Father Diệp ministered for years in rural southern Vietnam, where he was known for his care of the poor, the sick and those on the margins. During political unrest in 1946, he offered himself in place of parishioners who had been captured. The parishioners were ultimately released but Father Diệp was killed, and the Church later recognized him as a martyr.

More than 70,000 pilgrims gathered July 2 at Tắc Sậy Pilgrimage Center in Vietnam for his beatification Mass, the first beatification ever celebrated on Vietnamese soil.

Vietnamese Catholics in Greensboro gathered in prayer and thanksgiving the same day during a Mass by Father Casey Coleman, pastor.

In his homily, Father Coleman reflected on how Father Diệp responded generously to God’s grace. Every saint became a saint because they responded to God’s grace, he said, and he encouraged people today to model that same faith and willingness to love.

Attending the Mass was Sinh Pham, who said, “This gives the people of Vietnam great hope because Father Diệp brings the Christian model to the hearts and people of Vietnam.”

His wife Phuong Doan added, “We are very proud to see him elevated to Blessed. Father Diệp is beloved in Vietnam even by non-Catholics.” 

— Georgianna Penn

Vietnamese Catholics urged to become ‘messengers of truth’ at historic beatification

TAC SAY, Vietnam — Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle urged Vietnamese Catholics to become “messengers of truth” July 2 as the Church beatified Father Francis Xavier Truong Buu Diệp in the first beatification ceremony held in Vietnam.

The historic celebration at Tac Say Pilgrimage Center in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta drew more than 70,000 pilgrims, while another 1 million watched on Church YouTube channels. Cardinal Tagle, Pope Leo XIV’s special envoy, presided over the Mass with 40 bishops and about 1,000 priests.

Tac Say is located in southern Ca Mau province, where Blessed Diệp’s remains are enshrined.

Authorities closed the national highway running through the pilgrimage center to accommodate the crowds, many of whom slept overnight on sidewalks surrounding the shrine. Vatican and Vietnamese flags lined the route alongside images of the newly beatified priest.

Cardinal Tagle, a pro-prefect in the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization, said Blessed Diệp’s life offers a timely witness in a world increasingly clouded by falsehood.

“I hope Blessed Francis Xavier will inspire not only Vietnamese Catholics but also many others to return to the truth of Jesus Christ,” he said in an interview published on the website of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam before the beatification, noting that “being a martyr means bearing witness to the truth about Jesus.”

“Today there are too many messengers of lies and fake news, and we no longer know what the truth is. Therefore, we need messengers of truth,” Cardinal Tagle said.

The cardinal said Blessed Diệp proclaimed that truth not only through his preaching but especially through his pastoral care of the poor and his willingness to remain with his people despite grave danger.

“Even in moments of peril, he did not abandon his flock but bore witness to the love of Jesus Christ,” Cardinal Tagle said.

He emphasized that genuine devotion to Blessed Diệp means far more than honoring his memory.

“True devotion to Blessed Francis Xavier means imitating him in daily life through justice, charity, compassion for the poor and commitment to Jesus – not only when it is convenient but also when it is difficult,” he said. “Let devotion to Blessed Francis Xavier become a way of life.”

In his homily, Cardinal Tagle said the new blessed “is inviting all of us not to deny Jesus, but to be witnesses or martyrs of His truth.”

He urged Catholics to choose honesty over corruption even if it meant remaining poor, to share their possessions with those in need rather than hoarding wealth, and “to be united” with Jesus “even when it is dangerous, and not only when it is convenient.”

Cardinal Tagle also revealed that the Holy See wanted the beatification to be celebrated in Vietnam so local Catholics could experience its significance firsthand.

The ceremony marked a milestone for the Church in Vietnam. Since Christianity reached the country nearly 500 years ago, all previous beatifications of Vietnamese martyrs had taken place in Rome, including that of Blessed Andrew Phu-Yen in 2000. St. John Paul II canonized 117 Vietnamese martyrs in 1988.

The Church designated March 12, the anniversary of his death, as the liturgical memorial of the newly Blessed Diệp.

Archbishop Marek Zalewski, the pontifical representative to Vietnam, called the celebration “a special grace for the universal Church.”

“The greatest meaning today is not that the Church has a new blessed,” he said. “It reminds us that the path to holiness remains open to every one of us.”

Bishop Peter Phan Tan Loi of Can Tho described the beatification as “a miracle,” noting that hundreds of thousands of people, including followers of other religions, came to honor Blessed Diệp.

Addressing non-Christian pilgrims, Bishop Loi stressed that Blessed Diệp belongs to everyone.

“He is a meeting place of compassion,” he said. “Millions of people from different backgrounds and different religions honoring him together is a great miracle of harmony and unity.”

He expressed hope that Tac Say would remain “a peaceful home for everyone,” where Blessed Diệp’s spirit of boundless love would inspire mutual care and help people discover God.

Born in 1897, in An Giang province, Father Diệp was ordained in 1924 and served Tac Say Parish from 1930 until his death, earning a reputation for caring for the poor and protecting Catholics during the First Indochina War.

Despite repeated pleas to flee, he refused, saying, “I live among my sheep, and if I must die, I will die among them.” He was killed March 12, 1946, by two Japanese deserters, according to a Can Tho diocesan investigation, which also concluded his death was unrelated to the communists, correcting decades of misconceptions.

His remains are enshrined at Tac Say, now one of Vietnam’s largest Catholic pilgrimage destinations, attracting millions of visitors each year.

Among the pilgrims was Mary Nguyen Thi Lai, who traveled from Binh Thuan province for the beatification.

“The beatification ceremony brought people from all walks of life together in honoring Blessed Diệp and a bright future for local Catholics,” she told OSV News.

“We hope local people will follow Diệp’s example and work together for the common good.”

— Joachim Pham, OSV News

Pictured at top: Pilgrims pray by the tomb of Blessed Francis Xavier Truong Buu Diệp at Tac Say Pilgrimage Center in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta on July 1, 2026. (OSV News/Joachim Pham)

The Diocese of Charlotte organizes vocation discernment camps for young men and women every summer on the campus of Belmont Abbey College. The events are filled with faith, fellowship and fun. (Amy Burger and Troy C. Hull)

As Father Brian Becker, vocations promoter for the diocese, explained, “The camps are mostly to come away from the world and spend a week alone with God and ask Him the question: ‘What are you calling me to do?’”

The 11th annual Quo Vadis Days vocation discernment camp for young men June 15-19 saw 100 campers spend a week alongside priests, monks and seminarians at Belmont Abbey College. The following week, at the same location, the Daughters of the Virgin Mother apostolate led the 10th annual Duc in Altum for 108 girls ranging in age from 15 to 19. On June 22, 110 preteen girls gathered for a one-day mini-camp called “Talitha Koum.”

Since 2014, the camps have served as the starting point for many of the diocese’s seminarians, priests and religious.

When the camps were introduced by then-Bishop Peter Jugis, no one could anticipate the wave of vocations the diocese is currently celebrating, with a record number of 10 priests ordained this year. St. Joseph College Seminary, founded in 2016, boasts 27 seminarians, with more receiving advanced formation at Mount St. Mary Seminary in Cincinnati and the Pontifical North American College in Rome, all ready to take their next steps toward the priesthood.

Sharing their calls

Many of the seminarians and sisters volunteering at the camp confirmed their calling during their own stay at Quo Vadis Days or Duc in Altum.

“I went two years before I entered the seminary,” said seminarian Walter Frei. “This was an opportunity to meet with Father Becker and talk to others already in formation. It was a good jump start to my discernment process – a little insight on what life in the seminary was truly like.”

Now Frei is studying at St. Joseph College Seminary, and his brother, Father Max Frei, who also attended, was ordained in May.

Micah Burgess, a fellow seminarian at St. Joseph College Seminary, feels similarly about the head start Quo Vadis Days gave him.

“After my first year of being Catholic, I looked into seminaries and heard about Quo Vadis Days,” Burgess said. “I went three times in high school. My junior year, I didn’t really know if I wanted to go to seminary and told God this was the week to show me. On the last day, I felt called to kneel in front of the Mary statue, and I just knew that I was being called to go to seminary.”

This year, the newly ordained priests and deacons and the seminarians shared their discernment journeys. The new priests gave the talks, were available for confessions, preached homilies and celebrated Masses.

Each day’s activities included Mass, Eucharistic adoration, prayers, quiet reflection and a rosary – practices Father Becker and Duc in Altum organizer Sister Mary Jacinta strongly encouraged attendees to continue long after the camp ends.

Other high notes of the Quo Vadis Days camp were a tour of the college seminary in Mount Holly, a procession through the Belmont Abbey College campus, singing vespers with the Benedictine monks and learning the history of the abbey from Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari. On Thursday, Bishop Michael Martin celebrated Mass and, at the end of each day, they found time for fraternity through competitive sports.

‘God is calling’

For the young women, Sister Mary Elizabeth focused on the details. “We just want these girls to know that God loves them,” she said. “We didn’t just give them bandanas. We gave them beautiful bandanas, because that is what they are – beautiful – and we wanted to show them that in every detail. They are precious, the girls love God and they are having a lot of fun. These girls are beautiful, and we want them to feel beautiful this week because that is how God sees them.”

At the Duc in Altum camp, the girls listened to motivational talks from members of religious orders from across the country, visited the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in High Point, and shared sisterhood fun through crafting and pelting each other with water balloons.

“This is just an awesome way to come together with a bunch of girls who realize that they may have an interest in the religious life,” said 14-year-old Ava Howell. “It is a great way to know your faith better and have some time with God. Realizing there are more vocations than marriage is awesome. I want to be open to God’s plan for me, and that is why I love this retreat.”

Father Becker said he prays the camps will prepare the young people with the discernment tools they need to move forward in their holiness journey – whether it is through the seminary, religious life, marriage or singlehood.

“‘Vocation’ comes from the Latin word ‘Vocare,’ which means to call. God is calling. It is our job to listen,” he said. “Pray consistently and sincerely. Open your heart and allow the Lord to give you His invitation.”

— Lisa M. Geraci. Photos by Troy C. Hull, Amy Burger and David J. Billings

WAXHAW — The Catholic Community of Waxhaw joyfully gathered July 1 at their church on Waxhaw-Marvin Road to watch their new shepherd, Father Benjamin Roberts, offer his first Mass on the first day of his new assignment.

