2026 Vocations Issue

‘BIG TEN’

FEATURING:

Discerning

CHRISTINA LEE KNAUSS clknauss@rcdoc.org

A culture of encouragement

Record number of new priests stems from decades of cultivating vocations

CHARLOTTE — The upcoming ordination of 10 priests for the Diocese of Charlotte not only represents a historic landmark, it is also a sign of a continuing diocesan-wide commitment to vocations that reaches every corner of the Catholic experience – from formation at parishes and schools to the halls of St. Joseph College Seminary and in the hearts of individuals and families.

The May 30 ordination, which will be celebrated by Bishop Michael Martin at St. Mark Church in Huntersville, follows the ordinations of six men in 2025 and closely approaches the previous record of seven achieved in both 2000 and 2024.

With only two priests retiring this summer, this year’s new ordinands will join 145 priests now serving in some capacity for a Catholic population that now tops 575,000.

The record year of ordinations was the result of ongoing growth in vocations driven by the increased awareness built up over the past few decades, said Vocations Director Father John Eckert, who took over the role last July, succeeding longtime director Father Christopher Gober.

“I certainly have not had a lot of downtime since I took on this role, but that’s been such a good thing,” Father Eckert said. “It’s exciting to be welcoming 10 new brother priests, and I’ve loved getting to accompany them in this time of formation.”

“Since I started this work, I’ve realized I’m inheriting the good work of so many people who have built up what we have in this diocese,” he said. “We’re very blessed because we have a good overall climate for vocations, including supportive parishes and parishioners, pastors and other priests leading by example, and mothers and fathers who are encouraging their children to explore their vocation in life.”

Juan González Hernández, one of the 10 who will be ordained May 30, said his family’s witness played a decisive role in his priestly vocation. Watching his brother celebrate Mass after he was ordained sparked a question in his young heart: “What if I myself become a priest one day, like my brother?”

A large part of the growth has come from a commitment across the diocese to encourage young people – like Deacon Hernández – to consider how God is calling them, Father Eckert said.

That’s evident in the growth of vocations summer camps.

Under Father Gober, two vocations camps were launched: “Quo Vadis Days” in 2014 for young men and “Duc in Altum” in 2016 for young women. The

programs have helped thousands of teenagers explore potential religious vocations through prayer, talks and fellowship. There is also a discernment day for young women called “Talitha Koum.” All are held at Belmont Abbey College.

Diocesan leaders also cite the profound impact of St. Joseph College Seminary in Mount Holly, which was founded by thenBishop Peter Jugis in 2016. Eight of this year’s ordinands studied

there before advancing to major seminary. The other two lived there during their pastoral years of ministering to a parish.

At the college seminary, men discern the priesthood while earning a bachelor’s degree at nearby Belmont Abbey College before going on to theology studies at major seminary.

For Deacon John Cuppett, who played baseball at Belmont Abbey College, it was in that supportive college environment

that his childhood desires for the priesthood “came crashing back.”

“Many years ago, seeing the desperate need for priests, Bishop Jugis and his clergy made the cultivation of vocations the highest priority,” said the seminary’s rector Father Matthew Kauth.

“From this earnest prayer arose many endeavors from Quo Vadis to St. Joseph College Seminary,” Father Kauth said.

“We are now reaping the harvest of 20-plus years of labor. It didn’t just happen. God has blessed our efforts and a culture of vocations has been established – yielding increasing returns, just as Christ said it would. Now, we must cultivate and care for those vocations and give thanks to God.”

Father Brian Becker, director of formation at the college seminary, said it’s been exciting to watch the current class progress through their studies and said, “it’s now a time of great joy to celebrate their reaching the altar.”

“It’s a real inspiration to see so many men willing to lay down their lives for Christ,”

Father Becker said. “It gives hope to us priests who have been ministering for some years to see men with great vigor coming to join the ranks, and it gives great inspiration to young men considering becoming priests themselves to see so many men answering the call.”

Deacon James Tweed echoes his fellow ordinands in telling men who might be discerning a priestly vocation to embrace that call.

“Do not be afraid to trust Him, even when the path is unclear. God’s call is a gift,” he said.

As the diocese moves into the future, Father Eckert urges all of the faithful not to rest there on this record, but to continue fostering vocations.

“The momentum we’ve had needs to continue, and it’s important that we never take the gift of the faith for granted,” he said. “We’re in an exciting time right now, with news like the addition of a new parish in Waxhaw, but we have to make sure we don’t take that for granted. People need to continue to stay engaged in loving their parishes and sharing the love of Jesus. When we’re all living that way, it encourages young men and young women to want to share in that.”

— Kimberly Bender contributed.

More online

At www.catholicnewsherald.com : Get to know our new priests and deacons

On the Diocese of Charlotte’s YouTube channel View the ordination Masses for both priests and deacons and hear from our newest priests in videos

Deacon Robert Bauman

Meet the new priests

scholarship, where I played as a second baseman for four years.

Age: 31

Home parish: St. Ann in Charlotte

Born and raised in: Wilmington

Interests/hobbies: Hiking, disc golf, running and reading at a local coffee shop

Summer assignments in the diocese: Sacred Heart in Salisbury, Our Lady of Mercy in Winston-Salem and St. Lucien/St. Bernadette Mission (Spruce Pine and Linville)

When did you first realize you had a call to the priesthood? “During an eight-day Ignatian silent retreat.”

What advice do you have for someone thing about the priesthood? “Be patient and unafraid! The Lord has a plan to make you a great saint if you let Him, but you have to let Him work in His timing, not anxiously grasping for an answer whether or not to go to seminary, but rather trusting that the Voice of Peace will guide you in His time and in His way.”

Deacon Michael Camilleri

Age: 26

Home parish: St. Elizabeth in Boone

Born in: Florida

Raised in: North Carolina

Interests/hobbies: Learning languages and calligraphy

Summer assignments: St. Jude in Sapphire, Our Lady of the Mountains in Highlands, St. Gabriel in Charlotte

When did you first realize you had a call to the priesthood? “I first heard the call to the priesthood when I was very young – 3 or 4 years old. My family loves to talk about how I used to ‘play Mass,’ which is actually one of my earliest memories. I lost sight of the vocation in late elementary school until right before high school. I wanted to go into computer science. While preparing to enter high school, by the grace of God, I decided to pursue what He put on my heart from that early age, and I entered the college seminary.”

Deacon Daniel Chaves Peña

Age: 44

Home parish: Immaculate Conception, Hendersonville

Born in: Bogotá, Colombia; moved to New Jersey in 1993

Faith journey: His journey of formation led him to missions in Peru from 2016 to 2018, and then to Rome, where he earned his Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology in 2021. In 2023, Chaves joined the Diocese of Charlotte’s seminary program.

When did you first feel a calling to the priesthood? “When I got to what was going to be my last year of high school, I ran crosscountry and I was doing pretty well. I had many scholarship offers from universities here in the United States, and in the final race of the state championship in New Jersey, I collapsed just before reaching the finish line. They rushed me to the ER, and they told me it was my sugar levels – they were extremely low. That began a crisis not only health-wise, but spiritually. And I wasn’t getting better. I had relapses, so the decision was made for me to return to Colombia with my mom.”

Deacon John Cuppett

Age: 28

Home parish: St. Leo the Great in WinstonSalem

Born in: Cary

Raised in: Four Oaks

Vested by: Father Jose Palma Torres

Interest/hobbies: Sports and the outdoors, including hiking and camping

Summer assignments: Missionary work with the order of Jesus Crucified in Louisiana

When did you first realize you had a call to the priesthood? “During high school I was interested in joining the seminary after I graduated. However, I did very little in pursuing it and soon it faded into the background. From then on and up until college it was a fun idea, but nothing more. After high school I attended Belmont Abbey College on a baseball

“During my time at the Abbey, I met Matthew Harrison, a Charlotte seminarian. I informed him of my past dream of becoming a priest and he invited me to visit St. Joseph College Seminary. I did, and then all my previous desires and hopes for the priesthood came crashing back. I quickly sought help in my discernment with the diocesan Vocations Office. My senior year at the Abbey, I started spiritual direction with Father Brian Becker, the diocese’s promoter of vocations, and he helped me tremendously by answering all my questions, fears and thoughts regarding my vocation. Together we discovered that my call to the priesthood was very real, and he referred me to Father Christopher Gober, diocesan vocations director, to begin the process of applying.”

Deacon Maximilian Frei

Age: 31

Home parish: St. Dorothy in Lincolnton

Born in: Villingen, Germany

Interests/hobbies: Chess, fitness and spiritual reading

Summer assignments: St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte, St. John the Evangelist in Waynesville and St. John the Baptist in Tryon

When did you first realize you had a call to the priesthood? “The first time I can remember when I had a calling was when I was waiting in the confession line as a kid. Many years later in my mid20s, after living a worldly and superficial life, it was Our Lord once more who called me to serve Him as a priest.”

Deacon Juan González Hernández

Age: 35

Home parish: Immaculate Conception in Hendersonville

Raised in: Mexico City

When did you first feel a calling to the priesthood? “It was the day that my brother was ordained a priest in 1997 when I was just about to turn 7 years old. On that day, the light bulb in me lit up and I asked myself, ‘What if I myself become a priest one day, like my brother?’”

What was it like to continue your studies by leaving for Spain? “My brother, a priest, and two of my sisters, who were cloistered nuns, lived there. My brother studied in Spain while in seminary and my sisters were also a part of the institute Obra de Amor, which brought them to Spain. Having them there was helpful, because even though it was a new experience for me, I could be close to my family and learn from them.”

What does it mean to you to be able to serve the Hispanic community? “I have lived in many different places with a variety of cultures. I feel as though I mold well to both communities, the Anglo and Hispanic communities. So the idea that my mentor at Immaculate Conception in Hendersonville, Father Andrés Gutierrez, has mentioned is to create a singular and strong community out of both of those cultures. That way, people do not show divisions but, rather, the Church becomes a place where everyone feels like one community.”

What will it mean for you to become a priest? “It is a radical change in my life, because after this moment I will be a representative of not only the Church, but of Jesus Christ. Of course, the responsibility is much bigger, but I am also conscious that God’s grace, the prayers of the faithful and a spiritual life, help to take charge of that weight.”

Deacon Bryan Ilagor

Age: 30

Home parish: Our Lady of the Americas in Biscoe

Raised in: Zitácuaro, Michoacán, Mexico Interests/hobbies: “Expanding my knowledge of different cultures, such as Japanese, Korean, Filipino and many others; watching TV and movies and a football fan of La Liga, the Premier League and other leagues.” Summer assignments: Immaculate Conception in Hendersonville and St. Francis of Assisi in Lenoir

When did you first realize you had a call to the priesthood? “If I had to decide a moment in my life when I first realized, it was when I was helping my pastor, Father Ricardo Sanchez, to close the church one night. After locking all the doors of the church, turning off all the lights, and making sure no one was left behind, I met with my pastor at the sanctuary to say goodbye. We were the only ones left at the

church, and he asked me a question I have not forgotten: ‘Bryan, do you want to be a priest?’ Before I could respond, he said, ‘Before you answer, look at the Tabernacle; you are not going to answer to me but to God.’ ‘Great,’ I thought to myself. ‘Now, I can’t lie or give an incomplete answer.’ I thought, ‘If this is God’s will, I will give it a shot.’ Shortly after, I told my pastor, ‘Yes.’ This first step was accepting that God called me to enter the seminary.”

Deacon Michael Lugo

Age: 25

Home parish: Immaculate Conception in Forest City

Born in: Kansas

Raised in: Rutherfordton

Interests/hobbies: Running, skiing, euchre, reading and piano

Summer assignments: Holy Cross in Kernersville, St. Lucian and St. Bernadette in Spruce Pine/Linville and St. John the Baptist, Tryon

When did you first realize you had a call to the priesthood? “There were several points growing up that I remember seriously considering it as an option. But I really started taking it seriously during Quo Vadis Days in the summer of 2018. Throughout the course of that week, spending time in prayer and learning about the priesthood, it seemed to me that the priesthood was the summation of everything I wanted out of life, particularly the way in which the life of a priest is completely dedicated to one thing: the service of God.”

Deacon Peter Townsend

Age: 25

Home parish: St. Ann in Charlotte

Born in: Racine, Wisconsin

Raised in: Charlotte

Interests/hobbies: “I enjoy playing guitar in my free time and reading a good novel (right now I’m reading Dostoevsky’s “Brothers Karamozov”). I’ve also found that I enjoy learning languages. Right now, I’m working on Spanish and would like to one day work on French (maybe even Italian and German).”

Summer assignments: “I participated in the St. Joseph Workers’ program where myself and my brother seminarians traveled around the diocese performing different odd jobs like lawn mowing, mulch spreading, painting. After entering theology, I spent my summers at St. John the Baptist Parish in Tryon, St. Mark Parish in Huntersville and Our Lady of Grace Parish in Greensboro.”

When did you first realize you had a call to the priesthood? “I always knew I wanted to be a priest, so I entered St. Joseph College Seminary straight out of high school. I first felt the call to the priesthood when I was about 5 years old, and the feeling never left me. So, when St. Joseph’s opened in 2016, I knew what I had to do.”

Deacon James

Tweed

Age: 31

Home parish: Sacred Heart in Brevard Interests/hobbies? Working out, writing poetry and prose, walking in the woods, oil painting and hosting friends

Who is your favorite saint? “The Blessed Virgin Mary. When I’m with her, I feel very close to Jesus.”

What is your favorite Bible verse? “For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her. For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness” (Wisdom 7:25-26).

What was your journey of discernment like?

