVID -- but has also been exacerbated by cell phones and rampant and ubiquitous technology -- is the (student) mental health issue. Obviously, family breakdown is a contributing factor, but there's spikes of depression and suicidal ideation as a result of these new technologies and social media, kind of this culture of unreality.

OSV News: It appears there's an increase of independent Catholic schools operating outside the oversight of dioceses -- is this a blessing or a challenge?

DeJak: The Church has always maintained parents can choose the environment and the school best suited for their circumstances and their child's circumstances. ?

Some choose to homeschool. Some choose public school. Some choose independent schools. The obligation is there, however, for Catholic parents to educate their children in the faith.

This renewal of Catholic education -- of which some independent schools are part -- is really a recovery of a coherent view of reality, born from the heart of the Church. It helps students understand where they come from, where they're going, why they're here. And this is what Catholic education has always done.

I think it's acted as a leavening effect for many of our diocesan schools, and the religious order schools as well, so it's been generally positive.

OSV News: It also seems Catholic education might be in a period of experimentation, with the rise of classical schools, micro-schools and hybrid homeschooling. What do these emerging models tell us about innovation?

DeJak: What these new schools are doing is recognizing the historical reality that, unfortunately, secularizing influences -- the progressivist education that began around the same time our bishops were starting the parochial school system -- kind of won the day in education departments at universities and the places where many teachers were trained. There are assumptions there at variance with a coherent Catholic understanding of the world.

One can't help that one was never introduced to certain things or had a particular training, but it is our duty to figure it out and try to right the ship. I think parents are recognizing the impact of those secular influences, and I think it's proven out when we see the rates of disaffiliation.

OSV News: So you see this experimentation as innovative, but also a recovery.

DeJak: Yes, exactly. God raises up saints for the eras in which they are needed. I think something similar is going on here in terms of a reappreciation of traditional pedagogies. You want to excite the sacramental imagination of these kids, so when they look at the world, they know that's not all there is. There's something deeper and supernatural behind that. God is animating this. ?

OSV News: How does homeschooling in general fit into the Catholic education landscape?

DeJak: People homeschool for a variety of reasons -- some economic, some philosophical. It's very much part of the Catholic education landscape and the rightful exercise of parents to make a choice in that regard, given their circumstances. The Church has always indicated the need for schools because they know parents can't do it all, but the Church certainly doesn't stand in the way of parents choosing to educate their own children at home.

OSV News: School choice continues to be a much-discussed policy option. How does it play into the current landscape and the future of Catholic schools?

DeJak: School choice is a huge issue for the bishops -- in particular, the federal scholarship tax credit, also known as the Education Freedom Tax Credit, which was part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed last year. This is an opportunity for taxpayers to donate money in the amount of $1,700 to a scholarship-granting organization and have it considered a tax credit.

It has a great potential if the Church capitalizes on this opportunity, because it allows parents and families to apply for scholarships. It's all private, not federal, money, and it allows them to choose the school of their choice, which can be a Catholic school.

This really does put the power back into the parents' hands as original and primary educators. It would allow more families to access Catholic schools, and could be transformative if people take advantage of it -- if the communications are robust and people know it exists.

And that's an opportunity, in the final analysis, to save more souls.

— Kimberley Heatherington, OSV News

Now in its 24th year, the Monsignor McSweeney World Hunger Drive is still going strong, attracting thousands of volunteers to help to feed people locally and in impoverished nations.(Troy C. Hull | Catholic News Herald.)

The hunger drive was never a small feat and still lives up to the expectation Monsignor John McSweeney set during the first event: “Go big or go home.”

The drive is one of the nation’s largest community-driven Catholic hunger drives, drawing huge crowds to its single-site meal packing event, and this Aug. 15 was no exception.

With the DJ pumping, parishioners and community members packed into the St. Matthew gymnasium found tons of reasons to sing and dance while packing more than 300,000 meals of rice, dried vegetables, vitamins and soy proteins into small plastic bags.