Father Roberts drew laughter and applause less than a minute into his homily

“In the last 12 years, many priests have stood at this altar, many priests have celebrated Mass, and many priests have introduced themselves to you, and I get to say something that none of them ever did – I live here,” he said.

Father Roberts has been appointed to serve as priest-in-charge of the Catholic Community of Waxhaw alongside Father Patrick Cahill, pastor of St. Matthew Parish. The thriving former satellite campus of St. Matthew Parish is taking steps toward becoming a separate parish in response to the area’s growth. Together, the two priests will work with parishioners through the process of establishing the new parish.

Mass attendees received green wristbands reading “Catholic Community of Waxhaw” on one side and “Growing with the Love of Christ” on the other – a theme embraced by the congregation of about 1,600, which has worshiped at the Waxhaw campus for more than a decade.

Father Roberts quickly put his new flock at ease, joking, “I would have preferred that the Gospel reading (Matthew 8:28-34) for the evening did not end with the words, ‘but when they saw Him they begged Him to leave.’”

After shared laughter, he explained that Jesus was asked to leave because His presence required a mission the people of Gadara were unwilling to embrace. But “every grace that God gives comes with some kind of mission. It comes with some kind of response,” he said.

Father Roberts pointed to his own assignment as an example. After serving as pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Monroe for 14 years, Bishop Michael Martin asked him to take on the new role. At the time, he was staring at an image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in his living room. After some discernment, Father Roberts looked to the Blessed Mother and humbly accepted.

“I am living proof that saying yes to God’s call brings about God’s grace,” he said.

Though surprised by the assignment, he trusted God had something more in mind.

“The work that we are about to do together is the work that God graced us with,” Father Roberts said. “It is not the work God does in me, it is not the work that God does in you, it is the work that God does in us.

"To build up His Church. To build a church. But ultimately, to grow with the love of Jesus. That is why I feel sorry for the people that asked Jesus to leave, because they never got to know the joy of being loved by Him...but what they missed is ours.”

Father Roberts, who grew up in nearby Lancaster, South Carolina, is already a familiar face to many Catholics in the region.

Nancy Weber, who has attended Mass at the Waxhaw campus for six years, said the occasion was especially meaningful because she had known Father Roberts since his time at Sacred Heart Parish in Salisbury.

“I have known Father Benjamin since he entered seminary. I love him, and where he goes, I would be willing to follow. He is wonderful,” she said. “We are thrilled this will become a parish. It is long overdue.”

Pam Machaud, who has been reluctant to call any particular church her home, said she believes she has finally found it.

“We sort of bounced around… Two weeks ago, we were introduced to Father Benjamin and got extremely excited,” she said. “We never built a parish, and it is something that I am in awe of… Father Roberts sounds so positive about us coming together as a church. It is not just his Church, or our Church, it is all our Church together… You always find the home you are supposed to be at, and this is the home where we are supposed to be.”

— Lisa M. Geraci. Photos by Troy C. Hull.

Find Mass times and more info about the new Catholic community in Union County: https://stmatthewcatholic.org/ccow/

The parish launched a capital campaign two years ago because the community is rapidly outgrowing its picturesque fieldstone church along U.S. 64.

A standing-room-only congregation attended the 9 a.m. Mass celebrated by Bishop Martin, who confirmed five young people and then joined Father Jason Barone, pastor, for a groundbreaking ceremony adjacent to the existing church, which was dedicated in 1972 by Bishop Michael Begley.

“This church has been such a source of grace and goodness for the local community here,” Bishop Martin told the crowd gathered for the groundbreaking. “Over the next few years many of you will drive by on this road and you will see the construction, the dirt being moved, and you’ll say ‘I was there when it was blessed.’”

Bishop Martin encouraged the people to take the holiness they receive from attending Mass at St. Jude out into the larger world.

“What we need to do is take what this building means out into our community, to be the Church in the world, to be the living stones in our workplaces, in our marketplace and in our homes in particular,” he said.

Father Barone said breaking ground for a new church is a significant milestone for a community that has only been a parish for four years. St. Jude, formerly a mission of Sacred Heart Parish in Brevard, was elevated to parish status July 5, 2022, and Father Barone, formerly its administrator, was elevated to pastor.

According to statistics compiled by the parish, Sapphire and its surroundings are expected to grow by 10 to 13 percent by 2030, as more retirees and year-round residents move into the area. Several large residential communities are being built nearby, and the number of seasonal visitors continues to increase.

The existing church currently averages about 125 attendees at winter Masses and more than 400 during the summer.

“I’m extremely proud of this little community,” Father Barone said. “Just a few years ago we were a little mission, and now we’re a big boy parish building a church. I’m very proud of all of you who have made this a reality and humbled you have trusted my leadership of this project. I want to thank our Lord, our most Holy Mother and St. Jude, our patron.”

Funds for the new church are being raised through a campaign called “Building Our Future Together.” So far, about $11.3 million has been pledged, with a goal of about $13.4 million for the new church.

Construction drawings are nearly complete, and construction is expected to begin in the fall, according to Emmett Sapp, director of construction and real estate for the Diocese of Charlotte. Once completed, the new church will seat about 300 people on the main level and 28 in the choir loft.

A RICH HISTORY

The new church will be a far cry from the early days of Catholic worship in the Sapphire Valley, where Mass was first celebrated in 1964 in the meeting room of the Sapphire Valley Inn. In 1969, the congregation outgrew the meeting room. One of the original members, Gene Howerdd, became ill and prayed to St. Jude that if she could recover, she would do everything she could to raise funds for a Catholic chapel in the Sapphire Valley and have it named in his honor.  

Father Charles Mulholland, then the pastor in Brevard, petitioned the Bishop of Raleigh for permission to establish a mission, call it St. Jude and begin planning to build a church. Permission was given. Howerdd set out to complete her pledge, which she did by gifting several acres along U.S. 64 for the new church property. Father Mulholland’s brother, a professor at The Catholic University of America, arranged for architectural students there to submit designs for the chapel as a class project. One – an octagonal chapel of fieldstone – was chosen as the perfect complement to the mountain setting.

Construction of the current church started in 1971 and was completed in 1972. Classrooms, a parish hall and offices were added in 2001. Once the new church is completed, plans call for the current church to be turned into a parish hall.

This is not the only construction project on Father Barone’s plate. He also serves as pastor at Our Lady of the Mountains in Highlands, about 30 minutes away. Ground was broken for a new church there in summer 2024 and construction is nearly complete. Bishop Martin is slated to dedicate the new Highlands church over Labor Day weekend. Flooring and pews will be installed after the dedication.

The cost of the Highlands project is expected to be about $15.8 million, Sapp said.

The architect on both projects is McCrery Architects of Washington, D.C.

R.W. Allen Construction out of Augusta, Ga. Is the contractor for the project at St. Jude, and J. Davis Construction of Greenville, S.C., is the contractor in Highlands.

As Father Barone noted, “It’s all for the glory of God, who will not ask us how many churches we built but how we built up the living stones in the image and likeness of God.”

—  Christina Lee Knauss

During Mass, parishioners dressed in traditional attire reflecting their cultural heritage and took part in a flag procession honoring the many nations and backgrounds that make up the parish community. Representatives from several African and Caribbean nations participated in the celebration.

After Mass, parishioners gathered for an international picnic. The shared meal provided an opportunity for fellowship and cultural exchange as families sampled foods and learned about traditions from different countries and regions.

The annual celebration reflects the universal nature of the Catholic Church and a reminder that that people of many languages, cultures and traditions are united in one faith.

— Troy C. Hull

Bishops from the Province of Atlanta gather together on the steps of the Cathedral of Christ the King following the provincial Mass on June 25. Front row from left, Bishop John N. Tran; Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv.; Bishop Joel Konzen, SM; Bishop Bernard E. Shlesinger III; back row from left, Bishop Luis Zarama of Raleigh; Bishop Stephen Parkes of Savannah; Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune, CS, of Charleston; and Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv., of Charlotte.

The meeting provides the bishops of the province the opportunity to discuss topics relating to the region. This year, they discussed issues related to growth – which all of the dioceses are experiencing – and how to support clergy, religious and the faithful.

Attending the gathering were Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., of Atlanta; Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv., of Charlotte; Bishop Luis Zarama of Raleigh; Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune, CS, of Charleston; Bishop Stephen Parkes of Savannah; and Atlanta’s three auxiliary bishops: Bishop Joel Konzen, SM, Bishop Bernard Shlesinger III and Bishop John Nhan Tran. 

Archbishop Hartmayer, OFM Conv., celebrated a midday provincial Mass at the cathedral June 25. His homily focused on the parable of the two builders in Matthew 7, from the day’s Gospel reading.

The archbishop highlighted Jesus’ challenging words that not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord” will enter the Kingdom of heaven.

Jesus warns that not even prophesying, driving out demons or doing mighty deeds in his name is enough, shared the archbishop. Jesus doesn’t dispute their activities but rather questions their foundation, said Archbishop Hartmayer.

“‘I never knew you,’ he said. You never opened your heart to me. You did all those things that look good, but there was not relationship between us,” said the archbishop in summarizing Jesus’ words.

In the parable, the wise man built his house on a rock to withstand the rain, floods and wind. The foolish man built his house on sand, and it collapsed in ruin. 

Mass is celebrated communally as an act of faith in the “foundation on which we should build our house,” said Archbishop Hartmayer.

When bishops pray, govern, teach or sit with others in crisis, “we do this work on (the) rock, or not at all,” he said.

“The question is not whether we have been busy in the Lord’s name. The question is whether the Word of God has reached the foundation of our lives,” said Archbishop Hartmayer. 

The Eucharist serves to strengthen this foundation, he emphasized.

“That is why you are here. We are not here to inspect a building, but to shore up our foundation, to continue to add another layer of solid rock,” he said.

Following Mass, the bishops chatted with parishioners outside the cathedral. During their meetings, the bishops also listened to presentations from Atlanta’s synod leaders and discussed next steps the Vatican is asking dioceses to take in the synodal process, which involves soliciting parishioners opinions on various topics in the Church. 

— Nichole Golden, Georgia Bulletin

Watch the Province Meeting Mass

During the dedication Father Pat Hoare, chaplain of Pennybyrn, joked, “There is enough water coming down outside, maybe I shouldn’t sprinkle it with more.”