“There were moments when I sensed I was set apart for something special, though I couldn’t yet see what that would be. Then came the moment during a Steubenville retreat in Atlanta. I was completely unprepared – the thought had never even entered my mind. I did not want this path, and I could not have imagined choosing it myself. Yet, in that moment, I felt an irresistible movement within my heart. It was as if the Lord spoke my name in a way that embraced my whole being, drawing me with a love both commanding and tender. Almost before I knew it, I stood. In that moment, I understood with clarity and joy that my life belonged to Him.”

Any advice for men considering the priesthood? “The joy, peace and purpose that come from embracing God’s plan for your life far surpass any earthly attachment. Do not be afraid to trust Him, even when the path is unclear. God’s call is a gift.”

Una cultura de aliento

Clase récord de nuevos sacerdotes surge de décadas de cultivo de vocaciones

CHRISTINA LEE KNAUSS clknauss@rcdoc.org

CHARLOTTE — La próxima ordenación de 10 sacerdotes para la Diócesis de Charlotte no solo representa un hito histórico, sino también una señal de un compromiso continuo en toda la diócesis con las vocaciones, que alcanza cada rincón de la experiencia católica, desde la formación en parroquias y escuelas hasta los pasillos del Seminario Universitario San José y los corazones de personas y familias.

La ordenación del 30 de mayo, que será celebrada por el obispo Michael Martin en la Iglesia San Marcos en Huntersville, sigue a las ordenaciones de seis hombres en 2025 y se acerca al récord anterior de siete alcanzado tanto en 2000 como en 2024.

Con solo dos sacerdotes jubilándose este verano, los nuevos ordenandos de este año se unirán a los 145 sacerdotes que actualmente sirven de alguna manera a una población católica que ya supera los 575,000 fieles.

El año récord de ordenaciones fue resultado del crecimiento continuo de las vocaciones impulsado por una mayor conciencia construida durante las últimas décadas, dijo el director de Vocaciones, el padre John Eckert, quien asumió el cargo en julio de 2025, sucediendo al padre Christopher Gober.

“Ciertamente no he tenido mucho tiempo libre desde que asumí este cargo, pero eso ha sido algo muy bueno”, dijo el padre Eckert. “Es emocionante dar la bienvenida a 10 nuevos sacerdotes hermanos, y me ha encantado acompañarlos durante este tiempo de formación.

“Desde que comencé este trabajo, me he dado cuenta de que estoy heredando la buena labor de tantas personas que han construido lo que tenemos en esta diócesis”, dijo. “Somos muy bendecidos porque tenemos un buen ambiente general para las vocaciones, incluyendo parroquias y feligreses que apoyan, párrocos y otros sacerdotes que lideran con el ejemplo, y madres y padres que animan a sus hijos a explorar su vocación en la vida”.

El diácono Juan González Hernández, quien será ordenado el 30 de mayo, dijo que el testimonio de su familia desempeñó un papel decisivo en su vocación. Ver a su hermano celebrar la Misa después de ser ordenado despertó una pregunta en su joven corazón: “¿Y si yo mismo llegara a ser sacerdote algún día, como mi hermano?” Gran parte del crecimiento ha surgido de un compromiso en toda la diócesis para animar a los jóvenes —como el diácono Hernández— a considerar cómo Dios los está llamando, dijo el

padre Eckert. Eso es evidente en el crecimiento de los campamentos de verano vocacionales. Bajo la dirección del padre Gober, se lanzaron dos campamentos vocacionales: “Quo Vadis Days” en 2014 para jóvenes varones y “Duc in Altum” en 2016 para jóvenes mujeres. Los programas han ayudado a miles de adolescentes a explorar posibles vocaciones religiosas mediante la oración, charlas y convivencia. También existe un día de discernimiento para mujeres jóvenes llamado “Talitha Koum”. Todos se llevan a cabo en Belmont Abbey College. Los líderes diocesanos también

destacan el profundo impacto del Seminario Universitario San José en Mount Holly, que abrió en 2016 y fue fundado por el obispo Peter Jugis. Ocho de los ordenandos de este año estudiaron allí antes de avanzar al seminario mayor. Los otros dos vivieron allí durante sus años pastorales sirviendo en una parroquia.

En el seminario universitario, los hombres disciernen el sacerdocio mientras obtienen una licenciatura en el cercano Belmont Abbey College antes de continuar hacia el seminario mayor.

Para el diácono John Cuppett, quien jugó béisbol en Belmont Abbey College, fue en ese

ambiente universitario de apoyo donde sus deseos de infancia por el sacerdocio “regresaron con fuerza”.

“Hace muchos años, al ver la necesidad desesperada de sacerdotes, el obispo Jugis y su clero hicieron del cultivo de vocaciones la máxima prioridad”, dijo el rector del seminario, el padre Matthew Kauth.

“De esta oración sincera surgieron muchos esfuerzos, desde Quo Vadis hasta el Seminario Universitario San José”, dijo el padre Kauth. “Ahora estamos cosechando el fruto de más de 20 años de trabajo. No ocurrió simplemente por casualidad. Dios ha bendecido nuestros esfuerzos y se ha establecido una cultura de vocaciones que está dando frutos cada vez mayores, tal como Cristo dijo que sucedería. Ahora debemos cultivar y cuidar esas vocaciones y dar gracias a Dios”.

El Padre Brian Becker, director de formación del seminario, dijo que ha sido emocionante ver cómo la clase actual ha progresado a lo largo de sus años de formación y afirmó que “es un momento de gran alegría celebrar que han llegado al altar”.

“Es una verdadera inspiración ver a tantos hombres dispuestos a entregar sus vidas por Cristo”, dijo el Padre Becker. “Nos da esperanza a los sacerdotes que hemos estado ejerciendo el ministerio durante algunos años ver a hombres con gran vigor unirse a nuestras filas, y también brinda una gran inspiración a los jóvenes que están considerando hacerse sacerdotes al ver a tantos

hombres responder al llamado”. El diácono James Tweed coincide con sus compañeros ordenandos al decirles a los hombres que podrían estar discerniendo una vocación sacerdotal que acepten ese llamado.

“No tengan miedo de confiar en Él, incluso cuando el camino no esté claro. El llamado de Dios es un regalo”, dijo.

Mientras la diócesis avanza hacia el futuro, el padre Eckert exhorta a todos los fieles a no conformarse con este récord, sino a seguir fomentando las vocaciones.

“El impulso que hemos tenido necesita continuar, y es importante que nunca demos por sentado el don de la fe”, dijo. “Estamos viviendo un momento emocionante ahora mismo, con noticias como la incorporación de una nueva parroquia en Waxhaw, pero debemos asegurarnos de no dar eso por sentado. La gente necesita seguir comprometida en amar a sus parroquias y compartir el amor de Jesús. Cuando todos vivimos de esa manera, eso anima a jóvenes hombres y mujeres a querer participar también en ello”. — Kimberly Bender contribuyó.

Más online

En catholicnewsherald.com : Conozca a nuestros nuevos sacerdotes y diáconos.

En el canal de YouTube de la Diocese of Charlotte : Vea las misas de ordenación tanto de sacerdotes como de diáconos y escuche a nuestros sacerdotes más recientes en videos.

Diácono Robert Bauman

Conozca a los nuevos sacerdotes

Edad: 31

Parroquia de origen: St. Ann en Charlotte Nació y creció en: Wilmington

Intereses/pasatiempos: Senderismo, disc golf, correr y leer en una cafetería local Asignaciones de verano: Sacred Heart en Salisbury, Our Lady of Mercy en Winston-Salem y St. Lucien / St. Bernadette Mission en Spruce Pine / Linville.

¿Cuándo se dio cuenta por primera vez de que tenía un llamado al sacerdocio?

“Durante un retiro ignaciano de silencio de ocho días.”

Diácono Michael Camilleri

Edad: 26

Parroquia de origen: St. Elizabeth en Boone

Nació en: Florida

Creció en: Carolina del Norte

Intereses/pasatiempos: Aprender idiomas y caligrafía

Asignaciones de verano: St. Jude en Sapphire, Our Lady of the Mountains en Highlands, St. Gabriel en Charlotte ¿Cuándo se dio cuenta por primera vez de que tenía un llamado al sacerdocio?

“Escuché por primera vez el llamado al sacerdocio cuando era muy pequeño, a los 3 o 4 años. A mi familia le encanta hablar de cómo yo solía ‘jugar a la misa’, lo cual es en realidad uno de mis primeros recuerdos. Perdí de vista la vocación al final de la primaria hasta justo antes de la secundaria. Quería dedicarme a la informática.

“Mientras me preparaba para entrar a la secundaria, por la gracia de Dios decidí seguir lo que Él había puesto en mi corazón desde aquella temprana edad, y entré al seminario universitario.”

Diácono Daniel Chaves Peña

Edad: 44

Parroquia de origen: Immaculate

Conception, Hendersonville Nació en: Bogotá, Colombia; se mudó a Nueva Jersey en 1993.

Camino de fe: Su proceso de formación lo llevó a misiones en Perú de 2016 a 2018, y luego a Roma, donde obtuvo su Bachillerato en Sagrada Teología en 2021. En 2023, Chaves se unió al programa de seminario de la Diócesis de Charlotte.

¿Cuándo sintió por primera vez el llamado al sacerdocio?

“Cuando llegué al que iba a ser mi último año de secundaria, corría campo traviesa y me estaba yendo bastante bien. Tenía muchas ofertas de becas de universidades aquí en los Estados Unidos y, en la carrera final del campeonato estatal en Nueva Jersey, me desplomé justo antes de cruzar la meta. Me llevaron de emergencia al hospital y me dijeron que era por mis niveles de azúcar: estaban extremadamente bajos. Eso inició una crisis no solo de salud, sino también espiritual. Y no mejoraba. Tuve recaídas, así que se tomó la decisión de que regresara a Colombia con mi mamá.”

Diácono John Cuppett

Edad: 28

Parroquia de origen: St. Leo the Great en Winston-Salem

Nació en: Cary

Creció en: Four Oaks

Revestido por: Padre José Palma Torres

Intereses/pasatiempos: Deportes y actividades al aire libre, incluyendo senderismo y campamento

Asignaciones de verano: Trabajo misionero con la orden de Jesús Crucificado en Luisiana ¿Cuándo se dio cuenta por primera vez de que tenía un llamado al sacerdocio?

Cuppett jugó béisbol en Belmont Abbey College y clarificó el llamado mientras estaba en la universidad.

“Durante la secundaria estaba interesado en entrar al seminario después de graduarme; sin embargo, hice muy poco para perseguirlo y pronto quedó en el olvido. Desde entonces y hasta la universidad era una idea agradable, pero nada más. Después de la secundaria asistí a Belmont Abbey College con una beca de béisbol, donde jugué como segunda base durante cuatro años.

“Durante mi tiempo en la Abbey conocí a Matthew Harrison, un seminarista de Charlotte. Le conté sobre mi antiguo sueño de convertirme en sacerdote y me invitó a visitar el Seminario Universitario St. Joseph. Lo hice, y entonces todos mis deseos y esperanzas anteriores sobre el sacerdocio regresaron con fuerza. Rápidamente busqué ayuda para mi discernimiento en la Oficina Diocesana de Vocaciones. En mi último año en la Abbey, comencé dirección espiritual con el Padre Brian Becker, promotor de vocaciones de la diócesis, y él me ayudó muchísimo respondiendo todas mis preguntas, temores y pensamientos respecto a mi vocación. Juntos descubrimos que mi llamado al sacerdocio era muy real, y él me remitió al Padre Christopher Gober, director diocesano de vocaciones, para comenzar el proceso de solicitud.”

Diácono Maximilian Frei

Edad: 31

Parroquia de origen: St. Dorothy en Lincolnton

Nació en: Villingen, Alemania Intereses/pasatiempos: Ajedrez, acondicionamiento físico y lectura espiritual

Asignaciones de verano: St. Patrick Cathedral en Charlotte, St. John Church en Waynesville y St. John the Baptist en Tryon ¿Cuándo se dio cuenta por primera vez de que tenía un llamado al sacerdocio? “La primera vez que recuerdo haber sentido un llamado fue cuando esperaba en la fila para la confesión siendo niño. Muchos años después, ya en mis veintitantos, después de vivir una vida mundana y superficial, fue Nuestro Señor una vez más quien me llamó a servirle como sacerdote.”

Diácono Juan González Hernández

Edad: 35

Parroquia de origen: Immaculate

Conception en Hendersonville

Creció en: Ciudad de México ¿Cuándo sintió por primera vez el llamado al sacerdocio? “Fue el día en que mi hermano fue ordenado sacerdote en 1997, cuando yo estaba a punto de cumplir 7 años. Ese día se encendió una luz dentro de mí y me pregunté:

‘¿Y si algún día yo también me convierto en sacerdote, como mi hermano?’”

¿Cómo fue continuar sus estudios al irse a España? “Allí vivían mi hermano sacerdote y dos de mis hermanas, que eran monjas de clausura. Mi hermano estudió en España mientras estaba en el seminario y mis hermanas también formaban parte del instituto Obra de Amor, lo que las llevó a España.

“Tenerlos allí fue de ayuda porque, aunque era una experiencia nueva para mí, podía estar cerca de mi familia y aprender de ellos.”

¿Qué significa para usted poder servir a la comunidad hispana? “He vivido en muchos lugares diferentes con una variedad de culturas. Siento que me adapto bien tanto a la comunidad anglo como a la hispana. Así que la idea que ha mencionado mi mentor en Immaculate Conception en Hendersonville, el Padre Andrés Gutiérrez, es crear una comunidad única y fuerte a partir de ambas culturas. De esa manera, las personas no muestran divisiones, sino que la Iglesia se convierte en un lugar donde todos se sienten parte de una sola comunidad.”

¿Qué significará para usted convertirse en sacerdote? “Es un cambio radical en mi vida, porque después de este momento seré representante no solo de la Iglesia, sino de Jesucristo. Por supuesto, la responsabilidad es mucho mayor, pero también soy consciente de que la gracia de Dios, las oraciones de los fieles y una vida espiritual ayudan a llevar ese peso.”