The production was not a one-act show but was staffed by four shifts of more than 300 energized volunteers each, that worked staggered schedules from 8:30 a.m. until clean up after the 5:30 p.m. shift ended.

The vibe was as contagious. Vivacious parishioners did impromptu Irish jigs, danced in conga lines, and heard from their own singing sensation, Joey Santo Henry.

Henry, who has volunteered for the past 15 years along with his mother, volunteer coordinator, Maria Henry, said singing while volunteers performed such a loving act of service felt like heaven.

Maria Henry agreed, with tears in her eyes, “I have coordinated this for 10 years, and it is such a heartwarming experience every time. I can’t even express it in words. Within the first two weeks, meal pack sign-ups were full, with all 1,500 slots taken. This event has such a huge impact on our volunteers, they schedule their vacations around it.”

The meal packs will be shipped to Puerto Rico and other areas across the country. The more than $400,000 raised since July 11 will go further, helping grassroots partners in India, Venezuela and Haiti.

There are no middlemen, just dedicated parishioners who have spent most of their energy forming relationships to help their most valued guests - the poor.

Each country’s connection to St. Matthew tells another story about what can happen when people persevere in following Jesus’ commission to help others.

— Lisa M. Geraci, Catholic News Herald
More online
At www.stmatthewcatholic.org/worldhungerdrive: Register and learn more

Haiti

 St. Matthew Parish and Haiti have a deep-rooted relationship that began in the 1990s through the Missionaries of the Poor (MOP) in Cap-Haïtien. The primary recipient of the first meal pack in 2003, they continue to be the heart of the ministry.

Over the years, parishioners have bought real estate in Cap-Haïtien on which St. Marc School was built, founded the nonprofit Hands for Haiti and continue to make regular visits.

Haiti’s recent uptick in gang violence has made the already destitute country even more dangerous and impoverished, creating obstacles for Steve Favory, hunger drive organizer and Hands for Haiti founder.

Currently, more than 1.8 million citizens have been displaced from the capital of Port-au-Prince, fleeing to Cap-Haïtien.

Half the population – 5.8 million people – is suffering from food insecurity. Without a government structure, the hospitals, power grid and education system are in shambles.

The murder rate is up 116% with more than 1,600 reported homicides in the first quarter of 2026, according to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti, while executions, sexual assaults and kidnapping are

commonplace. That has led the U.S. State Department to issue a level 4 “do not travel” advisory.

Since a container of meal packs that used to cost $4,000 to ship has increased to $50,000, the drive is monetarily supporting St. Marc School and the MOP in lieu of shipping food.

Favory refuses to let the climate dictate the appetite of his beloved 400 students, the MOP brothers, or the school. Through the turmoil, he continues to make regular trips to visit the MOP and St. Marc School’s 400 students and plans to return in September for the start of school.

“It’s still amazing how the whole country is imploding but how St. Marc School and MOP continue to build a Bridge of Hope by providing breakfast and lunch daily, medical treatment, education and faith,” Favory said.

Father Richard Ho Lung, founder of the MOP, applauds Favory’s continued efforts: “Steve is amazing. He never stops. That is what sustains hope.”

St. Marc School in Haiti was founded by St. Matthew parishioners, and the drive continues to support its 400 students.

Puerto Rico

Nine months ago, Pat McBride’s team of volunteers mapped out the most impoverished Catholic churches in the country in search for a destination to send meal packs.

“When we started having problems shipping into Haiti with the violence and the political turmoil, we wanted to find other options,” McBride said.

They found Puerto Rico, where the 43% poverty rate is roughly three times higher than the overall U.S. poverty rate, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“In Puerto Rico, with no import tariffs and no language barrier, it became a natural option,” McBride said.

“We kept running into the challenge of the last mile,” he said. “Meaning, we can send the food, but how do we get the food from the parish to the people who need it?”