The courtyard is a memorial to former Pennybyrn residents, Melvin and Ruth Witcher. 

Their son Doug Witcher was the benefactor who made the courtyard a reality.

“I remember just how much Melvin loved being outdoors during his time (here). He and I would sit together and visit the outdoor spaces each location offered, and it was clear how much joy it brought him to be in those courtyard settings,” said Director of Development and Community Relations Sarah Barker.

As a landscaper, Melvin understood how to thoughtfully plant and care for landscapes. Melvin appreciated the simple gifts of nature — the beauty of flowers, the tranquility of being outside, and especially the peaceful sounds of water moving, trickling and bubbling.

Barker, Father Hoare, and the rest of the Pennybyrn community look forward to planting flowers, listening to birdsong, enjoying nature and making space to hear God’s quiet invitation in their souls for many years to come. 

“All of these moments will become part of Melvin and Ruth’s continuing legacy,” Barker said. “We are so deeply grateful for these additions that have enhanced our ministry.” 

—    Lisa M. Geraci, photos provided by Pennybyrn

A resident helps unwrap the new campus with Bishop Martin. The project represents the largest expansion in the nonprofit’s 70-year history and provides additional space for its youngest residents. (Photos provided; Troy C. Hull | Catholic News Herald)

BELMONT — A giant ‘Mercy Moment’ milestone occurred June 18, as Holy Angels dedicated its Treescape Campus, celebrating the largest expansion project in the nonprofit’s 70-year history.

A ‘Mercy Moment’ is when an unexpected, perfectly timed blessing or instance of help arrives without explanation. Thousands of these moments are built into the mortar of this expansion project, which has been in the making for the past decade.

“This campus is more than a collection of beautiful buildings,” said Holy Angels’ President and CEO Kerri Massey. “It reflects what happens when love leads the way.”

Sponsored and founded by the Sisters of Mercy, Holy Angels is located on 17.5 acres in Belmont and provides care for more than 85 residents, ranging from 3 years old to 84, who have intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The Treescape Campus includes three six-bedroom homes named Maple, Magnolia and Dogwood in honor of the native trees surrounding the property. Each 6,000-square-foot, single-story home features private bedrooms, family-style living and dining spaces, multi-sensory rooms and accessible outdoor areas.

The campus also includes the new 10,000-square-foot Holy Angels Community Center, featuring a saltwater pool, a gathering space – the community’s largest – and a specialized commercial kitchen where dietary staff can create the more than 90,000 individualized meals served each year to suit residents’ dietary needs.

This summer, Holy Angels’ youngest residents, ages 3 to 19, are expected to move into their new homes on the 4.5-acre campus designed to address their intellectual and developmental disabilities and delicate medical conditions.

The timing of the opening is a ‘Mercy Moment’ in itself, as their current home was damaged by a fire last month, displacing the residents and putting them in temporary housing across campus until the expansion was ready.

Residents Wyatt and Nora, along with their families, started the ribbon-cutting ceremony by “unwrapping” the campus. Bishop Michael Martin, joined by Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari, Father Dennis Kuhn and the Sisters of Mercy, blessed the homes and gathering spaces.

In his remarks, Bishop Martin pointed out that “the residents of Holy Angels reveal to us God’s image and likeness through their different abilities” and prayed that Holy Angels would continue to challenge the world to “experience and appreciate how these children of God reflect to us God’s image and likeness in a way that we would never have imagined.”

The impact of the campus is best understood through the families whose lives it will touch. One of the most moving moments came from Sara Anderson, whose son Nolan will move into the new campus after seven years at Holy Angels.

“This has truly been a labor of love, and we should all be so proud that we were able to have a part in making this dream a reality,” Anderson said.

Another resident angel commemorated during the event was Martha, who lived at Holy Angels for 50 years before she passed away two years ago. She will forever be remembered through Martha’s Courtyard, which features five metal sculptures of her favorite animal, penguins, designed by local artist Bob Doster. Doster meticulously welded together metal resident and staff handprints to create the birds that represent Martha and her family members.

“Our children’s campus wasn’t built by one person,” Massey said. “It was built by families who shared their hopes, donors who gave generously, architects who listened carefully, construction crews who worked through heat and rain, and staff who imagined what could be.”

The project represents years of planning by Holy Angels, led by President Emeritus Regina Moody.

“Here at Treescape, our kids will get to live like other kids – with their own room, spaces that meet their unique needs and connections to nature all around them,” Moody said.

Moody recognized the organizations and individuals who helped make the project possible, including the Sisters of Mercy, the Order of Malta and the State of North Carolina.

Donors’ contributions will remain planted in the very fabric of the building, with three-dimensional flowers displaying the donors’ names affixed to the community center walls.

“This campus is rooted in the love of countless people who believed in its potential, and we know the miracles are still to come,” Massey said. “The lives that will be lived here, the memories that will be made here and the future that will take shape here are the greatest celebration of all.”

— Lisa M. Geraci

Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte is encouraging parishioners, families and parish communities to take part in the effort through a local initiative called “250 Works of Mercy.”

The initiative builds on a national invitation from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which is commemorating America’s 250th anniversary by highlighting the contributions of Catholics and the impact of our faith on our nation’s history. As part of the celebration, the bishops are encouraging Catholics to pray for the unity and healing of our country through a collective “250 Hours of Adoration” and “250 Works of Mercy.”

The “250 Works of Mercy” initiative invites people to live out the seven corporal works of mercy in tangible ways throughout the summer.

Need a reminder? The Corporal Works of Mercy are feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, visiting the sick, visiting the imprisoned, and burying the dead.

“The ‘250 Works of Mercy’ campaign reminds us that faith must be lived out loud to truly be alive,” said Gerry Carter, executive director and CEO of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte. “Catholic Charities stands eager to support the countless ways our parishes and parishioners serve neighbors in need across the entire diocese.”
Rooted in the Gospel of Matthew, the corporal works of mercy are central to Catholic life and provide practical ways for the faithful to encounter Christ in those who are suffering or in need.

“As Catholics, we are called not only to believe in mercy, but to live it,” said Virginia Garramone, the agency’s director of development. “This is a beautiful opportunity to celebrate our nation’s anniversary by putting our faith into action. Whether it’s volunteering, donating needed items, checking in on a lonely neighbor or making a charitable gift, each act of mercy becomes a visible sign of Christ’s love in our communities.”

— Christina Lee Knauss

Put mercy into action

As Catholics across the Diocese of Charlotte respond to the U.S. bishops’ invitation to participate in the “250 Works of Mercy,” Catholic Charities offers opportunities to serve neighbors in need throughout western North Carolina. Here are some of the local needs:

Charlotte regional office: 704-370-3262 or volunteercharlotte@ccdoc.org. Needs include:

• Welcome home kit assembly
• Furniture warehouse organization
• Food pantry distribution (Tuesday)
• Food distribution at pop-up farmers market (first and third Thursdays)

Winston-Salem regional office: 336-727-0705. Help assemble much-needed supplies for families visiting the food pantry:

• Cat and dog food bags
• Laundry pod bags
• Shaved Ivory soap hygiene kits
• Toiletry bags

Salisbury regional office: Volunteers needed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Contact Deacon Jeff Font at 704-370-3234.

• Organize diapers and wipes in office
• Clean office space
• Prepare community outreach materials

Lenoir regional office: Volunteers needed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Contact Silvia Echeverria at 828-434-5710. Needs include:

• Organize diapers
• Pack client bags
• Welcome clients in the waiting room
• Organize files
• Conduct inventory
• Paint the office

Make a monetary donation

In honor of America’s 250th anniversary, Catholic Charities is inviting the faithful to help secure 250 gifts to support neighbors in need across western North Carolina.
Whether your gift helps stock a food pantry, provide mental health counseling, assist a veteran, support disaster recovery or provide burial assistance to a grieving family, every gift becomes an act of mercy.

To donate, visit: https://giving.gofundme.com/campaign/815131/donate

Share it on social
Whether you volunteer, donate needed supplies, support a neighbor, or make a charitable gift, Catholic Charities would love to hear your story.

Share your act of mercy on social media using #250ActsOfMercyCCDOC to show how faith in action transforms lives and strengthens communities.

St. Peter’s Social Justice Ministry hosted a “Season of Faithful Witness” prayer service that allowed participants to stand in solidarity with immigrants.

The service was organized by the Uptown Charlotte parish’s Social Justice Ministry as part of the “Season of Faithful Witness” initiative. This nationwide effort is coordinated through Catholics in Communion – a coalition of Catholic organizations, communities and leaders responding to challenges currently facing immigrants and vulnerable families. The group focuses on prayer, public witness and faithful action.

“Catholics across the country are gathering in public spaces to bear faithful witness to the dignity of every person,” said Jesuit Father Mark Scalese, parochial vicar at St. Peter. “We gather because we believe we are one Body in Christ. And when members of that body are suffering – when families are afraid, when neighbors feel forgotten, when human dignity is threatened – our faith calls us to respond with prayer, solidarity and courage.”

The service included songs and Scripture readings focused on the plight of migrants and refugees, as well as passages from a message Pope Leo XIV prepared for the 111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees in 2025. Participants also heard from Charlotte-area immigrants who have faced challenges. Charlotte Bishop Michael Martin has repeatedly called for outreach and support for immigrants in public statements.

As Father Scalese noted, “We come together to ask God to open our hearts, strengthen our courage, and help us become what we receive in the Eucharist: the Body of Christ for the life of the world.”

— Christina Lee Knauss

Father Matthew Harrison, campus minister at High Point University, and a group of students trekked 200 miles of the Camino de Santiago in Spain this summer, deepening their spiritual journeys.

HIGH POINT— Father Matthew Harrison and a group of college students from High Point University’s Campus Ministry trekked the Camino de Santiago in Spain in May, following in the footsteps of St. James the Apostle.

This was the third time Father Harrison has hiked the Camino, and each experience has had its own challenges and benefits.

“Taking the students and leading them through the spiritual journey of St. James and tapping into the apostolic zeal that is so inherent to the Camino was a different experience,” said Father Harrison, who serves as their campus minister.

The Camino, dubbed “The Way of St. James,” marks the pathway forged by St. James the Apostle as he evangelized across Europe. The path spans more than 200 recognized routes encompassing thousands of miles of trails, with primary routes passing through Spain, Portugal and France.