Diácono Bryan Ilagor

Edad: 30

Parroquia de origen: Our Lady of the Americas en Biscoe

Creció en: Zitácuaro, Michoacán, México Intereses/pasatiempos: “Expandir mi conocimiento de diferentes culturas, como la japonesa, coreana, filipina y muchas otras; ver televisión y películas y ser aficionado al fútbol de La Liga, la Premier League y otras ligas.”

Asignaciones de verano: Immaculate

Conception en Hendersonville y St. Francis of Assisi en Lenoir

¿Cuándo se dio cuenta por primera vez de que tenía un llamado al sacerdocio? “Si tuviera que decidir un momento en mi vida en que me di cuenta por primera vez, fue cuando estaba ayudando a mi párroco Ricardo Sánchez a cerrar la iglesia una

noche. Después de cerrar todas las puertas de la iglesia, apagar todas las luces y asegurarse de que nadie quedara dentro, me reuní con mi párroco en el santuario para despedirme. Éramos los únicos que quedábamos en la iglesia, y él me hizo una pregunta que nunca he olvidado. ‘Bryan, ¿quieres ser sacerdote?’ Antes de que pudiera responder, dijo: ‘Antes de responder, mira el Sagrario; no me vas a responder a mí sino a Dios.’ Genial, pensé para mí mismo. Ahora no puedo mentir ni dar una respuesta incompleta. Pensé: ‘Si esta es la voluntad de Dios, lo intentaré.’ Poco después, le dije a mi párroco: ‘Sí.’ Este primer ‘paso’ fue aceptar que Dios me llamaba a entrar al seminario.”

Diácono Michael Lugo

Edad: 25

Parroquia de origen: Immaculate Conception en Forest City

Nació en: Kansas

Creció en: Rutherfordton

Intereses/pasatiempos: Correr, esquiar, euchre, leer y tocar piano

Asignaciones de verano: Holy Cross en Kernersville, St. Lucian and St. Bernadette en Spruce Pine/Linville y St. John the Baptist en Tryon

¿Cuándo se dio cuenta por primera vez de que tenía un llamado al sacerdocio? “Hubo varios momentos mientras crecía en los que recuerdo considerar seriamente esta posibilidad. Pero realmente empecé a tomarlo en serio durante los Quo Vadis Days en el verano de 2018. A lo largo de esa semana, pasando tiempo en oración y aprendiendo sobre el sacerdocio, me pareció que el sacerdocio era la culminación de todo lo que quería en la vida, particularmente la manera en que la vida de un sacerdote está completamente dedicada a una sola cosa: el servicio a Dios.”

Diácono Peter Townsend

Edad: 25

Parroquia de origen: St. Ann en Charlotte

Nació en: Racine, Wisconsin

Creció en: Charlotte

Intereses/pasatiempos: “Disfruto tocar guitarra en mi tiempo libre y leer una buena novela (ahora mismo estoy leyendo Los hermanos Karamázov de Dostoyevski). También he descubierto que disfruto aprender idiomas. En este momento estoy trabajando en mi español y me gustaría algún día aprender francés (¡quizás incluso italiano y alemán!).”

Asignaciones de verano: “Participé en el programa St. Joseph Workers, donde mis compañeros seminaristas y yo viajábamos por la diócesis realizando distintos trabajos como cortar césped, esparcir mantillo y pintar. Después de entrar en teología, pasé mis veranos en la parroquia St. John the Baptist en Tryon, St. Mark Parish en Huntersville y Our Lady of Grace Parish en Greensboro.” ¿Cuándo se dio cuenta por primera vez de que tenía un llamado al sacerdocio? “Siempre supe que quería ser sacerdote, así que entré al Seminario Universitario St. Joseph justo después de la secundaria.

“Sentí por primera vez el llamado al sacerdocio cuando tenía unos cinco años, y ese sentimiento nunca me abandonó. Así que, cuando St. Joseph’s abrió en 2016, supe lo que tenía que hacer.”

Diácono James Tweed

Edad: 31

Parroquia de origen: Sacred Heart en Brevard

¿Cuáles son sus pasatiempos? Entrenar, escribir poesía y prosa, caminar por el bosque, pintar al óleo y recibir amigos.

¿Quién es su santo favorito? “La Santísima Virgen María. Cuando estoy con ella, me siento muy cerca de Jesús.”

¿Cuál es su versículo bíblico favorito?

“Porque ella es un soplo del poder de Dios y una pura emanación de la gloria del Omnipotente; por eso nada manchado entra en ella. Porque es reflejo de la luz eterna, espejo sin mancha de la actividad de Dios e imagen de su bondad” (Sabiduría 7:25-26).

¿Cómo fue su camino de discernimiento? “Hubo momentos en los que sentía que estaba apartado para algo especial, aunque todavía no podía ver qué sería. Luego llegó el momento durante el retiro Steubenville en Atlanta. Estaba completamente desprevenido: la idea ni siquiera había cruzado por mi mente. Yo no quería este camino y no podía imaginar elegirlo por mí mismo. Sin embargo, en ese momento sentí un movimiento irresistible dentro de mi corazón.

Bishop Martin tells deacons to reach a higher level of service to others by ‘dying to themselves’

LISA M. GERACI lmgeraci@rcdoc.org

HUNTERSVILLE

— On Pentecost weekend, despite the rain, sunshine streamed through stained-glass to spotlight the four seminarians as they were ordained as transitional deacons at St. Mark Church in Huntersville, taking them one step closer to priesthood.

Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv., celebrated the May 23 bilingual ordination Mass, where more than 700 family members and friends gathered. A long line of clergy processed into the crowded church, while the Perpetual Hope Gospel Choir from Our Lady of Consolation Church in Charlotte and the choirs of St. Patrick Cathedral and St. Mark Parish hit the high notes as they sang “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven.”

LIVES OF SACRIFICE

After the Gospel reading, the four seminarians, James Johnson IV from Our Lady of Consolation and Bradley Loftin, Patrick Martin and Connor White, all of whom had attended St. Mark Parish since childhood, were presented to the bishop by Vocations Director Father John Eckert.

Johnson is one of an estimated nine Black Catholics to be ordained nationally this year, according to Black Catholic Messenger.

Bishop Martin’s message to the newly ordained deacons was simple but challenging: to get on “God’s level” – to truly serve – one must die to themselves.

“The four of you have to allow your lives to speak to all

of us who need to appreciate a different level so that we can understand what God is talking about,” the bishop told them. “Your lives need to be so compelling that the world comes to understand that other level.”

The four men knelt before the bishop, placing their hands in his and vowing respect and obedience, while the congregation experienced glimpses of that higher level radiating from the faithful young men who committed themselves to lives of humility and charity.

STEPPING IN TO HELP

During his homily, Bishop Martin compared the duties of a deacon to a Swiss Army knife – stepping in to help wherever needed.

The men promised to go forth and proclaim the Gospel at Mass, preach homilies, prepare the altar for the Eucharist, distribute Holy Communion, bring Viaticum to the dying, and officiate at baptisms, weddings and funerals.

The four seminarians then prostrated themselves face down on the floor during the Litany of Supplication, offering their entire lives to God.

Bishop Martin laid his hands upon the men, saying the prayer of ordination and invoking the Holy Spirit while passing down spiritual authority and the grace of office.

The newly ordained deacons then entrusted mentor clergy to cover their albs with new vestments symbolizing

DEACONS

their new positions. Deacon Martin had his father, Deacon Tom Martin, secure the stole over his left shoulder, while Deacon Johnson had his mentor, 88-year-old retired Deacon Curtiss Todd, dress him with the wide-sleeved dalmatic, which will be worn during liturgies. Soon-to-bepriests Deacon John Cuppett and Deacon Bryan Ilagor vested Deacon White and Deacon Loftin.

BELIEVE, TEACH, PRACTICE

Donned in their new vestments, the deacons knelt before the bishop, for the third and last time, receiving the Book of the Gospels.

“Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach,” the bishop instructed each one.

With more than 40 priests and deacons present, the bond of brotherhood was palpable as clergy members shook the hands of the new deacons, welcoming them with the Kiss of Peace.

Afterward, Deacon Tom Martin shared that vesting his son Patrick was an emotional moment: “It was a true honor when I was vested almost five years ago, but to do it for my own

it was even

more so. When I was vesting him, I told him that his grandfather would be very proud of him, and then I cried. My dad was a deacon as well, so he is a third-generation deacon.”

DEACONS

was a child.

“I always knew when he was a little boy that he was going to become a priest,” Gellineau said. “It was just something about him. I knew, and he is on his way there.”

PLANTING SEEDS

Dr. Carl Semmler, president of Christ the King High School, sat in the back of the church, smiling as he watched two of his former students graduate to the next level spiritually.

“I do think family, friends, parents and teachers of each of them have worked so hard for so many years to plant seeds,” Semmler said. “It is great to see that the Holy Spirit watered that vocation and these young men responded generously. It is a blessing and a fulfillment of the good work that God began in them.”

The newly ordained are called “transitional” deacons instead of “permanent” deacons, a distinction that reflects their intent to serve a year in pastoral, liturgical and educational preparation before being ordained into the priesthood. Deacon is the first of three ranks of holy orders; the other two are priest and bishop.

As the men embarked on the next step in their journey toward priesthood, Bishop Martin congratulated them.

“I am so excited for who you are and who you will be as deacons and future priests,” he said. “You’re helping us to see another way. Know that we are with you in your self-denial for the sake of the Kingdom. We are with you in your dying to yourselves, and we look forward to the tremendous fruit that God will bring forth from your sacrifice because, as Jesus tells us, that’s how we see Him.”

El obispo Martin les dice a los diáconos que alcancen un nivel más alto de servicio a los demás “muriendo a sí mismos”

LISA M. GERACI lmgeraci@rcdoc.org

HUNTERSVILLE

— Este fin de semana de Pentecostés, la lluvia no pudo impedir que los rayos del Espíritu Santo penetraran las ventanas de vitrales y descansaran sobre los cuatro seminaristas ordenados diáconos transitorios en la Iglesia St. Mark en Huntersville, acercándolos un paso más al sacerdocio.

El obispo Michael Martin, OFM Conv., presidió la Misa bilingüe de ordenación el 23 de mayo, donde se reunieron más de 700 familiares y amigos. Una larga fila de miembros del clero entró en procesión a la iglesia llena, mientras el Coro Góspel Perpetual Hope de la Iglesia Our Lady of Consolation en Charlotte y los coros de la Catedral St. Patrick y de St. Mark alcanzaban notas altas al cantar “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven”. Después de la lectura del Evangelio, los cuatro seminaristas – James Johnson IV de Our Lady of Consolation y Bradley Loftin, Patrick Martin y Connor White, quienes asistieron a la parroquia St. Mark desde

la infancia – fueron presentados al obispo por el director de vocaciones, el padre John Eckert. Johnson es uno de aproximadamente nueve católicos afroamericanos que serán ordenados este año a nivel nacional, según Black Catholic Messenger.

El mensaje de Pentecostés del obispo Martin para los nuevos diáconos fue simple pero difícil: para alcanzar el “nivel de Dios” – para servir verdaderamente – uno debe morir a sí mismo.

“Los cuatro tienen que permitir que sus vidas hablen a todos nosotros que necesitamos apreciar un nivel diferente para poder entender de qué está hablando Dios”, dijo el obispo. “Sus vidas deben ser tan convincentes que el mundo llegue a comprender ese otro nivel”.

Los cuatro hombres se arrodillaron ante el obispo, colocando sus manos entre las de él y prometiendo respeto y obediencia, mientras la congregación experimentaba destellos de ese nivel superior que irradiaban de los fieles jóvenes comprometidos con vidas de humildad y caridad.

AYUDANDO DONDE SEA NECESARIO

Durante su homilía, el obispo Martin comparó las funciones de un diácono con una navaja suiza: alguien que interviene para ayudar donde sea necesario.

Más tarde prometieron salir a proclamar el Evangelio en la Misa, predicar homilías, preparar el altar para la Eucaristía, distribuir la Sagrada Comunión, llevar el Viático a los moribundos y oficiar bautizos, bodas y funerales. Luego, los cuatro seminaristas se postraron boca abajo en el suelo durante la Letanía de Súplicas, ofreciendo sus vidas

DIÁCONOS, PASA A LA PÁGINA 10B

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VIENE DE LA PÁGINA 9B

enteras a Dios.

El obispo Martin impuso las manos sobre ellos, pronunciando la oración de ordenación e invocando al Espíritu Santo mientras transmitía autoridad espiritual y la gracia del ministerio.

Los nuevos diáconos luego encomendaron a clérigos mentores cubrir sus albas con nuevas vestiduras que simbolizaban sus nuevos cargos. El diácono Martin hizo que su padre, el diácono Tom Martin, colocara la estola sobre su hombro izquierdo, mientras que el diácono Johnson pidió a su mentor, el diácono retirado Curtiss Todd, de 88 años, que lo revistiera con la dalmática de mangas anchas que usará durante las liturgias. Los futuros sacerdotes diácono John Cuppett y diácono Bryan Ilagor vistieron al diácono White y al diácono Loftin.

CREER, ENSEÑAR, PRACTICAR

Vestidos con sus nuevas vestiduras, los diáconos se arrodillaron ante el obispo por tercera y última vez para recibir el Libro de los Evangelios. “Crean lo que leen, enseñen lo que creen y practiquen lo que enseñan”, ordenó el obispo a cada uno.