Puerto Rico proved to be the most viable opportunity, as customs could be avoided, and with 80 percent of the population being Catholic, relationships with other Catholic organizations and dioceses could easily be formed.

Steve Favory and McBride visited a small town in the central mountains and met with Catholic nonprofit Caritas. The tilapia farms, agricultural farms and workforce advancement programs they set up in Haiti seemed like long-term possibilities in Puerto Rico.

“We can start something here and not only do the food donation for the immediate need but also help them transition from food dependency to food independence,” McBride said.

Puerto Rico is the ideal place to send food, with no customs and organizations like Caritas International in place.

Venezuela

The Monsignor McSweeney World Hunger Drive has supported St. Francisco de Asís Parish in Naiguatá, Venezuela, for years but has increased efforts since the area was devastated by twin 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes on June 24 that have so far claimed 6,300 lives, with tens of thousands still missing.

Over the past month, St. Matthew has sent $27,000 in emergency funds for immediate needs.

In the past, the parish used donations for a soup kitchen to feed the destitute. Now, the church, guided by Father Martín Vega, is a central outpost aiding the community.

Devastation continues to be rampant through continuous landslides and aftershocks, aggravating the already dilapidated tourist town. As families grieve losses and try to rebuild their homes, most are doing it on limited or no cash on hand, as commercial tourism, the lifeblood of the former community, is at a complete standstill.

The church is delivering water, personal hygiene and sanitation kits, wheelchairs and medical equipment and clothing street by street in the affected communities. Medical care and mental health needs are being addressed. Mass, sacraments, adoration, and, unfortunately, too many funerals are being celebrated. The soup kitchen is serving 150 breakfasts and lunches a day.

The road to recovery may be long, but with parishes like San Francisco de Asís and St. Matthew coming together, the future is brighter.

St. Matthew sent funds directly to St. Francis de Asís Parish in Naiguatá after two earthquakes killed thousands.

India

Father Binoy Davis, who served at St. Matthew since 2015 and was recently reassigned to Immaculate Conception in Forest City, has a heart for India and a heart for the poor.
He was born in Kerala, where most Indian Catholics live, but went to the Diocese of Satna to evangelize and serve.
Although the mission is ultimately to save souls, Father Davis’ diocese saw the desperate need to feed the poor and shelter the homeless in the Hindu community that surrounded them.
“When I saw the work they were doing in Haiti and in other parts of the world, I, myself, requested their help as well,” Father Davis said. “They were happy to help my diocese and my bishop.”
Today, the diocese uses funds to feed, shelter and educate 50 boys and 60 elderly homeless through a hostel and adult orphanage.
Father Davis went back this May and was delighted to see the progress.
“These people are from very poor families,” Father Davis said. “They are our needy, our poor, and our homeless. The elderly have no family. They are refused. And this ministry is there for them.”

 The Diocese of Satna in India uses World Hunger Drive funds to house 50 boys and 60 elderly homeless individuals.

A Boy Scout carries a U.S. flag May 25 while marching with his troop in the Memorial Day parade in Smithtown, New York. Catholic Scouting America has changed its name to better reflect its commitment to faith. (Gregory A. Shemitz | OSV News)

Catholic Scouting America is a partner with Scouting America – known as Boy Scouts of America until May 2024 – so boys and girls in Catholic Scouting have access to the activities, programs and resources that have shaped generations of American Scouts.

As of 2024, there were 130,888 active Catholic Scouts and leaders in 194 U.S. dioceses and eparchies with a Catholic Committee on Scouting, and Catholic Scouting service projects provided an estimated value of $52 million in aid.

Scouts – whether Catholic or not – have the opportunity to engage in a number of religious activities and earn several religious emblems. In 2024, 4,575 religious emblems were awarded, including Light of Christ and Parvuli Dei for Cub Scouts, and Ad Altare Dei (for Roman Catholic Scouts), Light is Life (for Eastern rite Catholic Scouts), and Pope Pius XII.