“There is something so beautiful about being disconnected in nature, but on a deeper level feeling that connection to St. James and going back to the roots of our Christian faith is amazing,” Father Harrison said. “St. James literally walked to the end of the earth to preach the Gospel, and that reinvigorates me with my own desire to evangelize always and everywhere.”

Father Harrison chose the Camino Francés route because it is the most traveled, has the most resources and is heavy with pilgrims. The path winds through congested cities full of sights and sounds capable of bringing even the least spiritual person to their knees – the perfect setting to maximize evangelization while bonding spiritually with his students and God.

“A majority of people on the trail are not Catholics,” Father Harrison said. “A lot of people there are looking for God or looking for something, and almost every conversation we have is able to navigate towards Christ and turn into a moment of evangelization.”

Their chosen route travels nearly 500 miles, but the group had time for only 200. They hit hot spots like the “House of Light” Cathedral in León and the ancient Roman walled town of Astorga. They ended at the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, where, like most pilgrims, they spent their final moments stretched out on stone ground reflecting on their journey toward God.

For the pilgrims, the quiet reflection times, journaling, digital fasting, prayers and evangelism opportunities felt like a long-needed retreat.

“The Camino simplified life and showed me the things we live for,” said participant Caleb Knox. “I don’t think I appreciated sacred spaces before this trip.”

“We were praying constantly together and celebrated Mass all over the place,” Father Harrison said. They offered Mass most notably at the ruins of the monastery that St.

Francis of Assisi visited during his own Camino adventure.

During the two-week trip, they stayed overnight at inexpensive hostels, chowing down on cheap pasta, cereal or rice – carbs to help fuel them on their long journey.

Each day, students took a turn leading the group in prayer. When they were not praying, they were discussing everything from technology and feeling rushed in modern society to geopolitics and wars, “doom scrolling” and the animal kingdom.

For the most part, they put their cell phones aside, trying to use them for less than an hour a day. Father Harrison wore his Roman collar, and the students all traveled with their backpacks that featured a shell, the symbol of Catholic pilgrims, displayed on the back.

Going as the spiritual father of the group was different for Father Harrison, who experienced the same physical exhaustion as his students but also focused on how to turn hiking activities into opportunities for spiritual growth.

There were bad blisters and sore legs, knees and feet, but the Camino, just like life and the weather, continued to move forward unconcerned about the pilgrims’ personal struggles.

On day one, a May downpour caused the men to run for cover. By the second week, though, the students were unfazed by the weather. A massive sheet of rain appeared in front of them, and instead of scattering for shelter, they plowed right through without words – a complete contrast that impressed Father Harrison.

“As a group we grew and matured,” he said. “One of the beautiful things about the Camino is that it is incredibly challenging, but all the men were able to push hard through those moments and get to the other side successfully, together as a team.”

The trip left an impression on Father Harrison, and he hopes to make it an annual campus ministry trip.

“It is not just a personal journey for each of them, but a journey for our community and our campus ministry, for us to get closer to Christ,” he said. “I definitely want to take more students on this pilgrimage. It is an opportunity for them to grow both in their faith and as future leaders in the Church and the world. Doing something hard like this makes you a stronger person and a better version of yourself.”

— Lisa M. Geraci 

This summer marked the 25th anniversary of Camp SOAR. The Special Olympics Athletic Retreat offers a real summer camp experience for people with intellectual disabilities in the Charlotte region. (Troy C. Hull | Catholic New Herald)

CHARLOTTE — If you want to experience pure joy in action, it can be found at Camp SOAR. For 25 years, the Special Olympics Athletic Retreat has been offering a summer camp experience for people with intellectual disabilities in the Charlotte region.

Held annually at the Levine Jewish Community Center on Providence Road, this year’s camp hosted more than 300 campers assisted by 400 volunteers from area businesses and schools, including many from Charlotte Catholic High School and Holy Trinity Middle School.

A lasting legacy

The June 15-19 camp marked two milestones, one happy and one sad. Campers celebrated the program’s 25th year but also started the week with an emotional tribute to founder Bob Bowler, who passed away in September.

Bowler, a member of St. Gabriel Parish, volunteered with Special Olympics North Carolina for 40 years and started Camp SOAR in 2000 because he wanted the athletes to experience summer fun.

“Many of them saw their siblings going off to summer camp but they didn’t have a chance for a similar experience,” said Marilynn Bowler, Bob’s widow, who made several visits to this year’s camp. She was brought to tears of joy a few times as she saw the fruits of her late husband’s work.

Bowler’s memory and image were never far from the minds of organizers and volunteers. Several people wore commemorative T-shirts with his picture on them.

“I arrived the other day and was presented with one of these shirts and was in tears,” Marilynn Bowler said. “I remember when Bob came up with the idea of this camp. Bob’s background was in sales, and he was comfortable selling both products and ideas. He was so enthusiastic about starting this camp and surrounded himself with people who believed in this idea, and now 25 years later, we’re here.”

The camp is divided into two segments, one serving younger children and another geared toward teens and adults. Some have been attending the camp annually since childhood, and a few former participants are now volunteers.

It’s a daily flurry of activity from morning until afternoon, with campers moving constantly between different sports and activities. Each of them has a “buddy” volunteer who accompanies and assists them and cheers them on.

A week of fun

During the week, the campers participated in a variety of sports including basketball, boxing, bocce, bowling, soccer, tennis, pickleball, swimming and golf.

They also took part in daily arts and crafts and bingo and divided into teams to take part in a daily program that promoted general fitness along with the fun.

On June 18, Bishop Michael Martin paid a visit and even picked up a golf club to take a few swings on one of the athletic fields. He also took time to offer some golf tips to campers, showing them how to properly swing and grip the clubs. Bishop Martin also watched a spirited basketball session that featured a powerful slam dunk from one camper.

Throughout the day, volunteers and campers cheered each other on. No accomplishment was ignored, and smiles were the norm.

Camp ended with Friday Fun Day on June 19, with jugglers, movies and the highly anticipated annual dance party.

“Bob initially asked how we could pull this off, because he didn’t have any money for it and no facilities, but he did it,” said Al Tinson, a member of St. John Neumann Parish who along with Bowler helped to launch the camp and has been a volunteer ever since. “We started with just 25 campers and a handful of volunteers, and now we have hundreds involved. Many people come back year after year, and that’s the number one thing that pleased Bob.”

Emma Keese started as a volunteer when she was a freshman at Charlotte Catholic High School. The rising sophomore at St. Mary’s University in Indiana, where she majors in psychology and Spanish, was happy to be back.

“The reason I keep coming back is the fundamental joy that is present there,” Keese said. “When a camper recognizes you and there is that connection and recognition and appreciation, there is no feeling like it. It’s unmatched. What makes Camp SOAR so special is the joy and energy that’s present there.”

Many former student SOAR volunteers have gone on to pursue degrees and careers in special education and other related fields, Tinson said.

“We have no idea how much of an impact this program has had on the community, both in North Carolina and around the country,” he said. “This is all because of what Bob started. It’s a tough thing to not have him here – it leaves a huge hole. But the people came back, and they’re carrying on for him.”

— Christina Lee Knauss

Ten years ago, Julie was feeling lost after going through a painful divorce. The young mother of three was angry, fearful and sad, and she felt her relationship with God and her Catholic faith slipping away.

“God and I were not on good terms,” she remembers.

Then, she learned about Catholic spiritual direction. The practice pairs people with trained professionals who help them examine their relationship with God, their pursuit of holiness, and the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

She began meeting monthly with a spiritual director in the Charlotte area. In hour-long sessions, they talked about her life experiences and the trouble she was having with faith. Those initial sessions grew into a years-long spiritual direction relationship that has helped Julie feel renewed – in both her daily life and her relationship to God and the Church.

“I needed somebody else to find it important for me to invest in my faith, because I was not at a place where I wanted to do that,” said Julie, who asked that only her first name be used to protect her identity. “It was so important to have her support in figuring out my unique situation and to help me to try to find my way back to faith.”
worth the effort

The process took time and work but was well worth the effort, she says.

“Very slowly and intentionally, I kind of rebuilt my faith one tiny little brick at a time,” Julie said. “I thought there were rules and regulations and boxes we were supposed to check to earn God’s love, and I learned that those were not our faith.”

Many people like Julie in the Diocese of Charlotte have benefited from spiritual direction, and both guides and seekers encourage others interested in deepening their faith to explore the practice.

“Spiritual direction can have a profoundly positive effect on people’s lives by bringing you closer to Jesus,” said Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv. “It provides support and clarity during big life transitions, difficult decisions and periods of spiritual questioning. But it’s more than that: It helps people explore their beliefs and experiences more deeply – and can lead to greater self-awareness and a stronger sense of purpose.”

‘Sit with people’

Spiritual directors can be members of the clergy or lay people who receive specialized training. Formation programs vary from one to four years and include study of spirituality, theology and religious traditions, listening skills, ethics, and discernment practices. They also typically require supervised practice with seekers as well as their own personal spiritual practice, mentoring and ongoing education.

“It just really is a privilege to sit with people and to listen to their faith experiences, to walk with them on that journey,” said St. Peter parishioner Allain Andry, who became a spiritual director after going through a four-year formation program at Fairfield University in Connecticut.

St. Matthew parishioner Karen Scully also completed the Fairfield program and became a spiritual director in 2021.

“Spiritual direction is accompanying a person on their spiritual life,” Scully said. “How is God acting in your life? How is this being manifested? Or if you feel He is not in your life, and you want Him there, how do we respond to God’s call?”

“It’s all about accompanying someone on their spiritual journey, having a discerning listener and a contemplative presence,” she said. “We try to dig a little deeper. It’s a way of deepening their relationship with God in a confidential, solemn, holy space.”

Benedictine Father Elias Correa-Torres, who teaches physical sciences at Belmont Abbey College, started offering spiritual direction in response to requests from students and parishioners.

“Spiritual direction can be very helpful,” he said, “especially for those who are serious about seeking God and a life dedicated to Him.”

Trusting and listening

Many people seek spiritual direction when going through discernment, either for a religious vocation, marriage or for another major life event, Father Correa-Torres said.

Others are looking to deepen their prayer lives or to discover how God is working in life’s challenges.

He asks seekers what they are looking for and then offers insights.