Con más de 40 sacerdotes y diáconos

(De izquierda a derecha) La congregación aplaude a los diáconos recién ordenados. El diácono Connor White y el diácono Bradley Loftin distribuyen la Sagrada Comunión a una iglesia que estaba llena de más de 700 feligreses.

presentes, el vínculo de hermandad era palpable mientras los miembros del clero estrechaban las manos de los nuevos diáconos, dándoles la bienvenida con el Beso de la Paz.

Después, el diácono Tom Martin compartió que vestir a su hijo Patrick fue un momento emotivo: “Fue un verdadero honor cuando fui revestido hace casi cinco años, pero hacerlo por mi propio hijo fue aún más especial. Mientras lo vestía, le dije que su abuelo estaría muy orgulloso de él, y entonces lloré. Mi padre también fue

diácono, así que él es un diácono de tercera generación”.

Regina Gellineau, miembro de larga trayectoria de Our Lady of Consolation, ha observado y rezado por el diácono Johnson desde que era niño.

“Siempre supe, desde que era un niño pequeño, que iba a convertirse en sacerdote”, dijo Gellineau. “Había algo especial en él. Yo lo sabía, y va camino a lograrlo”.

El Dr. Carl Semmler, presidente de Christ the King High School, estaba sentado al

fondo de la iglesia sonriendo mientras veía a dos de sus antiguos alumnos avanzar espiritualmente al siguiente nivel. “Creo que la familia, los amigos, los padres y los maestros de cada uno de ellos han trabajado muy duro durante muchos años para sembrar semillas”, dijo Semmler. “Es maravilloso ver que el Espíritu Santo regó esa vocación y que estos jóvenes respondieron generosamente. Es una bendición y la realización de la buena obra

PASA A LA PÁGINA 11B

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que Dios comenzó en ellos”.

A los recién ordenados se les llama diáconos “transitorios” en lugar de diáconos “permanentes”, una distinción que refleja su intención de servir un año en preparación pastoral, litúrgica y educativa antes de ser ordenados sacerdotes. El diaconado es el primero de los tres grados del orden sagrado; los otros dos son el sacerdocio y el episcopado. Mientras los hombres daban el siguiente paso en su camino hacia el sacerdocio, el obispo Martin los felicitó.

“Estoy muy emocionado por quienes son y por quienes serán como diáconos y futuros sacerdotes”, dijo. “Nos están ayudando a ver otro camino. Sepan que estamos con ustedes en su negación de sí mismos por el bien del Reino. Estamos con ustedes en su morir a sí mismos, y esperamos con ilusión el inmenso fruto que Dios hará surgir de su sacrificio porque, como nos dice Jesús, así es como lo vemos a Él”.

Deacon James Johnson

Age: 26

Home parish: Our Lady of Consolation in Charlotte

Favorite saints: Venerable Augustus Tolton and St. Joseph

Favorite prayer: Litany of Humility, which trains the heart to desire to do the will of God for His glory rather than my own

Hobbies: Traveling and learning about new cultures

What is one of the biggest lessons you’ve learned about the faith as a seminarian?

“I’ve learned about the true universality of the Church, something I’d never really thought about until seminary. Before that, I went to Our Lady of Consolation and that is how I saw the Church for many, many years. Since coming to seminary, I’ve visited all sorts of different parishes, seeing the spirituality and the charisms that they have. That has helped me understand we’re not a uniform Church. There’s a diversity in ways of showing our faith, which is a beautiful thing.”

Deacon Bradley Loftin

Age: 26

Home parish: St. Mark, Huntersville

School: St. Mark Elementary, Christ the King High School, St. Joseph College Seminary

Status: Started Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Cincinnati, August 2022

Hobbies: Golf, fishing, cooking, coaching football and tutoring

Favorite saints: Mary, St. Joseph the Carpenter and St. Philip Neri

Meet the new deacons

Age: 25

Home parish: St. Mark, Huntersville

Schooling: Home-schooled, St. Joseph College Seminary, Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Cincinnati

Hobbies: “I’m really big into athletics. I grew up playing soccer and swimming and still like to play soccer in seminary. I spend time playing with my brother seminarians, and we have a makeshift team. I’ve also gotten into weight lifting and in recent years got into marathon running – I started that my first year here in Ohio. I train with fellow seminarian Connor White, who is an avid runner. The training is a great way to let our brains reset. It helps me to regulate and re-engage. Every spring I’ve been running a marathon called the Flying Pig here in Cincinnati, which takes its name from the city’s history as a leader in the pork industry.”

Who is your favorite saint? “The saint I hold most dear is St. John the Evangelist – I have a statue on my desk of him looking at me right now. I chose him as my confirmation saint, and he’s been my go-to saint on multiple levels since then. I’m the middle child of my family and the youngest boy, and seeing John the Evangelist, John the Beloved, as the youngest of the apostles was impactful to me, because as the youngest boy I felt some competition growing up. I saw that John was the youngest but was also impactful. He has a special relationship with Christ, a closeness to our Lord, and was particularly there with Him during the Passion. He was the one who helped Our Lady through the Passion.”

Deacon Connor White Age: 26

Home parish: St. Mark, Huntersville Colleges: Elon University and St. Joseph College Seminary

Degrees: Philosophy and Latin

Theology: Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and School of Theology (Athenaeum of Ohio)

Summer assignments: Holy Cross (Kernersville), St. Margaret Mary (Swannanoa) and St. Francis of Assisi/St. Frances of Rome (Jefferson and Sparta).

What are some of your hobbies? I love running and playing golf with family and friends. I also enjoy reading, cooking with friends and making coffee/espresso-based drinks.

When did you first realize you had a call to the priesthood? “I first began discerning a call to the priesthood during my confirmation retreat around the beginning of high school.”

Why did you decide to become a priest in the Diocese of Charlotte? “I was born and raised in the Charlotte area, so this diocese is home. I received the sacraments here and attended Catholic school (K-12) at St. Mark and Christ the King. I feel called to minister to this diocese, as this is where my faith has been cultivated and vocation fostered.”

Do you feel a special devotion to any saints? “My closest saint-friends are St. Elizabeth of the Trinity and St. Therese of Lisieux. They both have taught me how to pray and charitably live with others. St. Elizabeth emphasizes the Divine Indwelling (the Holy Trinity residing within the soul of a baptized person), something I was immediately drawn to. I also have devotions to other priest-saints: St. Thomas Becket, St. John Fisher and St. Pius X.”

More online

At www.catholicnewsherald.com : Read more about each of the four deacons

Conozcan a los nuevos diáconos

Diácono James Johnson

Edad: 26 años

Parroquia de origen: Nuestra Señora de la Consolación en Charlotte Santos favoritos: el Venerable Augustus Tolton y San José

Oración favorita: La Letanía de la Humildad, que entrena el corazón para desear hacer la voluntad de Dios para Su gloria y no para la mía propia

Pasatiempos: Viajar y aprender sobre nuevas culturas

¿Cuál es una de las lecciones más importantes que has aprendido sobre la fe como seminarista? “He aprendido sobre la verdadera universalidad de la Iglesia, algo en lo que nunca había pensado realmente hasta el seminario. Antes de eso, iba a Nuestra Señora de la Consolación y así veía la Iglesia durante muchos, muchos años. Desde que llegué al seminario, he visitado todo tipo de parroquias diferentes, viendo la espiritualidad y los carismas que tienen. Eso me ha ayudado a entender que no somos una Iglesia uniforme. Hay diversidad en las maneras de mostrar nuestra fe, y eso es algo hermoso.”

Diácono Bradley Loftin

Edad: 26 años

Parroquia de origen: San Marcos, Huntersville

Escuelas: Escuela Primaria San Marcos, Christ the King Catholic School, Seminario San José

Estado: Comenzó en el Seminario Mount St. Mary’s, Cincinnati, en agosto de 2022

Pasatiempos: Golf, pesca, cocina, entrenar fútbol americano y dar tutorías

Santos favoritos: María, San José Obrero y San Felipe Neri

Inspirado por: Padre John Putnam y Padre Paul McNulty

Diácono Patrick Martin

Edad: 25 años

Parroquia de origen: San Marcos, Huntersville

Educación: Educación en casa, Seminario San José, Seminario Mount St. Mary’s, Cincinnati Pasatiempos: “Me gustan mucho los deportes. Crecí jugando fútbol y nadando, y todavía me gusta jugar fútbol en el seminario. Paso tiempo jugando con mis compañeros seminaristas, y tenemos un equipo improvisado. También me he interesado en el levantamiento de pesas y, en los últimos años, en correr maratones; comencé con eso en mi primer año aquí en Ohio. Entreno con el compañero seminarista Connor White, quien es un corredor apasionado. El entrenamiento es una gran manera de despejar la mente. Me ayuda a regularme y volver a enfocarme. Cada primavera he corrido un maratón llamado Flying Pig aquí

en Cincinnati, que toma su nombre de la historia de la ciudad como líder en la industria porcina.” ¿Quién es tu santo favorito? “El santo que más aprecio es San Juan Evangelista; tengo una estatua de él en mi escritorio mirándome ahora mismo. Lo escogí como mi santo de confirmación y desde entonces ha sido mi santo de referencia en muchos niveles. Soy el hijo del medio de mi familia y el menor de los varones, y ver a Juan Evangelista, Juan el Amado, como el más joven de los apóstoles fue impactante para mí, porque como el menor de los hijos varones sentía cierta competencia al crecer. Vi que Juan era el más joven pero también tuvo un gran impacto. Tiene una relación especial con Cristo, una cercanía con Nuestro Señor, y estuvo especialmente presente con Él durante la Pasión. Fue quien ayudó a Nuestra Señora durante la Pasión.”

Diácono Connor White

Edad: 26 años

Parroquia de origen: San Marcos, Huntersville

Universidades: Universidad Elon y Seminario

Universitario San José

Títulos: Filosofía y Latín

Teología: Seminario y Escuela de Teología Mount St. Mary’s (Athenaeum of Ohio)

Asignaciones de verano: Holy Cross (Kernersville), St. Margaret Mary (Swannanoa) y St. Francis of Assisi/St. Frances of Rome (Jefferson y Sparta)

¿Cuáles son algunos de tus pasatiempos? Me encanta correr y jugar golf con familiares y amigos. También disfruto leer, cocinar con amigos y preparar café y bebidas a base de espresso.

¿Cuándo te diste cuenta por primera vez de que tenías un llamado al sacerdocio? Comencé a discernir un llamado al sacerdocio durante mi retiro de confirmación, al inicio de la preparatoria.

¿Por qué decidiste convertirte en sacerdote en la Diócesis de Charlotte? Nací y crecí en el área de Charlotte, así que esta diócesis es mi hogar. Aquí recibí los sacramentos y asistí a la escuela católica (K-12) en San Marcos y Christ the King. Me siento llamado a servir en esta diócesis, ya que aquí se cultivó mi fe y se fomentó mi vocación.

¿Sientes una devoción especial por algunos santos? Mis santos amigos más cercanos son Santa Isabel de la Trinidad y Santa Teresita de Lisieux. Ambas me han enseñado cómo orar y vivir caritativamente con los demás. Santa Isabel enfatiza la Morada Divina (la Santísima Trinidad habitando en el alma de una persona bautizada), algo que me atrajo inmediatamente. También tengo devoción a otros santos sacerdotes: Santo Tomás Becket, San Juan Fisher y San Pío X. Más online En www.catholicnewsherald.com:

Holy orders

Rejoicing with the newly ordained priests and deacons of the Diocese of Charlotte.

Once Altar Servers at St. Mark

Three parishioners now ordained deacons preparing for the priesthood.

Congratulations To our Newly Ordained Priests

Thank you for your witness, your sacrifice, and your yes to Christ and His Church.

Celebrating 5 years of Ordained Ministry

Vocations grow in the life of the Church through families, friendship, prayer, and the encouragement of faithful parishioners.

We rejoice with all those ordained for the Diocese of Charlotte and with the men of St. Mark continuing to answer Christ’s call. Thank you to the many parishioners who support seminarians, priests, and deacons through their prayers, encouragement, and generosity.

Please continue to pray for vocations and for all those called to Holy Orders.

From public service to parish service: Deacon Melton celebrates five years

COURTNEY MCLAUGHLIN catholicnews@rcdoc.org

GASTONIA — One of the first things you notice about Deacon Bill Melton is his sense of humor. He laughs that there are “a lot of Deacon Bills in the diocese,” which is why most people simply call him Deacon Melton.

He jokes that he “can’t resist a uniform,” and has the career path to prove it. From EMT to volunteer firefighter, police officer, private investigator, Methodist minister and now a deacon serving St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Gastonia, helping others in times of crisis has always been central to his life.

William S. Melton Jr. was born in Charlotte on April 23, 1966, and raised in Mount Holly in the United Methodist Church. He attended Sacred Heart Grade School in Belmont, which was established by the Sisters of Mercy. That early encounter changed his path.

“I didn’t know what Catholics were, but I was impressed by the Mass,” he recalls.

During his teenage years, he remained active in the Methodist Church while also serving as a volunteer firefighter with the East Gaston Volunteer Fire Department and as an EMT with the Mount Holly Lifesaving Crew.

He headed to Belmont Abbey College after high school and discerned a calling to become a United Methodist minister, eventually being assigned to two small churches in Union County. “During that time, I quickly realized that wasn’t what I was being called to do,” he says. “I was better suited to become a police officer.”

Three days after college graduation, he joined Mecklenburg County Police, which later merged with Charlotte Police to form what is now the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

His winding career path continued with the Gaston County Police Department, where he rose to the rank of captain. He later became a licensed private investigator before returning to Belmont Abbey College as director of campus safety and emergency management for 18 months.

He married his wife, Laurie, in December 1990. The couple later welcomed two children, Jacob and Kathleen.

Deacon Melton says he first felt an “inkling” that he was being called to serve faith soon after his conversion to

Catholicism in 1994. His wife converted a few years later.

He read “The Faith Explained” by Father Leo Trese and other spiritual writings in an effort to better understand where God was leading him.

