June 6, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com
Transitional diaconate ordination set for June 7 CHARLOTTE — Seminarian Casey Coleman will be ordained to the transitional diaconate for the Diocese of Charlotte by Bishop Peter J. Jugis at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 7, at St. Patrick Cathedral. Coleman is currently studying at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. The transitional diaconate is the final step toward priestly ordination. Once ordained a deacon, Coleman can proclaim the Gospel at Mass, give homilies, baptize and officiate at weddings. He will have an additional year of theological studies and spiritual formation before being ordained to the priesthood next June. Coleman, 32, is the son of Keith and Caroline Coleman of Weddington. Coleman He was born in Dayton, Ohio, and spent much of his childhood in Ohio. He More is a graduate online of Sun Valley At www. High School catholic in Monroe. In news 2004, he earned herald. a Bachelor com: Read of Science in a Q&A with mechanical Casey engineering Coleman from N.C. State University. He studied pre-theology at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, Pa., and transferred to the Pontifical College Josephinum to study theology in 2011. A parishioner of St. Matthew Church in Charlotte, he served at St. Dorothy Church in Lincolnton in 2011 and St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte in 2012 during summer assignments for the diocese. He also served on the Totus Tuus summer catechesis team at St. Patrick Cathedral in 2012. Coleman, baptized Catholic but was not raised in the faith, says he first realized he had a vocation to the priesthood in 2006, when he was 24. He was a parishioner at St. Aloysius Church in Hickory at the time. “I think that I first thought I might have had a vocation to the priesthood in 2006 after I was confirmed, but I did not fully realize I had a vocation until spring of 2008. And then by that summer, I was certain and began filling out an application to the diocese in October.” — SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
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Buchanan, Carter, McNulty await June 28 ordination CHARLOTTE — Bishop Peter J. Jugis will ordain three men to the priesthood at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 28, at St. Mark Church in Huntersville. Transitional Deacons Paul Buchanan, Noah Carter and Paul McNulty are poised to become diocesan priests upon their ordination. Both Deacons Buchanan and Carter are completing their Bachelor of Sacred Theology degrees from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. Deacon Paul McNulty recently earned a Master of Divinity from the Pontifical
College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio. Deacon Paul Buchanan, the son of Robert and Gloria Buchanan, is a parishioner of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte. Deacon Noah Carter, the son of Gregory and Holly Carter, is a parishioner of St. Barnabas Church in Arden. Deacon Paul McNulty, the son of Deacon Brian and Michelle McNulty, is a parishioner of St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte. A reception for all three newly ordained priests will be held in the Monsignor Joseph Kerin Family Life Center at St. Mark Parish immediately following the ordination Mass June 28. St. Mark Church is located at 14740 Stumptown Road in Huntersville. All are welcome to attend the Mass and reception. — SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
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Upcoming coverage In our June 27 print edition and online: Advance coverage of the June 28 ordinations along with a celebration of vocations At www.facebook.com/catholicnewsherald: Share your well wishes for the three ordinands
Priest jubilarians
Father Winslow: ‘I love seeing how Divine Providence unfolds right before our eyes’ CHARLOTTE — Father Patrick Winslow, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte, celebrates 15 years of priesthood this month. Prior to being installed as pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church, he served as pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Tryon for six years. Originally from upstate New York, he was ordained by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany, N.Y. He transferred to the Diocese of Charlotte in 2004. He earned an advanced degree in canon law from The Catholic University of America and currently serves the marriage tribunal as “defender of the bond,” a diocesan official charged with defending the validity of the marriage bond in annulment cases. He is also a lecturer for Catholic Scripture Studies International. He recently shared some reflections on the priesthood: CNH: What are some of your favorite assignments you had over the past 15 years? Father Winslow: Of the more notable parish assignments is St. John the Baptist in Tryon. This is because it was the first parish where I was installed as the pastor. Another interesting assignment was a year I spent as a part-time chaplain at Great Meadow Correctional Facility. It is a maximum security prison in upstate New York. Surprisingly, it was the most intellectually challenging assignment. The Winslow men had complicated and difficult situations, time to read and many questions. I have a great fondness for prison ministry. I encourage anyone who can to get involved. CNH: What do you enjoy most about your priestly ministry? Father Winslow: In short, loving God and His people. I love seeing how Divine Providence unfolds right before our eyes. I love the intimacy of God found in the sacraments. I love being shaped by the path on which God has placed me. As one with pastoral care of souls, I love being an instrument of the Good Shepherd.
Other anniversaries
Also celebrating their ordination anniversaries are: 10 years – Father Robert Conway, parochial vicar of St. Matthew Church; Father Timothy Reid, pastor of St. Ann Church; and Father Lhoposo, pastor of St. James the Greater Church in Hamlet and Sacred Heart Mission in Wadesboro 5 years – Father Benjamin Roberts, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Church
CNH: What are some of the most important lessons you have learned over the past 15 years? Father Winslow: Administration is a headache, although necessary. With every decision someone or some group will be unhappy. Although the goal may be clear, the path to get there takes time. This applies not only to pastoring a parish, but also to one’s personal life. As a pastor, one is more readily persuaded by honesty and humility than by anger and gossip. CNH: What advice would you give to a man discerning a vocation to the priesthood? Father Winslow: Be honest. Seek first the will of God. Respond generously and courageously. Never lose sight of the fact that the faithful reasonably expect their priests to be men of God, and men of God are men of love. CNH: Do you have any special plans to celebrate your anniversary? Father Winslow: I will have dinner with my parents, apart from whom I cannot imagine my life or vocation. — SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
Father Starczewski: ‘Never be afraid to teach the faith’
Starczewski
MOCKSVILLE — Father John Starczewski, pastor of St. Francis Assisi Church, is among the first group of diocesan priests that Bishop Peter Jugis ordained in 2004. Father John, as he likes to be called, was ordained at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Charlotte, along with Father Timothy Reid and Father Robert Conway. His first assignment was at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte, where he served as parochial vicar for two years. He then served as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro for a year. Father John became the pastor of St. James the Greater
Parish in Hamlet and Sacred Heart Mission in Wadesboro in 2008, and for the past three years he has served as pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Mocksville. “All of my assignments have been special in some way,” Father John says. “St. Vincent because it was my first and the things that I got to do and learn there. Our Lady of Grace is just simply the most beautiful place to celebrate Mass. St. James and Sacred Heart, well, it was my first assignment FATHER JOHN, SEE page 13