“I bring in a lot of Scripture and a lot of information from the lives of the saints for perspective,” he said. “It is a matter of trusting God’s presence there, and listening. … I know

I don’t have all the answers – we’re relying on God. I will often pray in the middle of a session asking for the Holy Spirit to guide me.”

As Julie relates, “This is my individual journey … she’s not leading me. She just comes along beside me for one hour a month. There is never any judgment … she turns the reflection back and asks questions: ‘What do you think God is trying to tell you? How do you feel called to do the next thing in your life?’ It’s a conversation where she and God and I are in the same spiritual space.”

Scully notes it is also important to remember what spiritual direction is not – it is not a substitute for mental health treatment or counseling, and it is different from preparing for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Spiritual directors, whether lay people or clergy, have their own guides. As a Benedictine priest, Father Correa-Torres is required to receive spiritual direction and meets with his director regularly. Both Andry and Scully regularly attend spiritual direction and meet monthly with a supervisor.

Quiet in a loud world

Many seeking spiritual direction say the experience helps them see God moving in their lives.

Jake Goduti, who grew up in Huntersville as a parishioner at St. Mark Parish, sought spiritual direction after he graduated from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio.

His college years led him to take his faith more seriously, and he realized spiritual direction might help with the challenge of seeking God amid the distractions of adult life. He turned to the pastor who was there for him in his youth – Father John Putnam.

“Prayer can be a difficult journey, especially with how loud the world is, and Father Putnam was there to offer assistance,” Goduti said.

Goduti, a project coordinator in the diocese’s construction and real estate office, now attends St. Anne Parish in Charlotte and said the lessons he learned in spiritual direction still help him in daily life.

“I learned how to build a habit of being silent, listening for the movements of God through prayer,” he said. “Spiritual direction helped me to have the tools to know what God was calling me to do on a day-to-day basis, and what the peace of God feels like.”

For Julie, spiritual direction helped bring her back into relationship with God and with the faith she chose as a convert.

“It’s a conversation, a judgment-free zone for anybody whether they want to go a centimeter deeper in their faith or a mile deeper,” she said. “Really it is all about your individual journey.”

— Catholic News Herald

To learn more

To find a spiritual director, reach out to your parish, contact the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory, or visit sites including The Emmaus Center for Spirituality, www.emmauscenterforspirituality.com, and Ignatian Spiritual Direction Formation, www.worldonfireformationprogram.com.

The new seminary chapel will accommodate about 250 people and will offer much-needed space for prayer and quiet contemplation. (Troy C. Hull | Catholic News Herald)

Father Matthew Kauth, seminary rector, said chapel construction is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The $24 million project marks a significant milestone in the seminary’s continued growth. Working in collaboration with Bishop Michael Martin, seminary and diocesan leaders adopted a plan that not only includes a new chapel with seating for about 250 people, an office, a guest suite and other program spaces, but also will pay off existing seminary construction debt and set aside funding for an endowment to pay for long-term capital needs.

The project includes $20.7 million for the construction and related sitework and furnishings, $2 million for the endowment and $1.7 million for debt elimination. The funding comes from generous donors, many of whom gave to the seminary’s first capital campaign.

The new chapel will serve as more than an architectural addition, Father Kauth said – it is central to priestly formation.

“We form our buildings and then they form us,” Father Kauth said. “Proportion, integrity, clarity, harmony – all of these go into a building and they then go into those who live there. This has a subtle but powerful effect on the spiritual life.”

Father Kauth said one of the things that any seminary needs is space: “Ultimately, you create an atmosphere of openness and lucidity where the eye of the mind can rest.”

The project will also enable the seminary’s existing chapel – which seats only 50 and was originally designed as a lecture and dining hall – to be repurposed for lectures, banquets and other diocesan events.

Father Kauth said construction has gone unusually well.

“This has been perhaps the smoothest that I’ve ever encountered,” Father Kauth said.

He credited the progress to careful planning, strong execution by the team of architects and contractors and, of course, the prayers of the faithful.

The chapel is the latest milestone in the development of St. Joseph College Seminary, which was established in 2016 under then-Bishop Peter Jugis. In its early years, the seminary operated out of several temporary houses before securing land and building its permanent campus, located not far from Belmont Abbey College, in 2020.

To date, 24 priests have been ordained who came through St. Joseph College Seminary and are serving across the diocese.
— Walter Frei

The visual identity includes a refined formal coat of arms and a new digital logo, as part of a broad communications platform to help the growing diocese present a consistent, recognizable visual presence and welcoming message.

Monsignor Patrick Winslow, vicar general and chancellor of the diocese, led the effort over several years in collaboration with two bishops, the diocese’s Communications Office, and award-winning brand strategy firm BROOKHOUSE, based in Charlotte.

The effort began in 2022 as the diocese sought to update its coat of arms after its 50th anniversary.

“We came to appreciate that our logomark was just the tip of the iceberg,” Monsignor Winslow said.

“We also needed to more clearly articulate who we are as a diocese and how our mission fits within the universal Church.”

The diocese’s new “brand platform,” he said, includes a new look and a promise the diocese and its ministries aspire to deliver.

“At a time when people are searching for meaning and belonging, the Catholic Church of western North Carolina offers people ‘something more’ – God and the truth of the Gospel set within a joyful, hospitable and authentic community grounded in 2,000 years of the teaching and traditions of the Catholic faith. Here, we help people encounter Jesus Christ and share Him and His love with others.”

The promise is evident in the Church’s sacramental life and should be in all of its daily interactions with parishioners and the broader community, he said.

“‘Something more’ is not a slogan, it is what we offer to those we are interacting with – as well as a call to action for our parishes, schools and ministries,” he said. “It expresses a truth at the heart of our faith. In the Eucharist, there is ‘something more’ than bread and wine. In baptism, there is ‘something more’ than water washing over you.

And when you interact with us, at the diocese and in all of our ministries, we should go the extra mile to deliver ‘something more,’ something deeper, than you might expect.”

The refreshed coat of arms preserves the essential symbolism chosen by the diocese’s first bishop, Bishop Michael Begley. It continues to feature a Celtic cross on a green background – recalling the Irish immigrants who were among the first Catholics to settle in North Carolina and honoring St. Patrick, patron of the diocese’s St. Patrick Cathedral. A crown on a Marian blue field symbolizes two queens: Queen Charlotte, the wife of British King George III for whom the diocese’s see city is named, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven and Mother of the Church.

The design has been simplified and refined with a cleaner style in keeping with other dioceses’ coats of arms, and its updated color palette of blue, green and gold provides improved flexibility in printing and reproduction.

The logotype is a version of Capitolium, an award-winning serif typeface designed by Dutch type designer Gerard Unger for the Jubilee of the Catholic Church in 2000.

The diocese also introduced a simplified secondary mark more suitable for digital platforms and community outreach. It pulls the Celtic cross from the formal coat of arms to provide a more immediate and recognizable expression of the diocese’s identity while remaining visually connected to the formal coat of arms.

Both logos were created by Charlotte-based designer Todd Aldridge, a successful freelance designer and Brand Creative Operations director for Harley-Davidson Motor Co.

Aldridge has developed brand identities for nationally recognized organizations, including the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he designed the university’s iconic “C” logo.

The Diocese of Charlotte’s coat of arms has evolved several times since the diocese was established in 1972, most recently with a commemorative gold version created for its 50th anniversary in 2022.

 — Patricia L. Guilfoyle

GREENSBORO — Grandparents filled St. Pius X Church for a morning of laughter, tickles, hugs, and fun during this year's Grandparents’ Day celebration.

With grandchildren by their sides, they prayed a living rosary.

Fifty seventh and eighth grade St. Pius X students represented each bead and led the prayers, offering their individual prayer intentions—most using the occasion to pray for their grandparents present in the church.

Afterward, grandparents followed students down hallways that were covered with appreciation notes and drawings addressed to them.

Grandparents then visited classrooms and watched their little ones sing and dance or sat together while they colored or played games.

— Lisa M. Geraci

“I think Antonette is doing a wonderful job, and I am so proud of her,” Cowan said. “I have two good daughters. Each one of them has such beautiful qualities. The Lord truly blessed me.”

During her stay, Cowan was also able to spend time with her grandchildren – Aguilera's son, John, an 8th grader, and her other grandson.

Cowan loves the feeling she gets every time she steps on the campus of St. Pius X, explaining how it matches the ideals of their hometown of Reggio Calabria, Italy.

“We came from a traditional Italian family, and this school matches so well with Antonette. When she was little, she learned tradition and her Catholic faith. She went to school with the nuns, and this place brings it all together,” Cowan said.

A mother knows best, and Aguilera agrees the Catholic school she attended as a youth in Los Angeles reminds her a lot of St. Pius X.

Yet, instead of mirroring her childhood memories at St. Pius the X, she takes direction from a different inspiration – the late Monsignor Anthony Marcaccio, former pastor of the parish. 

“We make sure Monsignor’s vision for this school is always alive and well,” Aguilera said. “A beautiful campus, a spiritual place—that is what I am trying to create. If I can accomplish that, I feel like I am doing a good thing.”

— Lisa M. Geraci

“I love that it’s like Chuck E. Cheese,” said Principal Margaret Beale. “You earn tickets and then cash them in to do more fun things.”

Elementary and middle schoolers earned one ticket each for participating in events that included everything from cornhole to badminton to sack races. They could then use those tickets to purchase snacks, trips down a water slide, or the opportunity to dunk a teacher perched above a water tank.

“I think it’s been really fun because you have to work for things,” explained Catherine, a fifth grader.

Athletics Director Matthew Tanner added, “I just like seeing everyone busy and having fun.” His inspiration for the setup stemmed from a field day he remembered as an elementary school student in Alabama.

ICS organizers set up event stations in front of and behind the school, allowing rotation between younger and older students.

“I like this a lot,” said Valentina, an eighth grader. “I go to whatever station I want without a teacher telling me what to do.”

That flexibility ultimately allowed students to map their day, make memories and maximize their fun.

— Catholic News Herald

CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Catholic High School broke ground on the first phase of improvements to its campus Tuesday, May 19, with a ceremony on the school’s athletic field.

Students, parents, benefactors, diocesan staff and community members turned out for the event celebrating the beginning of the project, which will include upgrading the existing field and sideline to premium artificial turf and renovating the existing media center into a multi-faceted student life center. 