He began lay ministry training, and after a few stops and starts, entered the discernment process in earnest. “The Holy Spirit operates in Its own time,” he says.

He likens discernment to a sea voyage. “I was like a ship at sea with all sails up, and the Holy Spirit was guiding the ship,” he says. “Then there comes a point where you can take the helm.”

‘I didn’t know what Catholics were, but I was impressed by the Mass.’

Deacon Bill Melton

Deacon Melton was ordained on Sept. 25, 2021. “That was the COVID class,” he chuckles.

As a deacon, he goes wherever he is needed. “I don’t have a will in the parish,” he explains. “I try to help wherever the pastor needs.”

That includes assisting with Mass and being on-site in emergency situations or other crises. “I call it a uniform presence – talking to people and reassuring them, no matter what happens, God is always there.”

Deacon Melton is still an active as a firefighter/EMT with the East Gaston Volunteer Fire Department and as a police chaplain with the Gaston County Police Department, and he teaches incident response curriculum to responders.

The situational awareness skills he developed in public safety, he says, now help him anticipate needs and support pastors in ways that extend beyond the visible work of ministry.

“We see the world from where we sit,” he says. “Those experiences help give the pastor a kind of peripheral vision.”

Woodard Luxury Travel

Danube River Cruise – April 2027

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Prayerful best wishes on the occasion of your ordination to the Holy Priesthood

“If some of you hear the call to follow Christ more closely, to dedicate your entire heart to Him, like the Apostles John and Paul...

...because you have nothing to fear when the prize that you await is God Himself, for Whom, sometimes without ever knowing it, all young people are searching.” be generous, do not be afraid,

- Saint John Paul II

Office of Vocations | Diocese of Charlotte

Very Rev. John J. Eckert, V.F. Director of Vocations (704) 370-3353

1123 South Church Street Charlotte, NC 28203-4003 vocationsmail@rcdoc.org

vocationsmail@charlottediocese.org

Celebrating our 2026

10 YEARS

Father Diógenes D. Araúz González, CM

Father Cory Catron

Father Michael S. Debesay

Father David McCanless

DEACONS

Deacon

Deacon

Deacon

15 YEARS

30 YEARS

Father Innocent C. Amasiorah

Father Fidel Melo

Deacon Larry Lisk

Deacon John Martino

Deacon Brian McNulty

Deacon

Deacon

Deacon

40 YEARS

Deacon Jeffrey Evers

Deacon Dario Garcia-Ospina

15 YEARS

Father Brendan Buckler

40 YEARS

45 YEARS

Deacon Clarke Cochran

25 YEARS

Deacon

Deacon

Deacon

Deacon

2026 Jubilarians

45 YEARS

Father Francis Cancro

Father José Antonio Juya

Father Gnanapragasam Mariasoosai

Father Carl DelGiudice

Father John Michalowski, SJ

20 YEARS

Father Alejandro Ayala

Father James Stuhrenberg

20 YEARS

Deacon James L. Atkinson

Deacon David Boissey Sr.

Deacon Mark Diener

Deacon Walter Haarsgaard

Deacon Edward Konarski

Deacon John Kopfle

50 YEARS

25 YEARS

Father Robert Ferris

Father James Duc Duong

Father Tien Duong

Father Adrian Porras

Father Christopher Roux

50 YEARS

Father John D. Hoover

60 YEARS

30 YEARS

Deacon Larry O’Toole

70 YEARS

Father Catron’s priestly journey has taken him all over the world

LISA M. GERACI lmgeraci@rcdoc.org

WINSTON-SALEM — Father Cory Catron, pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Parish, is celebrating 10 years of priesthood and is fascinated by the doors God has opened for him since his first “yes,” during his ordination in 2016. Then-Bishop Peter Jugis told him early

‘Just

a rural kid from Virginia’

priest,” he explains. “I never belonged to anyone’s clique but got along with everybody. Apparently, there is an invisible sign on my forehead that says, ‘Ask this guy for advice.’ I have always been the big brother, the friend, the one that everyone goes to for counsel.”

COLLEGE DAYS

He wasn’t looking for a Catholic college, but while checking his email spam folder, Belmont Abbey College popped up.

“It was small and close to home, and I could apply online for free. And, when I did, I got in,” he says.

He went to visit, and as soon as he turned off the exit ramp, he felt at home, he says. “I took one look at the campus and knew that is where I needed to be.”

While priesthood was a vaguely

to realize politics didn’t mesh with his personality. Instead, he followed that still, quiet voice into the priesthood.

He graduated from Belmont Abbey College and continued on to the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio.

During his ordination, he remembers, he felt more like himself than ever and he thanked God.

“I remembered my fifth birthday, and my mom said, ‘You are 5 now.’ I said, ‘I don’t feel 5,’” he says. “That is what ordination day felt like. I didn’t change that day. I arrived at where I have always been.”

THE FRUITS OF PRIESTHOOD

“Every day I feel further confirmation of who I am, and I know this is where I was meant to be,” Father Catron says.

From learning Spanish and traveling

The Parish of St. Ann in Charlotte congratulates her 3 sons on their ordination to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ!

With joy and gratitude, the parish family of Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Church congratulates

James Johnson IV

on his Ordination to the Diaconate.

As the parish where your faith journey began, we give thanks for your answer to God’s call. It has been a blessing to watch your vocation grow within this community.

May the Lord guide you as you begin your ministry and serve His people with a faithful heart.

Rev. Father Marcel Amadi, EdD, PhD Parochial Administrator and the Parish Family of Our Lady of Consolation

eacon David and the parishioners of St. Francis of Assisi Franklin congratulate Fr. Tien Hung Duong and his brother Fr. Duc James Hung Duong on the 25th Anniversary of their Ordination and we pray for God's continued blessing on them.

You are a priest forever…

HEBREWS 7:17

l diácono David y los feligreses de San Francisco de Asís Franklin felicitan al padre

Tien Hung Duong y a su hermano El padre P. Duc James Hung Duong en el 25º aniversario de su ordenación y oramos por la bendición continua de Dios sobre ellos.

Tú eres sacerdote para siempre…

HEBREOS 7:17

Father Tien Duong: ‘I

never had a second thought of giving up the call’

Editor’s note: This article on Father Tien Duong and his brother Father Duc James Duong was originally published in June 2016 on their 15th ordination anniversary. We are re-running it in honor of their 25th anniversaries.

FRANKLIN — The story of Father Tien Duong, his brother Father Duc James Duong (now retired) and their family is a story of survival and grace.

The two priests of the Diocese of Charlotte are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their ordinations this year – a testament to their tenacity and their faith, given the circumstances of their lives in fleeing Vietnam and coming to the United States.

Father Tien grew up in a family with 10 brothers and sisters (eight boys, two girls) in Saigon. The family was very faith-filled and active in their parish.

“I believed that I wanted to become a priest even before I received my first Communion,” Father Tien recalls. “I went to minor seminary as a sixth-grader in 1973.”

Just like all those who had family members involved in the armed forces of South Vietnam, their family endured a great deal of hardship after the Communists took control in Vietnam, Father Tien notes, particularly when his father was arrested and put in a labor or “re-education” camp.

“I escaped by boat with my brother, now Father (James) Duc Duong, for the first time, but it was not successful and we were put in prison. The second escape occurred in 1989 with my younger brother, and we ended up at Galang refugee camp in Indonesia,” he says.

Attend their celebrations

Father Duc James Duong and Father Tien Duong will celebrate Mass at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, May 31, at St. Joseph Vietnamese Church in Charlotte. The two priests will also celebrate at 4 p.m. Mass on Saturday, June 6, followed by a reception and at 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. (Spanish) Masses on Sunday, June 7, at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Franklin.

A few years later, he was able to follow the rest of his family to the United States, and they settled in Charlotte. It was then that Father Tien resumed his efforts to become a priest. He went to Central Piedmont Community College for two years, then studied philosophy for two years at St. Joseph Seminary College in Covington, La., before graduating from St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pa.

“I was ordained by Bishop (William) Curlin with my brother (Father Duc Duong) and with Father Bob Ferris and Father Kurt Fohn on June 2, 2001, at St. Gabriel Church, which was also my first assignment as associate pastor,” he says.

During his years of ministry, Father Tien served as associate pastor at St. Gabriel

DUONG, SEE PAGE 31B

Congratulations on your ordination and thank you for being part of our Seminary community! May the Diocese of Charlotte be blessed by your priestly ministry.

‘Do what you love’: Sister Janis celebrates 60 years of teaching,

COURTNEY MCLAUGHLIN catholicnews@rcdoc.org

ELKIN — For Sister Janis McQuade, SSJ, there was never much doubt about what she wanted to be when she grew up.

“I always wanted to be a Sister,” she said. “I never had any doubts and was never homesick a day in my life.”

As she celebrates 60 years with the Sisters of St. Joseph, she carries a quiet confidence rooted in her belief that God continues to guide her wherever she is called to serve.

Sister Janis grew up in a closeknit Catholic family in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. One of eight children, faith and family were everything to her. “Church is just who we were. Everything revolved around the church and parish life.”

ROOTS OF HER VOCATION

After high school, she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph and began the congregation’s formation process while attending Chestnut Hill College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in education. She later received a master’s degree in theology and pastoral ministry from La Salle University. She took her final vows as a Sister of St. Joseph in 1973.

“I felt that calling deep in my heart,” she said. “God puts it in your heart and you don’t know how that mystery is going to unfold, but it does.”

She began her ministry in education, teaching in New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and Washington, D.C., among other locations.

“I taught every grade in all types of

socioeconomic environments,” she said.

In 1981, she transitioned into pastoral ministry at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Winston-Salem, where she worked in faith formation, RCIA, children’s ministry and a variety of other parish responsibilities for nine years.

She continued pastoral ministry at St. Thomas More Church in Chapel Hill before returning home to care for her ailing father while continuing ministry work there.

After her father’s passing, she spent a year at Charlotte Catholic High School before once again returning north to help care for her mother and sister.

FINDING A HOME IN ELKIN

In 2006, she was offered a position at St. Stephen Mission in Elkin. The mission church has approximately 90 households and serves a diverse congregation with members from Central and South America,

leading

the Caribbean and Vietnam.

“We are pretty eclectic and intergenerational,” she said.

As the primary onsite pastoral presence, she handles much of the dayto-day ministry. Her work includes parish administration, accompanying families in sacrament preparation, family faith formation and other milestones on their faith journeys.

“You become part of their family and they become part of your faith journey,” she said.

Unlike some of the larger churches where she served, the smaller community of St. Stephen allows Sister Janis to cultivate personal relationships –something central to the purpose of the Sisters of St. Joseph. “It was nice to be in relationships with people,” she said.

“People trust you with their stories and their faith journey.”

She encourages those who feel they are being called to religious life to have a healthy prayer practice and develop a strong relationship with Jesus. She also advises attending weekly Mass and finding a spiritual director or mentor.

“Talk to someone who is living the life and find out if that is a fit for you,” she said.

This year marks significant milestones for both St. Stephen Mission and Sister Janis. As the church celebrates its 70th anniversary, Sister Janis is marking nearly 20 years of ministry there.

“It seems like I just walked in the door yesterday,” she said. “It’s a blessing, it’s pure grace on God’s part that you get to do what you love.”

Immaculate Conception Forest City would like to congratulate our first parish vocation to the priesthood,

We will all be praying for him as he starts his journey as a servant of the Lord who acts

“In

Persona Christi”.

Rev. Michael Lugo, Jr.

We rejoice in his first Mass at our parish on May 31 at 9 a.m.

‘YOU WILL BE MY DEACON’

Montagnard deacon reflects on 25

LISA M. GERACI lmgeraci@rcdoc.org

GREENSBORO — Deacon Pierre K’Briuh is approaching 90 and says that daily life is becoming a challenge.

“My head is a little clouded, and my body is physically deteriorating,” he says.

Yet when Deacon K’Briuh talks about his faith – and serving St. Mary’s in Greensboro for the past 25 years, his wife, eight children and 16 grandchildren – he is unable to contain his joy.

“I have my own soccer team here,” he laughs.

“I just pray one day God will grant me a priest out of this family. I prayed for vocations, and He answered my prayer through the diaconate, but I am still all alone.”

By “alone,” he is referring to his ministry of leading local Catholic Montagnards –immigrants from the central highlands of Vietnam – for the past two decades. North Carolina has the largest population of Montagnards outside of Vietnam. They fled persecution after the fall of Saigon and gravitated to North Carolina through their relationship with the U.S. Army Special Forces stationed at Fort Bragg.

The community of about 20,000 lives in Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh, and

though mostly Protestant, Catholics, like Deacon K’Briuh’s family, desire to practice their faith in their native tongue and with familiar traditions.

FROM THE HIGHLANDS TO THE TRIAD

Deacon K’Briuh grew up herding buffalo in South Vietnam. He was sent to school as a teenager, where he learned both his career and his faith.

The year was 1954. The French had relinquished control to the newly sovereign Republic of Vietnam, and he was baptized.

“I was the first in my family to ever convert to Catholicism,” he says.

He eventually got married, had children, and started working as a liaison officer between his tribe and the South Vietnamese government.

In 1975, when the North Vietnamese captured Saigon, he watched his life collapse and he was placed in a reeducation camp for three years. The brutal conditions and manual labor should have left him exhausted, but he was unable to sleep amid fears for his wife and children.

ESCAPE BY BOAT

Released in 1978, he arrived home to find everything seized by the government and realized his family needed to escape. He did so with help from the Church.

“The priests and the nuns found a way, so I asked them if I could be included,” he recounts, and despite his lack of funds, he promised to repay them later.

years

of freedom and grace

He left in a small fishing boat, crowded in with 24 Catholics who had no idea how to navigate on the open water.