OSV News spoke with Catholic Scouting America’s national chairman, Bill Guglielmi, to learn more about the fresh identity and the lasting value of Scouting.
OSV News: Why did you change your name?

Guglielmi: We changed our “doing business name” to Catholic Scouting America because we have found through research that the National Catholic Committee on Scouting name is unclear.
When parents look up the National Catholic Committee on Scouting, a lot of times they are sent to our website that is designed just for our members – and they get confused. “What are you really doing? What is your mission?’”

So, in order to make it more friendly to people who don’t know us well, we figured Catholic Scouting America aligns well with the Boy Scouts of America’s change to Scouting America. It aligns more with what our mission is, and tells people what we really do.

OSV News: Can Scouting be a form of evangelization?

Guglielmi: Oh, yes! We’re doing that across the board right now, in many dioceses and in cooperation with other agencies within the Church.

In the month of July, we have created a novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe – to ask her guidance and her support of the nation, and the Americas in general. And right now, we have over 35,000 Catholic Scouts and Scout leaders participating in the novena.

We know it’s over 35,000 because we’ve had requests for the prayer cards that we printed, and we’re giving them away for free. It’s a simple prayer, which was written by our national chaplain.

OSV News: Why should a boy or girl join Catholic Scouting America?

Guglielmi: As a long-time Scout leader, first, I would say that American youth today are yearning for something – and American parents are yearning for something – that is not tied to the internet; not tied to social media; that has an outdoor component; that is led by people who are dedicated, who are vetted and who have undergone background checks.

It allows those kids to learn about themselves by doing things, not just looking at a screen – and it focuses on Catholicism as part of the Scouting experience.

One of the tenets of Scouting is that it is youth led – not guided. And Scouting teaches kids to exercise leadership. We listen to them as Scout leaders. We teach them leadership – and then we send them out to do the leadership. So that ties right in with Catholic Scouting.

In the (Georgetown University) Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate report “The Class of 2026: Survey of Ordinands to the Priesthood,” 31% of all those ordinands had a Scouting experience. And 34% of the religious ones had a Scouting experience, and 32% of the diocesan priests had a Scouting experience.

That is a data point we are very interested in keeping – it ties with the mission of Catholic Scouting America to assist kids to discern their vocation.

— Kimberley Heatherington, OSV News

CHARLOTTE — The air was electric in a back room at Brewers at 4001 Yancey on Aug. 13 as people laughed and cheered in response to an onstage sales pitch that was entirely different from the expected.

The “most compelling investment opportunity in Charlotte” wasn’t the latest stock offering, but a single man who works in the financial industry.

He and other single young adult Catholics were the ones being pitched at “SacredSpark Live: Pitch a Catholic Single,” a singles event hosted by the SacredSpark online dating platform.

Friends and family members delivered presentations to introduce local Catholic singles to a larger audience.

It was the live version of the unique approach taken by SacredSpark, a Catholic dating app launched in 2025 that allows singles to bring their own wingman or wingwoman into the online dating world. (Borrowed from aviation and made famous in the movie “Top Gun,” the term applies to a trusted person who helps an individual meet a prospective romantic partner.)

SacredSpark is the brainchild of Catholic influencer Emily Wilson-Hussem and her husband, Daniel Hussem. The app’s unique approach came from a series of wildly successful matchmaking posts Emily made on her popular Instagram page that eventually led to 12 marriages and 20 engagements. That success led the couple to think that the format could help Catholic young adults feeling lost in the dating world.

Enter SacredSpark, which instead of the well known “look and swipe” format of most online dating sites offers the chance for others to get involved and “pitch” their single friends and relatives.

“We wanted to bring back the personal and human approach to dating,” Daniel said. “When you look at a traditional dating app, it’s very superficial, like another form of digital consumption. SacredSpark brings back the tradition of matchmaking and invites the community back into the dating space. Singles are often left to their own devices, and this allows others to help people connect.”