The improvements are being funded by a capital campaign, “Grounded in Tradition: Focused on the Future,” which launched in February and aims to raise $8.5 million for several large projects to enhance student life at the school, including the new turf and media center improvements. 

Plans for the next phases will move forward once additional funding milestones are reached. They include transforming a small office building recently purchased by MACS and adjacent to the campus into the Computer, Technology and Engineering Innovation Center,  which will support classes in engineering, robotics and other technologies.

Finally, the new field house and flexible space complex will be designed to offer a multi-purpose hub that will include areas for sports performance, recovery and athletic training, dedicated spaces for health and wellness education and team meetings, and a flexible space that can easily be transformed from classrooms to larger spaces for after-school activities. 

Mercy Sister Paulette Williams, who was principal at the school from 1980 to 2000, spoke at the ceremony and called it “an exciting day in the life of Charlotte Catholic High School.” 

“We today stand on the shoulders literally of those who came before us,” she said. “Their donations and all of the benefactors in the 80-year history of Charlotte Catholic brought us here. We should never forget their role in helping Charlotte Catholic to take the next big step in our life. May God continue to bless us on this journey.” 

Kurt Telford, head of school at CCHS, spoke to the students in the stands about the role the improvements will play in their lives. 

“This project is ultimately about you and the generations of students who will be with you and follow you,” Telford said. “The spaces we celebrate today will create new opportunities for learning, innovation, competition, unity and most importantly faith formation. One day you will be able to look back and say you were here when this exciting new chapter in our school’s history began.” 

Work on turfing the field is set to begin June 1 after the school’s lacrosse and girl’s soccer teams complete post-season play, and work on the new student center will take place during the summer. School officials said the goal is to have the new field ready for the beginning of football season and for the student life center to be complete by the time teachers return in August. 

The total cost for all phases of the improvement project is expected to reach $10.5 million, which includes a $2 million contribution from the Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools Capital Fee.

Choate Construction is the contractor for the project and Little and Associates are the architects working on the improvements.

— Christina Lee Knauss. Photos by Christina Lee Knauss and Siobhan Whipp

The existing athletic field will be regraded, a drainage system added and then topped with synthetic turf, new lighting, team benches and markings.

The fine arts classroom upgrades include upfitting the current chorus, art and band rooms and hallways with modernized flooring, lighting and instructional equipment.
Holy Trinity and the diocese will be responsible for the remaining $572,000 of the $1,572,229 cost of the project, which is slated to be completed this summer.

“We are overwhelmed by the continued support from the Shea family and appreciate their commitment to Catholic education,” the school’s President Kevin Parks said. “As the second largest school in the diocese, we are excited for these upgrades and renovations that will help better educate our students for upcoming generations as well as today.”

The facility upgrade is one piece of a larger $11.5 million three-phase, multi-year enhancement project focused on readying the school to launch a blended learning model to better serve its growing student body of 1,038.

The new learning model is expected to be unveiled for the 2026-2027 academic year, when the school is set to be renamed “Holy Trinity Catholic Academy” to reflect its continued commitment to an inclusive, faith-based learning environment.

Phase I, completed in August 2025 for $3 million, remodeled an outdated 1950s administrative building, creating innovative spaces for science labs, modern faculty offices and conference areas and added a classroom dedicated to theology studies.

“After seeing the benefits of the administrative building this past summer, our community is very excited for these enhanced learning spaces,” Parks said.

This past April, the Bulldogs broke ground for Phase II, the $7 million Begley building renovation and expansion that is anticipated to be completed this summer.

Existing classrooms and restrooms will be remodeled, eight classrooms will be added in a new second floor above the library and hallways will all connect to an upgraded internal stairway for improved access.

Shea Homes is one of the most significant philanthropic supporters of Catholic education across the country, assisting more than 1,000 Catholic schools with grants providing for renovations, new construction and expansion projects.

Over the past 30 years, the charity has granted an estimated $12.2 million toward school projects in the diocese, assisting Holy Trinity Middle, St. Ann and Our Lady of the Assumption schools in Charlotte, Immaculata in Hendersonville, St. Michael the Archangel in Gastonia, Our Lady of Grace in Greensboro, Our Lady of Mercy in Winston-Salem, and Sacred Heart in Salisbury.

“This extraordinary gift will allow Holy Trinity to address needs that impact students’ educations,” said Jim Kelley, diocesan director of development. “We are so grateful to John Shea Jr. and his family for the transformational partnership we have with Shea Homes.”

Though the grant was a major stepping stone, a future Phase IV will require additional funding. It includes new landscaped walking paths, a cafeteria and outdoor dining upgrade, and upgraded stage fixtures for the school’s performing arts program. Along with structural changes, curriculum and leadership goals have shifted, adding three theology teachers and a dean of student life.

This past year, the school also moved to a president-principal leadership model that saw former principal Parks taking on the role of president.

The new curriculum will use a co-divisional approach, with single-sex (all-girl or all-boy) core classes and co-ed electives. While currently being used for theology and social studies classes, this instructional method will be phased in over the next three years, being fully implemented in the 2026-2027 academic year for the sixth grade, the seventh grade the following year, and the eighth-grade level during the 2028-2029 year.

— Lisa M. Geraci

AURORA, Colorado — The prayers of people from Charlotte and around the world played a part in the recovery of a 2-year-old girl – the niece of Dr. Greg Monroe, superintendent of Diocese of Charlotte Catholic Schools – after two bites from a rattlesnake nearly took her life.

“Thanks be to God, she is now experiencing what can only be described as a miraculous recovery,” Monroe said. “Doctors were flabbergasted.”

It was a blessed end to a terrifying seven days. 

The last week of May should have been joyful. Relatives were beginning to gather in Colorado for a family wedding, and Quinn Robertson eagerly anticipated her role as a flower girl. But tragedy struck on Monday when she stepped on the venomous snake outside her family’s Airbnb. 

Her mom, Colleen Robertson, who was 8 months pregnant, immediately started CPR until medical personnel arrived 20 minutes later, according to CBS News. Quinn was then swiftly airlifted to Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, where she received almost 40 vials of anti-venom – – generally far more than the average amount  – as well as a blood transfusion. A team of 30 medical providers gave her round-the-clock care as her body processed an allergic reaction to the venom.

Monroe said it was scary in the beginning with Quinn “unable to breath on her own, falling in and out of consciousness.” 

But by the weekend, Quinn began sitting up and using her hands. On May 30, the day of the wedding, the bride and groom came to the hospital and re-enacted the walk down the aisle so Quinn could take part. It was one of many moments of grace, Monroe said.

And on June 1, exactly one week after the snakebite, Quinn went home to Kansas.

Quinn’s mother is so appreciative of the care she received from Children’s Hospital Colorado, which is one of the nation’s leaders in treating snake bite victims, and the incredible team of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit nurses, doctors and toxicologists who treated her.

Monroe gives credit not only to the excellent medical care she received but to the prayers of people near and far. 

“That meant so much to us,” he said. “People stopped what they were doing to pray for this little girl. That grace is truly what made the difference in helping her not have complications that would lead to terrible outcomes.”

Monroe said he is grateful for the support he received from the diocesan office and from all those who not only prayed for Quinn themselves but asked others to pray as well. Church groups, an influencer on Instagram, military prayer groups and many people with no relationship to the family spread Quinn’s story. . From there, social media pages around the world spread the story and prayers poured in.

The niece he describes as a “super vivacious, super energetic” girl who “loves animals, people and running around outside” faces a long recovery. 

Quinn’s mother told CBS News, “There’s a lot of tissue damage from the bite since it was so severe and deep.. There’s still a lot of unknowns right now as far as when she’ll be able to dance and jump again.”

What does the school superintendent want others to learn from his family’s experience?

“First, you can’t underestimate the power of prayer,” Monroe said. “Second, God’s providence can be trusted through everything. Although this was a tragedy, good has come out of it. Visiting doctors have been coming to the hospital to study her case, and we have been told that a new protocol for treating venomous snakebites in children is being developed, thanks to Quinn. This will help other kids in the future.”

“Third, it emphasizes the importance of family and the Christian community. Her story can uplift other people in terrible times. We don’t believe she would be where she is without the prayer warriors who said rosaries and prayed Masses.”

— Jane Pope. Photos provided

The grant comes in response to a Jan. 7 incident in downtown Belmont, where the absence of nearby Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) contributed to the emergency in which Nancy Litwak, 39, lost her life. Her death highlighted a critical gap in the community’s emergency response resources, inspired changes to the downtown policy, and motivated Belmont Abbey College to pursue this grant to help prevent future tragedies.

In collaboration with the City of Belmont, the grant will fund a public AED initiative. The project will:

> Install nine AEDs: Six in downtown Belmont locations and three on the college campus, ensuring any point in the downtown corridor is within a two-minute walk to an AED, well within the critical four-minute window for defibrillation.

> Train faculty and the community: Four nursing faculty will become certified American Heart Association CPR instructors. Recurring CPR and AED training will be offered to local employees, organizational staff and community members.

> Establish sustainable preparedness: The initiative will create a faculty-led model for ongoing community cardiac emergency preparedness and education.
“The safety and well-being of our community is always a top priority,” said Belmont Mayor Joe Jordan.

“This collaboration with Belmont Abbey College and the support of the CaroMont Health Foundation will ensure that lifesaving resources, like AEDs and CPR training, are accessible to everyone in our town. ”

As Dr. Lee-Ann Kenny, chair and nursing program director at Belmont Abbey College, said, “This grant from the CaroMont Health Foundation equips both our students and our community to respond effectively in life-saving situations.”

— Belmont Abbey College

Judges praised the diocese’s coverage of issues that impacted people’s lives and faith – including immigration, recovery after Tropical Storm Helene, Holy Week and Eucharistic Congress celebrations, and a diocesan-wide faith survey of parishioners. 

Among the awards announced June 19 was a second-place finish for Best Newspaper among non-weekly Catholic newspapers in the U.S. and Canada. The award recognizes the publication that most demonstrates consistent quality and originality of overall content, writing and headlines, editorials, art and graphics, design and usability.

Another highlight was three first-place awards for Spanish-language reporting, led by the diocese’s Spanish Media Coordinator Brian Segovia. People of Hispanic origin now make up about half of the diocese’s 575,000 Catholics. 

“It is gratifying to see our work recognized by our peers, especially in such a broad array of categories – and in both English and Spanish,” said Catholic News Herald Editor Trish Stukbauer. “We couldn’t do this work without the strong support of our bishop and our parishes, schools and ministries, who every day lay their hearts on the line to live out the Gospel.”