“We had the help of God and our prayers, and that’s all,” he says. “We were surrounded by sharks, and I didn’t know how to swim. I just knew for sure that I would be at the bottom of the ocean. But I needed to save my family by protecting my own life. If I died, what would happen to them?”

A French boat rescued them, bringing them to Singapore. Eventually, the Green Berets helped him reach North Carolina.

“When I was in the camp, I was worried about my family’s survival. When I got out, I was worried how I was going to feed them, and now that I came here, I was worried how I was going to get them here,” Deacon K’Briuh recalls.

“In my life…let’s just say, I never got too much sleep.”

The process took nine years, but he was finally able to bring his wife and children to Greensboro.

Yet he didn’t stop there. He helped resettle another 600 Montagnard refugees to North Carolina.

PAYBACK’S A GIFT

The nuns who aided his escape never asked K’Briuh for payment, but the Church still settled his account.

Then-Bishop William Curlin overheard K’Briuh sharing his testimony one day at St. Mary’s in Greensboro and approached him, saying, “You will be my deacon.”

‘This church... is a pool of love and community.’

Deacon Pierre K’Briuh

K’Briuh accepted the new task as a gift.

“Because of the good grace God has provided me, I could not refuse,” he says.

St. Mary’s Parish gave him the opportunity to attend Mass in his own dialect, with his fellow Montagnard community.

But Deacon K’Briuh serves and is inspired by all people.

“St. Mary’s attracts the poor, the rich and everybody else. We have all kinds of tribes, ourselves, the lowland Vietnamese, Africans and Latin Americans,” he reflects.

“This church, which was built for Black minorities, now has all minorities pulled together. It is a pool of love and community,” he says.

For Deacon K’Briuh, it is vital for the Church to preserve that rich diversity by including the Montagnard community.

“Right now, we don’t have any priests that speak our language,” he says, “and that is why I really want my prayer quickly answered for a Montagnard priest so they can teach our own people again.”

Congratulations and heartfelt gratitude to our pastor, as he celebrates 20 years of priestly ministry.

Reverend James Stuhrenberg,

Thank you for your faithful service, generous heart, and devoted care for our Holy Family parish.

May God continue to bless you abundantly

We give thanks for your “yes” to Christ and pray for many more years of joyful priesthood.

‘I became what I saw’: Deacon Pickett celebrates 20 years

LISA M. GERACI lmgeraci@rcdoc.org

LENOIR — As Deacon Stephen Pickett marks 20 years of ordained ministry, the 71-year-old St. Francis of Assisi parishioner is reflecting on the faith, family and witness that shaped his vocation and continues to guide his preaching.

Known for heartfelt, Spirit-filled homilies, Pickett said the words parishioners hear are not his own, but the Lord’s.

“My homilies come from God and are never mine,” he smiles. “I have written things, and the Lord has told me not to use those. I have torn them up and gone off the cuff... I empty myself out and let the Lord come in. My hope is that it touches a heart, it changes a life and it brings someone closer to our Lord.”

ROOTED IN FAITH

As he looks back on two decades of ordained ministry, Pickett returns often to the roots of his vocation. A Catholic from birth, he was baptized at St. Ann Church in Fayetteville.

“I am told that my baptism was the first integrated baptism in the Diocese of Raleigh,” he says.

Being an African American in Cumberland County wasn’t easy in the 1950s. Although Fayetteville’s public schools did not integrate until 1962, St. Ann opened its integrated Catholic school in 1956 – just in time for Pickett and his sisters and brothers to attend.

The priests and sisters faced strong opposition, and Pickett watched with

admiration as his pastor defended his flock.

“Father William Ryan kicked down a wall and fired the construction company when a worker said, ‘The people starting with an N did not matter.’”

He and his classmates were confronted with racist rhymes on their walks home from school, he recalls. “In my mind I realized you had those people and then you had the Catholic kids. And these Catholic kids were different.”

“I didn’t grow up with hatred in my heart for people. I grew up by the example of my parents, my parish, and my school community,” he says. “We are all people of the highest God. We are all trying to get

Thank you Deacon John and Deacon Herbert for your commitment and service to our parish.

it,” he says. “They put the possibility in my heart. We need more images that look like the people in our parishes, so they know God wants them to serve as well.”

A CALL TO SERVE

At 15, Deacon Pickett boldly announced to everyone he would be ordained.

“I always wanted to serve the Lord,” he says. “But, I knew I would be married.”

He met his wife, Deborah, at a CME church while giving a Black history talk. They have now been married 35 years.

“We met that day and have been together ever since,” he laughs.

Deborah converted to Catholicism, and they attribute their marital happiness to prayer and faith.

Before moving to St. Francis of Assisi, he was in discernment and formation at Our Lady of Consolation. He was ordained in 2006.

to a place called heaven. We use the word ‘race’ wrong – there is only one race, the human race.”

His faith and family taught him that human dignity comes from God, not man. Even so, he credits the faces of his youth with helping awaken his call to serve.

“I am a deacon because I became what I saw. Father Joseph Lawson Howze, who later became Bishop Howze, was at my house being fed by my mother. We had three African American seminarians. I saw Father Wilton Gregory before he was a cardinal, Father Martin Carter and the religious brothers – all African American men of God.”

“If you can believe it, you can achieve

“It was all God’s timing. I came out of the pew and onto the altar,” Deacon Pickett says. “God is here at St. Francis, and good people are here.”

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

Deacon Pickett says the Franklin parish’s growth reflects more than demographics.

“Father (Alfonso) Gámez gives us more opportunities to experience the sacraments,” he explains. “Because of that and his love, I have seen an increase in this parish from the cradle to the grave.

“I consider ourselves a bright light on the hill. My hope is that we grow and that young men from this parish will spring up to become priests and deacons.”

We joyfully congratulate Saint Leo parishioner, John Cuppett, on his ordination to the Holy Priesthood.

With grateful hearts, we thank God for the gift of his vocation and for his generous “yes” to the Lord’s call. It has been a blessing to witness his journey of faith, formation, and joyful service.

Congratulations, Father John Cuppett!

As he begins this sacred ministry, we assure him of our continued prayers and support.

May the Lord bless him abundantly as he serves His Church.

Deacon Becker: From roller coasters to the thrill of ministry

LISA M. GERACI lmgeraci@rcdoc.org

CHARLOTTE — Deacon Joseph Becker is celebrating five years of ordained ministry at St. Matthew Parish and his first year serving as assistant formation director for the diocese’s Permanent Diaconate program.

The call to serve runs deep in the Becker family. His son, Father Brian Becker, directs formation for first-year seminarians at St. Joseph College Seminary and serves as the diocese’s vocations promoter. Another son, Mark Becker, is enrolled at the college seminary. Their daughter, Deena, lives in Northern Virginia with her family, including three boys.

Deacon Becker and his wife of 46 years, Tammy, remain active at St. Matthew Parish, their spiritual home since the church’s founding in 1986.

“We jumped in right away. I was on the parish council from the very beginning. My wife was involved in faith formation,” he says.

GROWING UP CATHOLIC

Deacon Becker grew up in Cincinnati, attending Catholic elementary school and graduating from a Jesuit-run Catholic high school.

“There is no story about awakening in my faith, because I have always been living in the faith. It has always been front and center in my life,” he says.

His first career was in the theme park industry. He worked at Kings Island outside Cincinnati, where he met his wife. What began as a seasonal job eventually became a career. After college, he took a permanent position and later invested in six theme parks, including Carowinds.

“That’s how we got to Charlotte,” he says. “But we ended up selling our business to Paramount Studios in the early ’90s.”

At age 35, he found himself looking for a new chapter. Though too young to retire, he was recruited to serve as CEO of the American Red Cross in the Charlotte region and later was asked to lead the organization’s national

Disaster Relief Services.

When he retired in 2017, becoming a deacon was not part of his plans.

“I never quite got a text from the Lord saying, ‘I would

like you to become a deacon,’ but what I did get came step by step,” he explains.

A desire to deepen his faith led him to enroll in lay ministry classes, which at the time were a prerequisite for diaconate formation.

“The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn,” he recalls.

At the end of the two-year program, he was invited to explore the possibility of becoming a deacon. He and Tammy spent time in prayer and discernment.

“It took a while to discern what God was leading me to do,” he says. “That was not my plan for retirement. I was just going to be one of those men that hangs around the parish and volunteers for all these different ministries, and travels a lot, and plays some golf. Man plans, God laughs, as they say!”

For Deacon Becker, learning to serve after years spent leading as a corporate executive was a humbling transition.

“My role as a deacon is to be attentive and present and do what God leads,” he says. “I’ve tried to set aside that part of my professional career that was planning, organizing, directing and staffing, and to be more responsive to what the Lord needs.”

Alongside his ministry at St. Matthew, Deacon Becker also helps form future deacons for the diocese. The Permanent Diaconate program currently includes a class of 14 men preparing for ordination in January and another class of 12 men who have recently begun formation.

“A lot of being deacons isn’t necessarily what you do – it is who you are,” he says. “We are ordained and configured as Christ the servant.”

A FAMILY FULL OF VOCATIONS

Faith has always been fundamental to the Becker family, although Deacon Becker admits he was surprised when his oldest son began discerning the priesthood.

“That was an exciting message to hear that Brian was

Deacon brings Christ to people where they are

CHRISTINA LEE KNAUSS clknauss@rcdoc.org

ASHEVILLE — Deacon Mike Zboyovski doesn’t need elaborate phrases to describe his 25 years as a permanent deacon in the Diocese of Charlotte.

“It’s been absolutely great in every way!” he says when asked how life has been since he was ordained in 2001.

A native of Missouri, Deacon Zboyovski always felt a call to serve the Church and attended a minor seminary discerning a call to the Vincentian order when he was still in high school. A vocation wasn’t right for him at the time, however, and he left seminary to attend the University of Missouri, where he earned a degree in chiropractic and acupuncture. He moved to the Asheville area and worked in that field for nearly 30 years, but always stayed close to the Church.

He and wife Jan, who have been married for 49 years and have two sons and a daughter, were always active in their parishes, but he felt a call to serve in a deeper way.

Several people, including the late Father Jim Solari, encouraged him to follow that call and become a permanent deacon, and he did.

CALLED TO OCIA

Since that day, Deacon Zboyovski has been based at St. Eugene Parish in Asheville – his

church home for more than 40 years – and he has worked in a variety of ministries, most notably the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, the process by which people become Catholic. He served in that ministry for several years before becoming a deacon, and he has remained active in the ministry at St. Eugene and now serves as chair of the diocese’s OCIA commission.

“People I knew invited me to work in both OCIA and prison ministry, and that was a stepping stone in my ministry, because it opened my eyes to the various ministries available,” he says. “OCIA has always been a dear spot in my heart, just journeying with individuals on their particular walk and watching them come into the fullness of the faith. There’s a powerful exchange that takes place in those months.”

He especially enjoys helping parishes develop “the pastoral type of care and the open arms” that come with year-round OCIA ministries, and he has seen a steady growth in the number of people seeking out the program, especially in the Hispanic community.

“It’s just beautiful to see people come into the Church,” he says. “Even after (Hurricane) Helene, it was amazing to see how many people were interested in inquiring into the Church – often after they had helped out at one of our parishes from a secular standpoint after the storm. That work they did was the stimulus for many to ask about the Church and inquire, and many have ended up getting involved in OCIA.”

JOURNEYING INTO PRISON MINISTRY

Deacon Zyboyovski has also been

With great joy and gratitude, the parish family & staff of Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church honors two devoted servants of the Church.

Congratulations to Deacon David Reiser on 15 years of ordained ministry.

Congratulations to Deacon Kevin Williams on 20 years of ordained ministry.

We also give special recognition and sincere thanks for his 20 years of dedicated service as Business Manager of our parish. His commitment to serving both the Church and our parish family with humility and generosity is deeply appreciated.

We are grateful for his faithful service, steadfast commitment to the Church, and the many years he has devoted to ministering to God’s people.

As a parish community, we are blessed to celebrate these important milestones and to thank both Deacons for their faithful service and dedication to Christ and His Church. May the Lord continue to guide and bless them both abundantly in the years ahead.

involved in prison ministry for many years. He leads a weekly service for inmates at Craggy Correctional Center, and he stays on call for ministry needs at the Buncombe County Detention Center.

Bringing Christ’s love to people who are not able to attend Mass at a parish church has been one of his greatest joys as a deacon.

“I love being able to bring the beauty and the sense of community we have at St. Eugene – the kindness and love and welcome – to extend that to people outside of the parish,” he explains. “Whether it’s prison inmates, people in retirement centers or nursing homes, or others who can’t attend Mass personally anymore – to be able to bring the presence of Christ to them has been a great ministry.”

Deacon Zboyovski also takes great joy in serving at the parish that has been his home for so long.

“It is just honestly such an awesome community, and a diverse community,” he says.

“One of the really chief charisms of St. Eugene is that of hospitality and welcoming. We usually do a little ‘meet and greet’ before Mass begins, and we acknowledge visitors to the parish, and I have had so many people tell me they love it because they come from a home parish where people don’t really talk to each other. They’ve told me they feel at home at St. Eugene, and that type of atmosphere has been wonderful to work in.”

St. Eugene marked his anniversary with a celebration on May 16, and he and wife Jan hope to make a celebratory trip to Italy in the future.

Deacon

lives out missionary call through his ministry

BRIAN SEGOVIA bmsegovia@rcdoc.org

CHARLOTTE — From a young age, Deacon Eduardo Bernal had a missionary heart, although he never imagined the paths God had prepared for him.

In 1990, when he emigrated from El Salvador to Glen Cove, New York, as a young adult,he felt called to serve those most in need.

“I’m not an office person; I belong in the streets, serving among the people,” Deacon Bernal said.