The Charlotte event drew 225 people and was the first of what the organizers hope will be a national series of live events to help Catholic singles meet in person, away from screens. Attendees didn’t have to commit to getting onstage to meet potential dates. The evening also featured two “meet-and-mingle” sessions so that everyone had a chance to interact with new people.

There were 22 pitches, which included three-minute standard pitches and several one-minute “lightning” sessions. Wingmen and women came prepared with presentations that included photos, bios and lists of “green flags” that made the person a good catch. 

The singles, who ranged in age from early 20s to early 40s walked up a glittery runner and took the stage to personally chosen walk-up music that ranged from instrumentals to country music. Then their wingpeople launched their pitches.

Every pitch had an angle, whether themed after the person’s career, personality or a special interest. Tongue-in-cheek humor ran throughout. One wingman asked the audience to note that his friend “doesn’t skip leg day” at the gym.

Some people came with incentives. One wingwoman prepared a “date basket” similar to a picnic basket for her friend and any prospective date to enjoy. A woman whose baking skills were highlighted brought a batch of Snickerdoodle cookies.

One man who pitched his twin brother got a quick two-for-one angle in during the pitch – also single, he flashed his own vital statistics on the screen.

All of the pitches highlighted the person’s faith and desire for a Christ-filled relationship.

Some wingmen and wingwomen battled their own nerves.

“I was terrified, but I transfer fear energy,” said John Yancey, who pitched his friend Kyle Herold, whom he met through a local Bible study.  “When I found out he was going to take part in this, I said I would love to help out a buddy. I think he’s a great catch for somebody. I’d love for him to meet someone through this and end up getting married, but also it’s worth it if he just meets some interesting people.”

Shanley Howrigan, 31, a business developer who attends St. Gabriel Church, took part because she wanted to try something new.

“It was nervewracking for sure to get up there, but once I was onstage I felt fine – I felt I had nothing to lose,” she said. “This is definitely a new way of doing dating, a way to get below the surface level.”

— Christina Lee Knauss

More online

At www.sacredspark.app: Lean more about the app

A national annual collection supporting The Catholic University of America dates back over 50 years and is organized through the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. This year, Bishop Michael Martin has added support for Belmont Abbey College to the collection, with undesignated gifts to be divided equally between the two institutions.

The Belmont Abbey College portion will be placed in an endowment to provide tuition assistance for Catholic students from the Diocese of Charlotte, helping strengthen the future of the region’s only Catholic college.

Founded in 1876 by Benedictine monks, Belmont Abbey College has been a cornerstone of Catholicism in North Carolina – founding and staffing churches and schools, educating generations of Catholic laypeople, forming future priests and deacons, preparing educators for Catholic schools, supporting parish ministries, and serving as a center for Catholic intellectual, cultural and spiritual life. Through its Benedictine tradition of prayer, learning and hospitality, the college continues to strengthen the Church’s mission of evangelization throughout western North Carolina.

In a letter to the diocese’s clergy announcing the special collection, Bishop Martin praised Belmont Abbey College as “a blessing for Catholic life in our region for 150 years.”

The special collection, he wrote, “allows the diocese to collectively offer our thanks to our Benedictine brothers of Belmont Abbey for the role that they have played in the history and life of western North Carolina.”

Belmont Abbey’s president Dr. Jeff Talley thanked the bishop and the diocese for this new special collection. “It demonstrates Bishop Martin’s and the Diocese of Charlotte’s love and support for Belmont Abbey College as we continue to educate priests, deacons and laity for service to the Church and the world,” he said.

Donors who wish to direct their gift entirely to either institution may do so by mailing their contribution to the Diocese of Charlotte with the desired college noted in the memo line. Mail to: Diocese of Charlotte, 1123 S. Church St., Charlotte, NC 28203-4003.

To give online to the Belmont Abbey College collection, go to https://belmontabbeycollege.givevirtuous.org/donate/recurring-gift-page. 