The Catholic Media Association’s annual awards spotlight the work of Catholic print and digital publications of dioceses, wire services, religious orders and other Catholic organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada. The awards were announced during the association’s annual conference, this year held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. 

Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv., serves as publisher of the Catholic News Herald and cites good communication among his top priorities. The news outlet publishes content daily on its website and social media channels, and mails a print edition every two weeks to more than 65,000 registered households across western North Carolina.

Overall, the publication earned eight first-place awards and other honors for its work in 2025, including: 

First place

• Best Seasonal Issue: “This Great Joy Needs to Shared” (Holy Week), Catholic News Herald staff
• Best Front Page: “Faith Amid Fear,” (immigration) David Puckett
• Best Photograph – General News: “Faith Amid Fear,” Troy C. Hull
• Best Story and Photo Package by two individuals or more: “Faith Amid Fear,” Brian Segovia and Lisa Geraci
• Best Investigative News Writing Reporting – Non-Weekly: “Resilience: One Year Later, Helene Survivors Still Feel the Pain, but Walk Forward in Faith,” Christina Lee Knauss
• Best Story and Photo Package – Spanish: “Guadalupe Convoca Multitudes y Toma el Coraz de la Diesis (Guadalupe Torch draws multitudes and captures the heart of the diocese” (Guadalupe Torch), Brian Segovia and Lisa Geraci
• Best Reporting on Immigration – Spanish: “Parroquias Ajustan Actividades Ante Presencia de Patrulla Fronteriza en Charlotte” (immigration), Brian Segovia and Lisa Geraci
• Best Feature Writing – Spanish: “Desde Mooresville Hasta Huánuco: ‘Entre Fronteras’ Conecta Feligreses en un Mismo Latido,” (radio outreach), Brian Segovia

Second place

• Best Newspaper among non-weekly U.S. and Canadian diocesan newspapers: Catholic News Herald staff 
• Best In-depth News/Special Reporting – Non-Weekly: “2025 Eucharistic Congress,” Catholic News Herald staff
• Best Media Kit: “Catholic News Herald Media Kit 2025,” David Puckett and Kevin Eagan 

Third place

• Best Analysis/Background/Round-Up News Writing – The Gerard E. Sherry Award – Non-Weekly: “Disciple Maker Index: From Believers to Disciples,” Patricia L. Guilfoyle

Honorable mention

• Best News Writing – Single Article – National Event: “Catholic Charities Navigates Refugee Funding Halt,” Liz Chandler and Christina Lee Knauss 
• Best Single Advertisement Small Space: “St. Luke Music Director,” David Puckett and Kevin Eagan 
• Best News Writing on a Local Event – Non-Weekly: “Thank God for Sending Angels,” Christina Lee Knauss
• Best Reporting on the Celebration of a Sacrament: “Finding Their Way Home: Spirit-Filled Journeys of New Catholics in the Charlotte Diocese,” Lisa Geraci

— Catholic News Herald

In a “real estate summit” last month, the diocese brought together Church leaders and Catholic professionals in the fields of real estate, development, law, construction and finance to help shape a comprehensive strategy for managing its property portfolio and future needs.

The summit examined how real estate can help address challenges created by growth – including overcrowded churches, rising school enrollment, expanding ministries and emerging pastoral needs. The goal is not simply to buy more land or construct new buildings, leaders said, but to anticipate and respond to real estate needs to more effectively serve its communities.

“As a significant landowner in western North Carolina, we need to be nimble as we invite and attract more people into the Catholic Church,” said Bishop Michael Martin, who convened the summit to seek advice and foster relationships with industry experts.

“We need to prepare now,” he said, “for realities we anticipate will be playing out in 20 years in our churches, schools and ministries.”

A comprehensive strategy would inform and guide future decisions about property acquisitions and sales, development opportunities and facility investments. It would help the diocese stay ahead of real estate trends and pay attention to areas in need of the Church’s presence as communities grow.

An estimated 575,000 Catholics live within the 46 counties encompassed by the diocese, and projections indicate another 30% increase in population by 2050.

“We’ve got a lot more people we’re trying to serve now,” said Emmett Sapp, the diocese’s director of real estate and construction, “so we’re looking at all the different ways to respond to that.” The diocese is already building to accommodate the influx – with more than 80 parish, school and ministry projects undertaken since 2018. The diocese owns or oversees more than 100 properties from Greensboro to Asheville and beyond, including 93 churches and 20 schools.

Summit participant David Longo, chairman of the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance and member of St. Matthew Parish in south Charlotte, said just as businesses do, the diocese must be ready to act when opportunities emerge.

“A comprehensive real estate strategy will give the diocese a consistent, overarching framework for making decisions, leveraging opportunities and finding creative ways to manage growth,” said Longo, one of a dozen local leaders who will continue to help guide the diocese.

A real estate strategy would help determine whether to expand a church or build a new one, purchase adjacent property near a parish or school, and acquire land in fast-growing areas for future ministry sites.

It would also help leaders further evaluate major projects, among them:

• The future of the diocese’s aging Pastoral Center in uptown Charlotte
• The possible location of a new parish in Charlotte that could also serve as a future cathedral site
• Planning for possible Catholic schools in currently underserved areas.

Complicating the diocese’s ability to respond to growth, leaders noted, is the fact that securing land is becoming more difficult as costs rise and availability declines. Land acquisition is among the diocese’s priorities in its $150 million philanthropic initiative “Making Room – for More to Know the Love of Jesus,” which the diocese launched this month.

Diocesan leaders said they were inspired by the urgency of growth as well as the diocese’s history of strategic investments. In the 1980s, then-Bishop John Donoghue and his chancellor, Monsignor John McSweeney, bought land along the future Interstate 485 corridor before the Charlotte beltway was built, enabling the eventual establishment of St. Matthew, St. Mark and St. Luke parishes. Today, those congregations are among the diocese’s largest, serving 50,000 people.

Acquiring land in high-growth areas is only one option, Sapp said. Others might include expanding facilities, creating new parishes, or adding Masses to accommodate more people. Another focus is the diocese’s inventory of vacant and underutilized land.

The summit marks the beginning of an ongoing effort to ensure responsible stewardship of the resources, said Matt Ferrante, the diocese’s chief financial officer.

A Real Estate and Facilities Subcommittee is also being formed under the recently expanded Diocesan Finance Council to bring together professionals with deep expertise who will help advise diocesan leaders.

Leaders agree the goal is to take a forward-looking approach, rather than waiting until growth pressures become critical.

“We know the growth occurring throughout western North Carolina will continue to shape the needs of our parishes, schools and ministries,” Ferrante said. “Our goal is to be proactive, strategic and thoughtful in how we steward our facilities and real estate resources in support of the Church’s mission.”

— Patricia L. Guilfoyle

Recipients of the award, named after the servant for the poorest of the poor, are recognized for humble service, compassion, generosity, and dedication to others, and for echoing Mother Teresa’s dedication to doing small things with great love.

A parishioner since 1998, Robie has devoted much of his professional life to serving the poor and underserved. A physician specializing in Internal Medicine, he has worked with the Pacific and Caribbean Island Outreach Program to provide medical care in remote and impoverished communities. He continues this ministry as one of three physicians serving at the Community Care Center Clinic, where free healthcare is provided to those in need.

In 2020, he became involved with the Joseph-Mary Foundation, established by Father Peter Nouck to support the educational and healthcare needs of young people in Cameroon. He helped coordinate the shipment of medical equipment and supplies and assisted in the development of a $2.4 million hospital that has dramatically improved healthcare outcomes in the region.

Within Holy Family Parish, Robie previously taught Religious Education to second grade and middle school students and currently serves as a soundboard operator at the Saturday evening Mass while leading the monthly Rosary before Mass.

Robie and his wife, Joan, recently celebrated 50 years of marriage. Together they have three children, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

— LeiLanie D'Agostino

Each year, the nine-month pilgrimage starts in March and ends on December 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The pilgrimage, which honors Our Lady of Guadalupe and expresses international unity and dedication to the sanctity of life, began in 1960, when the first live rose was blessed by a bishop in Ontario. Today, eight silver roses travel different routes throughout North America, several of which begin in Canada and end in Mexico. 

Father Lucas Rossi, pastor of St. John the Evangelist, led a bilingual prayer service, litany and rosary, followed by a gathering in the parish hall. Mark DeMarco welcomed visitors on behalf of the Knights of Columbus, who host the program. 

In 2001, when Carl Anderson, past Supreme Knight of the Knight of Columbus, expanded the Silver Rose Program, he told those gathered for their annual meeting in Toronto,

“Through (the Silver Rose Program) we honor not only Our Lady of Guadalupe and express unity of the (Knights of Columbus), but we also reaffirm the Order’s dedication to the sanctity of human life. It is to the Blessed Mother that we turn in prayer as we work to end the Culture of Death that grips our society. As we think in terms of ‘One Life, One Rose,’ it is most appropriate that we turn to Our Lady of Guadalupe who made known her will through Juan Diego, and the miracle of roses.”

— Gail Webb

The May 30 lecture, “Women Leaders in the Early Jesus Movement: Could the pivotal role women played in Jesus’ earthly ministry point the way to a greater role in the modern Church?” was originally slated for Jan. 31 but postponed because of winter storms. 

This year’s Kennedy Lecturer was Dominican Sister Barbara Reid, a nationally known biblical scholar and feminist theologian. She is the first woman religious to serve as president of the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and has written extensively on Scripture, discipleship and the role of women in the Gospel accounts.

Sister Reid, who professed her vows in 1974, described growing up seeing only men and boys having liturgical roles at Mass. 

“I remember as a little girl watching male classmates serve at the altar and saying, ‘I wish I could do that,’” she recalled.

“Now, we don’t just have women altar servers, but women lectors... women serving in all different pastoral roles that didn’t exist when I was younger,” she said.

Yet a common complaint is that including women in Church leadership roles has been slow, Sister Reid said, so she looks to the example of the early Church to offer insights as today’s Church leaders explore more ways women can serve and leverage their skills to build up the Church.

“The question about women leaders is complex, but what I will offer is one important piece of the conversation, mainly the role of women leaders in the early Jesus movement,” she said.