While serving as a missionary at St. Patrick’s Parish in Glen Cove alongside Vincentian priests and seminarians, he began to feel drawn to being a deacon.

“Without really knowing why, the diaconate caught my attention from a young age,” he recalled.

In 2000, he arrived in the Diocese of Charlotte to work in Hispanic Ministry, thanks to Vincentian Father Vincent Finnerty, who at the time directed the ministry under then-Bishop William Curlin.

He first served for eight months in the Winston-Salem Vicariate and then spent 15 years coordinating communities in western

‘A whole new world opened up’

North Carolina, including the Smoky Mountains and Asheville vicariates. There, he fully lived the missionary experience he had long desired, helping communities without nearby parishes and accompanying immigrants through transitions.

“When I arrived, there was only one parish with (a Spanish) Mass,” Bernal said.

“There was a great deal of need, and I truly lived a complete missionary experience.”

In 2004, having reached the required age

to enter seminary, he began his formation. However, in 2010, with only one year left before ordination, he discovered that God had other plans for him: marriage.

“I realized that my plans, although good, were not God’s plans,” he said.

He decided to discern his vocation to marriage alongside Brenda, whom he had met years earlier in Winston-Salem. He explains that his deacon formation helped him recognize personal barriers that

had prevented him from considering that possibility.

“My plan was to be ordained and then go as a missionary to another part of the world, but marriage was never part of my plan,” he said.

After marrying and starting a family with the birth of their daughter, Mónica BernalArroyo, he said his faith and trust in God grew even stronger.

“I used to live only to work and sleep. When I got married, my life changed,” he explained.

In 2015, he resumed his preparation to become a deacon – this time with the full support of his wife, which also strengthened his spiritual life.

On Sept. 25, 2021, he was ordained a permanent deacon by then-Bishop Peter Jugis. He describes the moment as a turning point in his life: “As I walked out of St. Mark’s Church, newly ordained, a couple from Guadalupe approached me asking for a blessing. I froze with emotion,” he recalled. “In that first month, the one who had been invisible became visible.”

Five years later, Deacon Bernal continues his missionary-inspired work at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, where he still sees great needs within the local Hispanic community.

He said he feels closer than ever to the faithful and he is grateful for the trust of those who come to share personal aspects of their lives with him. He also hopes to inspire other men to discern a vocation as a deacon.

“Through the diaconate, I came to know a new face of the Church, even after many years of service,” Deacon Bernal said. “A whole new world opened up for me.”

‘Se abrió un mundo completamente nuevo’

El diácono vive su llamado misionero a través de su ministerio

BRIAN SEGOVIA bmsegovia@rcdoc.org

CHARLOTTE — Desde joven, el Diácono Eduardo Bernal tuvo un corazón misionero, aunque nunca imaginó los caminos que Dios tenía preparados para él en su búsqueda vocacional.

En 1990, cuando emigró de El Salvador a Glen Cove, Nueva York, siendo un joven adulto de solo 20 años de edad, Bernal sintió el llamado a servir a los más necesitados.

“Yo no soy de oficina; soy de la calle, de servir entre la gente”, dijo el Diácono Bernal. Mientras que participaba en los grupos de jovenes en la parroquia St. Patrick’s de Glen Cove conocio y pudo convivir con sacerdotes vicentinos y seminaristas, y comenzó a sentirse atraído por el diaconado. Mientras participaba en los grupos de jóvenes de la parroquia St. Patrick’s de Glen Cove, conoció y convivió con sacerdotes vicentinos y seminaristas, lo que despertó en él una atracción por el diaconado.

“Sin saber por qué, desde joven el diaconado me llamó la atención”, recordó. En el año 2000, el Diácono Bernal llegó a la Diócesis de Charlotte para trabajar en el Ministerio Hispano, gracias al sacerdote vicentino Vincent Finnerty, entonces

El diácono Eduardo Bernal aparece en su oficina con su hija, Mónica Bernal-Arroy. Sus planes de ser misionero tomaron una nueva dirección cuando conoció a su futura esposa.

director del ministerio bajo el obispo

William Curlin.

Primero sirvió ocho meses en la vicaría de Winston-Salem y luego pasó 15 años coordinando comunidades en las montañas del oeste de Carolina del Norte incluyendo las vicarías de Smoky Mountains y Asheville. Allí vivió plenamente la experiencia misionera que deseaba, ayudando a comunidades sin parroquias cercanas y acompañando a inmigrantes en su transición.

“Cuando llegué, solo había una parroquia con Misa”, dijo el Diácono Bernal. “Había mucha necesidad y realmente viví una

experiencia misionera completa”.

En 2004, ya con la edad requerida, inició su formación diaconal en el programa diocesano de formacion para el Diaconado permanente. Sin embargo, en 2010, cuando le faltaba un año para la ordenación, descubrió que Dios tenía otros planes: el matrimonio.

“Me di cuenta de que mis planes, aunque buenos, no eran los planes de Dios”, expresó.

Bernal decidió discernir su vocación matrimonial junto a Brenda, a quien había conocido años antes en Winston-Salem. Explica que su formación diaconal le ayudó a reconocer barreras personales que le

impedían considerar esa posibilidad.

“Mi plan era ordenarme y luego irme como misionero a otra parte del mundo, pero no contemplaba el matrimonio”, dijo.

Tras casarse y formar una familia con el nacimiento de su hija, Mónica BernalArroyo, asegura que su fe y confianza en Dios crecieron aún más.

“Yo vivía solo para trabajar y dormir. Cuando me casé, mi vida cambió”, comentó. En 2015 retomó su preparación para el diaconado en Charlotte, esta vez con el apoyo total de su esposa, lo que fortaleció también su vida espiritual.

El 25 de septiembre de 2021, Eduardo Bernal fue ordenado diácono permanente, un momento que describe como un antes y un después en su vida.

“Al salir de la iglesia de San Marcos, recién ordenado, una pareja de Guadalupe se acercó para pedirme una bendición. Me quedé congelado por la emoción”, recordó. “En ese primer mes, el que era invisible se volvió visible”.

Cinco años después, el Diácono Bernal continúa su labor misionera como clérigo ordenado en la parroquia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, donde sigue viendo grandes necesidades en la comunidad.

Al reflexionar sobre este tiempo, asegura sentirse más cercano que nunca a los fieles y agradece la confianza de quienes se acercan a compartir aspectos personales de sus vidas. Ahora también espera motivar a otros hombres a discernir una posible vocación al diaconado permanente.

“Con el diaconado conocí una nueva cara de la Iglesia, aun después de muchos años de servicio”, dijo el Diácono Bernal. “Se me abrió un mundo nuevo”.

CHRISTINA LEE KNAUSS clknauss@rcdoc.org

CHARLOTTE — As Deacon

David Reiser celebrates 15 years of serving as a deacon, he also looks back on a life filled with many interwoven journeys that combined to bring him to where he is today – including a nudge from a future saint.

“15 years went fast – I stayed busy,” he said recently from an office at Our Lady of the Assumption Church off Shamrock Drive, where he served as business manager until December 2025 in addition to being deacon.

His secular career – 40 years of experience in law enforcement, crisis response and aviation –alone could spark hours of stories.

A former police officer in Illinois, he joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation where he worked as a special agent and pilot, with postings in Detroit, Minneapolis, Charlotte, Puerto Rico and Quantico, Virginia.

ROOTS IN ISRAEL

But his journey of faith began in Israel, where he was born to a Jewish family who moved to the United States when he was in his teens. While living in Israel, he visited sites around the Holy Land.

“A curiosity was always there –something about the Holy Spirit,” he says. “When we moved to the U.S., we lived in New York, and all my neighbors were either Jewish or Catholic, and through curiosity I looked into the Scriptures and the prophets.”

His love of flying later led to pursuing an aviation degree at the Jesuit-run St. Louis University, where he was invited to a nondenominational Christian service on Palm Sunday in 1977.

“I realized that this prophet named Jesus Christ was the Messiah and I accepted Christ,” he says.

He attended nondenominational and Baptist churches for several years until a conflict with a pastor kept him away.

FINDING GOD – AND A WIFE

Years later, while posted in San Juan with the FBI, he met a Catholic woman named Maria who invited him to attend Mass with her. In the celebration of the Eucharist, he recognized its ties to the Passover meals celebrated with his Jewish family – and all his studies and curiosity came together.

“The first time I went to Mass, I knew that I was home,” he says. The woman who took him to Mass later became his wife. They have three children and five grandchildren.

An FBI posting in Charlotte led him to attend Mass first at St. Patrick Cathedral and then at Our Lady of the Assumption in Charlotte, where he went through what was then the RCIA program.

‘Grow spiritually’

A future saint’s words helped form deacon’s winding faith journey

He became Catholic in 1993.

He was later inspired to serve the Church by two deacons he knew, as well as from St. Teresa of Calcutta, whom he met when he served on her security detail during her 1995 visit to Charlotte.

“She talked to my wife and to me, and she asked me to tell her about my faith,” he says. “She said, ‘Continue to pursue your faith and grow spiritually.’”

He took her words to heart and

was ordained as a deacon in 2011.

Since then, he has faithfully served at Our Lady of the Assumption – helping to run faith formation classes and other ministries at the increasingly diverse parish.

He has witnessed the dramatic growth of the Hispanic community and an infusion of immigrants from Myanmar (formerly Burma) and other nations. His fluency in Spanish

has helped his ministry.

“I’m proud of just growing with the growth of the Church and being able to help people,” he says.

His Jewish background has also helped, he says. “I have a much deeper understanding of the Old Testament, the words of the prophets and how that leads into the New Testament and points to Christ. It’s a much clearer point of reference I sometimes use in my preaching.”

AIRPORT JOURNEYS

Deacon Reiser also offers the love of Christ to the thousands who travel daily through Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in his role as executive director of Inter-Faith Chaplaincy, a role he assumed in 2021.

Through the ministry, volunteers pray or talk with travelers facing crises such as death or illness or just dealing with difficult times. In 15 years of airport ministry, he’s dealt with everything from immigrant families who were stranded in Charlotte to three traveler deaths, including two people who died on planes and one in the terminal itself.

“It’s a ministry of presence –we don’t proselytize,” he says. “Someone might ask if we can pray together, or they just might want to talk because their mother is dying or they’re having problems with their children. Day to day, you don’t know what you’re going to run into.”

Overall, he says his 15 years of ministry have been guided by the voice he first heard on his explorations as a child in the Holy Land.

“It’s the Holy Spirit – it really is. If you’re open to the Holy Spirit, you’re going to recognize that Jesus Christ is the One who came to redeem us.”

Discerning a vocation? Here are resources that can help

If you or someone you know is contemplating a vocation to the priesthood, as a deacon or to religious life, check out the following general resources online. Talk with your pastor, reach out to the diocese’s vocations promoter, read up on consecrated life and the various religious communities that exist, and contact communities that interest you. Many offer “come and see” days or retreats that are good opportunities to learn more and meet others who have already accepted God’s call to religious life.

For young men and women, there are also summer discernment retreats offered by the Diocese of Charlotte and hosted at Belmont Abbey College: Quo Vadis Days for young men, and Duc In Altum and Talitha Koum for young women. Information about the 2027 retreats will be posted next spring online at www.charlottediocese.org/ vocations. Overall, remember: Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask questions!

Diocesan Vocations Office

n Father John Eckert, vocations director: vocationsmail@rcdoc.org

n Father Brian Becker, vocations promoter: bjbecker@rcdoc.org

General information

n www.foryourvocation.org: Set up by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, dedicated to the promotion of vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life for both men and women. They are also on Facebook and YouTube.

TROY C. HULL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Talking with your pastor or the diocesan vocations promoter is a first step for someone discerning a religious vocation. In addition, there are many online resources that can answer basic questions and guide people.

There are resources for parents and teachers, questions to ask yourself if you feel God is calling you, videos of vocation stories from priests and religious all over the U.S., and more.

n www.religiouslife.com: The Institute for Religious Life’s website, with plenty of resources for both men and women interested in a vocation or those who wish to support religious life.

n Not sure what religious communities are out there that might be a good fit for you?

Check out www.religiousministries.com. Search this database to find a men’s or women’s religious community, whether you wish to become a priest, nun, brother or lay missioner, or just want to find out more about living a religious life.

n www.cloisteredlife.com: Aims to bring to attention the gift of cloistered and monastic life in the Church, sponsored by the Institute for Religious Life.

Religious communities for men

n www.cmsm.org: The Conference of Major Superiors of Men serves the leadership of the Catholic orders and congregations of the more than 17,000 vowed religious priests and brothers in the U.S.

n www.religiousbrotherhood.com: Sponsored by the Institute for Religious Life specifically to increase awareness of the specific charism of religious brotherhood in the U.S.

Religious communities for women

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

Interested in becoming a permanent deacon?

If you would like to know more about deacons and their ministry or feel you may have a calling, please contact Deacon David Faunce, director of formation, at dmfaunce@rcdoc.org or Deacon Joseph Becker, assistant director of formation, at jcbecker@rcdoc.org. Details can be found online at www.charlottediocese.org/ vocations/diaconate. — Catholic News Herald

‘Give them joy’

Archbishop Hartmayer ordains fellow friar to the priesthood in Graham

GRAHAM — Joyful prayer and song in both Spanish and English filled Blessed Sacrament Church April 25, when Atlanta Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., ordained his brother friar, Edgar Iván Varela, OFM Conv., to the priesthood.

“Go to the margins,” Archbishop Hartmayer told him. “You know what it is like to come from a family that crosses borders, that speaks two languages, that carries the faith from one world to another. Many of the people you serve will carry those same stories. Meet them there. Franciscan poverty is not only material; it is a poverty that creates space for others to encounter God.”