— Catholic News Herald

Celebrating the Feast of the Assumption Aug. 15, the pope said the artistic depictions of a youthful Mary ascending to heaven stand in stark contrast to the reality of aging that all people experience.

"The glorification of Mary, body and soul, teaches us that our true beauty does not lie in hiding the signs of aging, but in revealing the signs of love that never end, and are even impressed on our flesh," he said.

"With this in mind, we are invited to reexamine many of the aesthetic standards, predominantly hedonistic and consumerist in nature, that the world imposes on us," he added.

Pope Leo, who is staying at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo Aug. 12-18, celebrated Mass at the parish of St. Thomas of Villanova. The 17th-century church, named after the Spanish Augustinian friar, was designed by the famed Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini and is the only pontifical parish located outside the Vatican.

The parish's celebration of the Marian feast day was a tradition started by St. John XXIII and continued by St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. Although Pope Francis broke with custom by staying in Rome during the summer, Pope Leo XIV revived the practice.

In his homily, the pope began by reflecting on the day's first reading from the Book of Revelation. The reading's description of "a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet," he said, signified "that in Mary's heart, heaven and earth, time and eternity, meet."

To understand what one has in common "with the beautiful young woman depicted on the altarpieces of our churches," the pope said Christians must "unite the two signs we have mentioned: the incorrupt body of the Mother of God and her immaculate heart."

"For it is the purity of the soul that, in Mary -- as in us -- by the grace of God, illuminates and transfigures the whole person, leading us to the glory of Heaven," he said.

Reflecting on modern beauty standards, Pope Leo said they "risk trapping us in burdensome expectations, causing us to waste precious energy on what does not really matter and does not last forever."

"In everyday life, we encounter people whose faces are marked by the years and by suffering, yet who are capable of radiating serenity, kindness and peace around them; just as we may observe others who are perhaps outwardly attractive but hard and cold at heart," he said. "It is easy to see where true beauty lies and where, on the other hand, there is still a need for conversion, forgiveness and healing."

In order "to discover and nurture" divine beauty, the pope continued, Christians must learn to see it in "the wrinkles of an elderly person as in the tender face of a child as well, in the maturity of an adult as in the liveliness of a young person as well, in work clothes and tools as well as in festive decorations."

Each of those realities, he added, contains unique stories of love that offer "small glimpses of heaven."

"Love is humanity's most beautiful adornment," the pope said. "Love transfigures, transforms, ennobles and lifts us up, making us light, free and close to God, even amid life's ups and downs."

Turning to the Gospel reading from St. Luke, in which Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth and "proclaims the greatness of the Lord," Pope Leo said Christians need not look far to understand Mary's humble exclamation of "the magnificent mysteries she experienced."

Those mysteries, he explained, are visible wherever true charity exists. The pope noted the examples of weary parents to their children "after a long day," grandparents caring for grandchildren, morally courageous young people, and ordinary workers who "help bring a little bit of heaven to Earth."

"The beautiful face of Our Lady of the Assumption is unique; it transcends any possible representation, and yet, at the same time, is familiar to us," Pope Leo said. "Even at this very moment, we can see her face in the people who are close to us, such as the brothers and sisters with whom, in faith, we share the daily offering of our lives."

— Junno Arocho Esteves, OSV News

"Minors are the most vulnerable group within the global movements of migration. They are concrete faces, who have unique stories, and call on our conscience," the pope wrote in his message for the Sept. 27 celebration of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

"We cannot remain indifferent, nor can we become accustomed to such suffering," he wrote.

Pope Leo's message, which focused on the theme, "Even just one of these children," was released by the Vatican Aug. 14.

In his message, the pope lamented the increasing number of children and adolescents forced to flee their homes due to "war, poverty, violence, environmental disasters and other tragedies."

The suffering of migrant children, Pope Leo noted, doesn't end with their relocation, as the majority have endured the loss of family and friends due to violence or separation and are often "exposed to extreme and traumatic conditions."