In the early Church, she said, “The types of ministerial leadership that women exercised as disciples in the New Testament are many. They were apostles, deacons, prophets, teachers, preachers, evangelizers, heads of house churches and more.”

Sister Reid introduced attendees to prominent women who typically go unnoticed, including Junia, a prominent first-century Christian leader and missionary. In Romans 16:7 Paul commended her: “Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and my fellow prisoners; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before me.” 

St. Mary Magdalene was an apostle to the apostles, according to Hippolytus of Rome. The Samaritan woman at the well in John’s Gospel later rose to the role of lead apostle and missionary after her encounter with Jesus.

Sister Reid also pointed out that the early title from which the word “deacon” evolved was given to a woman named Phoebe, as noted in Romans 16:1, where Paul wrote, “I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a diakonos of the Church in Cenchreae.”

While the concept of female deacons may now appear revolutionary, Sister Barabara outlined its  historical roots.

Women, she said, served as “deaconesses” until the 5th or 6th centuries in the Western Church and until the 11th to 12th century in the Eastern Church. By then,  the role of deacon had shifted to being a step toward priesthood, and women were instead exercising diaconal duties – teaching, providing medical care, ministering to the poor, serving parishes – through religious communities.

“Women then and now provide crucial gifts and skills that benefit the whole Church, not only other female members,” Sister Reid said. “The New Testament gives us only glimpses of leadership in the past, but it does give us a firm foundation for advancing leadership in the present and future of the Church.”

Today, she said, the issue of women deacons “has become a center of attention, and remains an open question.” 

Pope Francis established two commissions to study the possibility of women becoming deacons. The most recent 2020 “Study Commission on the Female Diaconate” voted against the possibility of ordaining women deacons but supported further study and broader access to current ministries, according to a report released by Pope Leo XIV in 2025.

Sister Reid mentioned scholars such as Hofstra University scholar Dr. Phyllis Zagano, who advocates for ordaining women deacons, speculate that the issue eventually could be delegated to regional bishops’ conferences which could navigate local cultural norms and differences in gender roles.

Knowing Pope Leo from the Synod of Bishops, through consultations and from past educational endeavors, Sister Barbara said she remains optimistic he will address the topic.

“(Pope Leo) always finds ways to build bridges and is committed to synodality,” she said. 

Sister Reid ended her talk with questions to help move dialogue forward. “What does the Church need today that women can participate in?” she asked. “And what obstacles can be removed to achieve full flourishing for all?”

Sister Reid also signed books, including her newest, “Wisdom’s Feast: An Invitation to Feminist Interpretation of the Scriptures,” and “At the Table of Holy Wisdom: Global Hungers and Feminist Biblical Interpretation.”

The Kennedy Lecture is sponsored by Thomas and Richard Kennedy in memory of their parents, Keith and Joan Kennedy. It was recorded and will be made available on the parish website, www.stpeterscatholic.org.

— Lisa M. Geraci

Terry Goitom, accompanied by her daughter, Nighisti Tecle, traveled to Lourdes, France, as a “malade” – a person with an aggressive disease seeking healing.

“Even before the cancer, there was Lourdes. I had always wanted to go,” Goitom said. “This, to me, is a big miracle.”

This May, more than a dozen Order of Malta members from the Diocese of Charlotte traveled to Lourdes, France, to convene with global members of the oldest lay religious order for their annual pilgrimage.

Together, knights and dames carried “Malades” – people suffering from aggressive ailments – in pull-carts across the 130-acre sanctuary nestled next to the Gave de Pau River, which offers spiritual and healing pathways.

“Bringing the malades to the waters is just so fulfilling,” the region hospitaller for Charlotte, Dame Ellen Linares, said. “People are really able to see love in action, what Christ wanted us to be on Earth.”

Goitom was the chosen malade from the Diocese of Charlotte, and her daughter, Nighisti Tecle, was her designated companion.

The two were escorted by Order of Malta members and led through candlelight processions, brought to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes Basilica for Masses, taken to the Our Lady of Lourdes grotto apparition site for prayer, and assisted to the famed healing baths.

Dignitaries such as Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Cardinal Arthur Roche and Jesuit Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda took turns preaching homilies full of hope and love.

Lourdes has been recognized as a healing site since 1858, when the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a young girl named Bernadette Soubirous and instructed her to dig.

Dutifully, she burrowed through the dried mud Mary pointed to and drank the first dirty water that sprang from the hole. The next day, the puddle was transformed into a giant clear spring that still thrives.

More than 4 million pilgrims visit the site each year to bathe in the healing springs that are home to more than 7,000 recorded healings and 72 medical miracles confirmed by the Vatican.

Abbot Placid Solari of Belmont Abbey was there to greet her when she arrived in Lourdes.

The road to Lourdes

Goitom has felt a personal connection to Lourdes, through Belmont Abbey’s campus replica grotto, since 2021. Fittingly, she rolled off the plane in Lourdes and right into the arms of Abbot Placid Solari of Belmont Abbey, who blessed and prayed over her and her daughter.

For many years, she visited the Abbey every morning for Mass and then prayed the rosary at the grotto, where she discussed plans with Mary for how it would be when she was able to go to Lourdes.

On Valentine’s Day in 2023, Goitom went to Mass, but her side hurt too much to do much else. After months of physical therapy, a trip to the emergency room showed a misdiagnosis; it was an aggressive cancer causing her pain.

Turning to our lady for help

Goitom prayed in the St. Joseph Adoration Chapel all that night. When her daughter Tecle, whose father was also in ill health, learned of her mother’s diagnosis, she fell into despair.

“I wanted my mom to be healed. It broke my heart,” she said. “I thought I was not praying enough, and I was getting punished because of me fleeing from the Church.”

For her birthday on Feb. 11, which is also the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes, Tecle visited the abbey grotto in the pouring rain and prayed.

“I said I know I am not your strongest Christian, but my mom is sick and she really wants to go to Lourdes,” Tecle begged.

Two weeks later, Don Meanor of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte called Goitom. They were going to Lourdes – Frank Grass, Order of Malta Knight and fellow member of St. Gabriel Parish, sponsored her and Tecle.

His wife, like Goitom, fell victim to ovarian cancer. He still wears the teal bracelet the couple received when she was diagnosed and has the bottle of holy water from Lourdes that he placed on her forehead every night. He now carries the hope of physical healing Goitom may experience in her place.

“Don saw this opportunity and batted for us. If it wasn’t for him, Frank and the Order of Malta. I don’t think it ever would have happened,” Tecle said.

In Lourdes, Goitom was given a sticker with her name and placed it on the largest candle she ever saw, which was put on the grotto rocks where passersby could pray for the malades. The candle burned all week, and she said she can still recall feeling its flame.

When they first saw the spring and grotto, the mother and daughter were overwhelmed.

“It was so beautiful, I couldn’t even take a picture. I just wanted to soak in every moment of it,” Tecle said. “It brought us to tears because we realized where we were and all the prayers and support it took us to get there.”

Meeting the other malades made Goitom’s own diagnosis fade.

“Some of the malade stories were so sad,” said Goitom. “All of us were there for the same reason, and it was amazing to see people still fighting, still smiling, still having so much faith.”

When Goitom was led to the bath waters, she prayed while the people surrounding her sang “Ave Maria.”

“People say there is a thin veil between heaven and earth, and I felt it. I felt warmth all through my body,” Goitom said. “When I was in the bath, I wanted to fully submerge, and it touched my heart. I was saying remove this cancer from my body. I felt very close to God. I was not fearful, just peaceful. Mary brought me there. I planned in all types of ways, but it never happened, but she got me there her own way.”

And, as the baths soothed Goitom, Tecle felt her own strength in Mary while she walked the life-sized Stations of the Cross.

“Mary was watching someone she loved suffer, and she was helpless,” Tecle said. “It was at the Ninth Dtation of the Cross when I cried. I understood why I was there. I know when I leave this place, I know that I will never truly be alone in my burdens.”

Goitom does not know if she may be cured, but this trip taught her to surrender her burden to God.

“I don’t have any fear,” Goitom said. “I am praying and waiting. I have learned in my experience to surrender it to God. The doctors say something, but God has the final say, and I am not scared.”

— Lisa M. Geraci 

Eaton brings nearly three decades of experience in Catholic education, serving as a teacher, principal and diocesan leader. She holds a master’s degree in School Leadership from St. Louis University and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

“I am excited and blessed to serve as the next principal of St. Matthew Catholic School,” Eaton said. “Throughout my years in Catholic education, I have been grateful for the opportunity to help students grow academically and in their faith. I look forward to partnering with the faculty, staff and families of St. Matthew as we continue the tradition of educating saints and scholars.”

Eaton previously served as Director of Educational Services for the Diocese of Des Moines, supporting schools in curriculum development, professional learning and student services.

From 2011-2014, she was principal of St. Patrick Catholic School in Perry, Iowa. She led the led the school as it grew from 85 to 125 students, strengthened academic programs and built community partnerships. In 2014, she served as the first principal of St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic School in Ankeny, Iowa, guiding the school through its early development and growth until 2019.

She then returned to her roots, working with students scoring below grade-level in math and reading and the teachers who support them as an interventionist/student support teacher at St. Anthony Catholic School in Des Moines. There, she was also a member of the St. Anthony Leadership Team.

“It was clear from our first conversations that Mrs. Eaton has a real love for her faith and a genuine joy in working with children,” said Dr. Greg Monroe, the diocesan superintendent of schools, “and she will be a great fit for our school system with her past experiences and skillset.”

The search for a new principal at St. Matthew began Jan. 1, when Kevin O’Herron, who served as principal for 27 years of the school’s 33-year history became assistant superintendent of schools for the diocese. Suzanne Beasley, who stepped in as interim principal, will continue her leadership as assistant principal.

“I am grateful to Mrs. Beasley for her steady leadership as interim principal over these many months, and to the search committee for the time, prayer, and discernment they gave to helping us land the next principal of St. Matthew,” Monroe said. “I look forward to working closely with Mrs. Eaton as we build on the great legacy and traditions of St. Matthew and keep pursuing excellence as we look to the future.”

— Trish Stukbauer 

Students honored their heritage by wearing traditional attire at Mass Thursday, showing the richness of a community united in faith. The celebration continued with a food tasting featuring flavors from around the world.

The week was a joyful reminder that while we come from many places, we are one in Christ.

— Troy C. Hull