Principal concelebrants were Our Lady of the Angels Province’s Minister Provincial Father Michael Heine, OFM Conv.; Vicar Provincial Father Gary Johnson, OFM Conv.; Prefect of Formation Father John Koziol, OFM Conv.; and Blessed Sacrament’s pastor, Father Vincent Rubino, OFM Conv. Deacon Michael Pray of the Diocese of Springfield served as deacon. Charlotte Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv., also belongs to Our Lady of the Angels Province.

Father Heine cited their order’s founder in his remarks.

“Ordained in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, whose 800th anniversary of his transitus into heaven we commemorate this year, Friar Edgar embraces a priesthood rooted in humility, fraternity, and joyful service, offering his life so that others may encounter the mercy and love of Christ,” said Father Heine.

The son of Maribel and Manuel Varela, Father Edgar was born in Phoenix. He has four siblings: Yessenia, Erica, Sergio and German, and several nieces and nephews. He was

awarded a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Loyola University in Chicago and earned Master of Divinity from The

Catholic University of America. He served as a deacon at St. Stanislaus Basilica in Chicopee, Massachusetts.

“It is a great blessing for me to receive the ministry of priesthood,” Father Varela said.

“I receive this gift, not just for

myself, but considering that it is for the Church. Through this ministry, I hope to bring Christ’s presence, love and mercy to all, and most especially to the forgotten, the exiled and the outcast.

“Please pray for me as I begin this wonderful ministry as a Franciscan friar-priest. Let us together pray for more vocations to religious life and priesthood,” he said.

Archbishop Hartmayer concluded with some advice: “Be joyful. Francis sang. He laughed. He called the sun his brother and the moon his sister. The world already has enough grim religion. Give them joy. The joy of the Resurrection. The joy of the Gospel. The joy of a man who has found the one thing necessary and given everything for it.”

Franciscan from St. Matthew Parish to be ordained to priesthood

of St.

Parish in Charlotte, will be

to the priesthood May 30 by Cardinal Archbishop

of

Year of St. Francis, is a member of the Province of the Sacred Stigmata of St. Francis.

His path to the priesthood began at St. Patrick Elementary School in Smithtown, New York, then continued at St. Anthony High School in Huntington, New York. He earned a degree in philosophy at St.

John Vianney College Seminary in Miami and completed his studies at Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall in South Orange, New Jersey. His parents are Pat and Ralph Sullivan also of St. Matthew Parish. He will celebrate his first Mass of Thanksgiving May 31 at St. Ann Church in Hoboken. He will celebrate

a Mass of Thanksgiving at his home parish, St. Matthew in Charlotte, at a date to be determined after receiving his priestly assignment from his province.

— Ralph H. Sullivan

‘Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.’

Please pray for the repose of the souls of these clergy and religious who have died since June 2025:

n Father Vincent de Paul Alagia died Jan. 23, 2026, at the St. Claude La Colombière Jesuit Community in Baltimore, age 99. He was a Jesuit for 79 years, and a priest for 67 years. Following ordination, Father Alagia devoted himself to secondary education. Beginning in the 1970s, Father Alagia’s ministry increasingly focused on retreats, spiritual direction and marriage spirituality. He served as retreat director and later director at the Jesuit House of Prayer in Hot Springs, North Carolina. Father Alagia served at St. Peter Parish in Charlotte for more than 10 years.

n Father John Aurilia died Jan. 13, 2026, at St. Francis of Assisi Friary in Wilmington, age 85. He entered the Capuchin Franciscan order in Montemarano, Italy, and was ordained a priest in 1966. He served as secretary to Pio of Pietrelcina – the future saint better known as Padre Pio – before coming to the United States, where he worked with the Italian community in northern New Jersey. From 1995 to 2009, he served as pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Hendersonville, during the decades when the Capuchin friars staffed the parish. Under his tenure, the parish successfully raised

In Memoriam

the funds necessary to build its present church, which was dedicated in 1998.

n Father James Michael Byer died Feb. 3, 2026, aged 73. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he learned of a need for priests in the then-mission Diocese of Charlotte and he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Michael J. Begley, the diocese’s first bishop, in 1981. During nearly five decades of priestly ministry in the diocese, Father Byer served at 10 parishes, including St. Gabriel and St. Ann in Charlotte, Holy Spirit in Denver, Holy Trinity in Taylorsville, Our Lady of Grace in Greensboro, Sacred Heart in Brevard, St. Leo the Great in Winston-Salem, St. Margaret of Scotland in Maggie Valley, and St. Philip the Apostle in Statesville. In 1994 Father Byer was appointed spiritual director of the Hispanic Community of Charlotte (now Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish).

n Father Jude Thaddeus DeAngelo, OFM Conv., a Franciscan friar of the Our Lady of the Angels Province, died Nov. 18, 2025, in Syracuse, New York. He professed with the Conventual Franciscans and was ordained to the priesthood on May 26, 1984, in Albany. After serving in New York and New Jersey, he commenced 25 years of service as a campus minister In 1997, first at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem (1997-2010) and then at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. (2010-2022).

n Sister Maureen Dees died Dec. 8, 2025. Professed with the Sisters of Mercy for 80 years, Sister Maureen dedicated her life to faith, education and service and touched countless lives with her kindness, humor and unwavering commitment to others. She taught in many Catholic elementary schools in the dioceses of

We extend our prayerful best wishes to Deacon John Martino and Deacon Ed Konarski on the 20th Anniversary of their ordination.

Charlotte and Raleigh, including Sacred Heart in Salisbury. Upon her retirement, Sister Maureen volunteered at Catherine’s House in Belmont and supported her fellow Sisters of Mercy.

n Father Carl Edwin Kaltreider died June 11, 2025, age 82. For more than 46 years, he served parishes across western North Carolina, including in Marion, Eden, Asheville, Andrews and Shelby. While at St. Lawrence in Asheville, he played a key role in securing the church’s designation as a minor basilica by the Holy See in 1993. His final and longest assignment was as administrator of Our Lady of the Angels Mission in Marion. It was there that he established the first Hispanic Knights of Columbus council in North Carolina (Council 17058).

n Sister Marilyn Helene King died April 8, 2026, at Sacred Heart Convent-Marian Center, age 86. Professed with the Sisters of Mercy in 1960, the San Francisco native was particularly interested in theology. She was sent to St. Paul University, the University of Ottawa and the Graduate Theological Union, where she completed a doctorate degree in 1975. These studies equipped her to teach high school, college and adult religious education. In 2014, she and Trappistine Sister Genevieve Durcan founded The Laura in Lebanon, Kentucky, as a contemplative residence where others could come for retreat and reflection.

n Deacon Michael Langsdorf, died April 6, 2026, age 72. The Philadelphia native was ordained a deacon for the Diocese of Charlotte by then-Bishop William G. Curlin. His served his home parish, Holy Family in Clemmons, for nine years. In 2004 he was assigned to Divine Redeemer Parish in Boonville, where he coordinated the English-language youth

faith formation program and conducted sacramental preparation classes for baptisms and confirmations.

n Father Thomas Patrick Norris died Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, age 79. He was a professed member of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales or 60 years and a priest for 52 years. He initially moved to North Carolina to serve as campus minister at Greensboro College, Guilford College and University of North Carolina-Greensboro. After two years in college ministry, Father Norris was assigned to parish ministry, serving as assistant pastor at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in High Point. In 1997, Father Norris was transferred to St. Mary Parish in Goldsboro, where he served as parochial vicar and then pastor. In 2012, Father Norris returned to Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, where he served as acting pastor from 2017-2018.

n Sister Mary Antonette Schmidt, a spiritual director, educator and ministry leader, died June 13, 2025. A Sister of Mercy for six decades, she served in numerous ministries, including as retreat director at the Jesuit House of Prayer in Hot Springs, coordinator for young adult ministry for the Diocese of Charlotte, and at various hospitals and retreat centers in several states.

n Retired Deacon Dr. Ronald David Sherwood, PhD, died Oct. 23, 2025. He was ordained a deacon in the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, in 1977. He served the Church first in Ohio, and after he and his wife Vicky moved to North Carolina, he served at St. Mark Parish in Huntersville from 2004 until his retirement in 2013. He was also a U.S. Navy veteran.

— Catholic News Herald

The parish family of St. Vincent de Paul would like to congratulate our priests

Thank you for your dedicated service to St.

“We must love our neighbors as being made in the image of God and as an object of His love.”

– St. Vincent de Paul

Support seminarians’ education, priests’ retirement

Our seminarians’ education is possible thanks to the generosity of parishioners who give to the annual Diocesan Support Appeal, through Seminarian Education second collections in November and on Easter Sunday, distributions from seminarian endowments held in the diocesan foundation, and those who contribute gifts to the Seminarian Education Campaign.

The Foundation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte also has 34 endowments designated for seminarian education, totaling over $25 million:

n Monsignor Thomas Burke Seminarian Endowment Fund

n Beatrice A. Chase Endowment Fund

n Teresa Loh Jui Choon and Alexander Sim Seminarian Education Endowment Fund

n Conklin Endowment Fund

n Loraine Cox and C. Richard Cox Seminarian Education Endowment Fund

n Doris and Walter Dietrich Endowment Fund

n Di Pietro Family Endowment Fund

n Mr. A. Steven and Dr. Donna S. Ellington Endowment Fund

n Fabrey Endowment Fund

n FFHL Vocation and Seminarian Support Endowment Fund

n James and Elizabeth Hedgecock Seminarian Endowment Fund

n Dick Kelly Endowment Fund

n Knights of Columbus Council #770 Seminarian Support Endowment Fund

n Seminarian Michael G. Kitson Memorial Endowment Fund

n Lee Endowment Fund

DUONG

FROM PAGE 20B

Parish, then served in-residence for a few months at St. Mark Parish in Huntersville.

He says he “came to the top of the mountain in Highlands at Our Lady of the Mountains for three years, and then came down to Franklin,” where he has served as pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish since 2008.

“The love of people, the cold weather and the love for people in the mountain area have kept me here since,” he says.

He believes people would be surprised to know that one of the things he loves most about living in western North Carolina is the cold weather, even though he grew up in the tropical climate of South Vietnam.

About his priestly ministry, Father Tien shares, “My spiritual director at seminary and other friends asked me, ‘If God will not choose you, what would you do?’ My answer was very simple. I never had a second thought of giving up the call. God calls, and I will answer, and God will never turn His face away from me. He will provide!”

“I am doing God’s will, and it is not easy to fulfill His will,” he continues. “When you try to fulfill His will, certainly people will not like it as they look at it with human wisdom. And that is true for me as a priest, as well.”

n Don and Teresa Meanor Endowment Fund

n John and Marianne Polickoski Endowment Fund

n Priests Support Endowment Fund

n William E. Rabil, Sr. and Rosalie Daye Rabil Family Endowment Fund

n Reverend Timothy S. Reid Endowment Fund

n Eugene and Carmen Rossitch Endowment Fund

n Edward C. and Joan F. Ruff Seminarian Endowment Fund

n Matthew Scheible Endowment Fund

n Dr. Marvin L. Schrum and Paula B. Schrum Education Endowment Fund

n Seminarian Assistance Endowment Fund

n Seminarian Education Endowment Fund

n Abdou J. and Edna S. Showfety Seminarian Education Endowment Fund

n Stephen D. Showfety Endowment Fund

n Judith and Michael Simac Endowment Fund

n St. Lawrence Council (1695) RSVP Endowment Fund

n St. Lucien Catholic Church Seminarian Scholarship Endowment Fund

n Father Wilbur Thomas Memorial Endowment Fund

n Valentine Family Seminarian Education Endowment Fund

n Vocations Endowment Fund

Each year, people also have the opportunity to celebrate the faithful service of our retired diocesan priests, as well as show gratitude to the priests currently serving in the diocese, by contributing to the diocese’s Priests’ Retirement and Benefits second collection.

— Catholic News Herald

‘Trust in God’s power and wisdom.’

Father Tien Duong

“However, my big lesson that I learned when I was in the refugee camp was: Trust in God’s power and wisdom. And another one when I studied philosophy: God will provide.

“So, no matter what others criticize or misunderstand, gossip or even slander, or the tasks I thought, ‘How can I do them?’, at that time God reminds me of these two lessons.”

He also credits his guardian angel for assistance.

Like his brother priests, Father Tien says, “the Eucharist (visiting, adoring, receiving) is the key for me today as a priest and also for those who want to discern the vocation to the priesthood. That is the key that Jesus uses to open my heart, mind and soul, and I have to let Him do so sincerely.

“I do not want to ‘do a show’ for people to see. I want to do it for Jesus, and then Jesus is the one to show it to His people.”

— Catholic News Herald

discerning the priesthood – such a special moment in our family,” he says.

Later, his younger son Mark – a Marine officer training to be an aviator – also

discerned a call to the priesthood. He is now in the seminary, sponsored by both the military and the diocese.

These days, Deacon Becker jokes that the family roles have reversed spiritually: “Father Becker is now my spiritual father. We joke about it, but soon, God willing, I will have two spiritual fathers.”

Called By God… Supported By You

In the academic year just ended, we have been blessed to have 44 seminarians in both major seminaries and at St. Joseph College Seminary who are discerning God’s call to serve you as priests in the Diocese of Charlotte. Your prayers and financial assistance pay for a portion of tuition, room & board that will help assure the diocese of having priests to shepherd the Catholic population in western North Carolina for years to come.

from left: Fr. Michael Lugo, Fr. Maximilian Frei, Fr. John Cuppett, Fr. Robert Bauman II, Fr. James Tweed, Fr. Peter Townsend, Fr. Michael Camilleri, Fr. Daniel Chaves Pena, Fr. Bryan llagor and Fr. Juan Gonzalez Hernandez who will be ordained as priests for the Diocese of Charlotte on May 30, 2026.

Join us in celebrating these holy priests as we invite you to invest in the bright future of our vibrant diocese. (Click on Seminarian Education)

NC