"To this already appalling situation are added further tragedies: deaths along migration routes, trafficking and exploitation, the recruitment of minors for use in armed conflicts, sexual violence, forced marriages, and the atrocities they have suffered or witnessed during their travels. Their dignity is trampled upon in countless ways," the pope wrote.

According to UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, an estimated 45 million children were among the people forcibly displaced worldwide at the end of 2025. Forced displacement can result from "persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order," UNHCR states.
Citing UNHCR data, UNICEF USA said on June 17, 2026, that "while children represent 29 percent of the global population, they comprise 38 percent of the total 117.8 million forcibly displaced people in the world."
In his message, the pope also praised the witness of individuals, families, institutions and ecclesial communities who bring the "light of solidarity" amid the darkness experienced by child migrants.

Their commitment, he added, shows "that love can overcome indifference."

Noting that migrant children are "more easily ignored," especially because they lack adults who can protect and support them, Pope Leo called on their countries of origin to "remove the causes that compel them to flee" while also calling on countries of destination to offer protection and welcome.

"The cry of displaced children rises to God today, just as did the cry heard in the Book of Exodus: 'I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them,'" he wrote.

"God hears their cry and, in order to bring about liberation, he forcefully appeals to the conscience and action of each one of us, just as he did with Moses," the pope added.

The pope also called on society to see the reality of displaced children and young people and to overcome "that detachment which reduces the human person to a statistic that does not directly concern us."

For Christians, migrant children serve as a call to "transform welcoming from an abstract concept into a stable pastoral practice."

"We cannot simply delegate this task to institutes or associations endowed with a particular charism," the pope wrote. "Before the concrete faces that confront us in daily life, the entire Christian community is called to regard these children as its own sons and daughters, and to engage with the concrete story of each one of them."

For other faiths and religious traditions, he continued, creating supportive environments for migrant children and youth can become "fertile ground for a concrete interreligious dialogue" and decrease the risk of those who wish to take advantage of their vulnerability.

"Faith communities are called to create spaces in which every boy and every girl is respected and valued in his or her own cultural identity, thereby preventing the risk of radicalization by extremist groups. Ultimately, to protect a child is to safeguard the divine image imprinted within him or her," he wrote.

Pope Leo also called on civil institutions to prioritize the protection of every child and adolescent's dignity and the "prevention of the trauma caused by separation."

"An urgent change of perspective is needed: the focus of the debate must shift from the mere management of migration to the full and immediate protection of human rights," the pope wrote.

— Junno Arocho Esteves, OSV News

After praying the Angelus prayer on the Feast of the Assumption, Aug. 15, the pope invoked Mary's intercession for "those communities that are in particular need of consolation and of renewed hope."

"My thoughts go out to our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land, which is also, par excellence, the Land of Mary," the pope told pilgrims gathered outside the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo. Earlier that day, the pontiff celebrated Mass in the Pontifical Parish of St. Thomas of Villanova.

The pope's prayer for peace in the Holy Land comes at a time of uncertainty after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, which was part of a plan negotiated by U.S. President Donald Trump's Board of Peace.

Despite a ceasefire announced in October 2025, Israel has continued launching air strikes it says are aimed at dismantling Hamas.

Pope Leo also offered prayers for the people of Ukraine and Russia, "both of whom are united by their filial devotion to the Holy Mother of God, and to Christians who suffer discrimination or even persecution."

The pope's prayer for Ukraine and Russia echoed a similar appeal for peace that he made during his Sunday Angelus address Aug. 9, in which he lamented the killing of innocent civilians, including children.

Before greeting the faithful gathered outside his residence, Pope Leo said he continued "to pray for the people of Colombia" as recovery efforts are ongoing following a devastating 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Aug. 10.

"I stand in solidarity with these communities and with all those living in difficult circumstances, and together with them I pray: 'Holy Mary, pray for us,'" the pope said.

 —  Junno Arocho Esteves, OSV News