May 22, 2015 | catholicnewsherald.com
OUR PARISHESI
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‘It just gets better!’
Father Richard Hanson reflects on 40 years of priestly ministry SueAnn Howell Senior reporter
CHARLOTTE — You would think at 70 years of age, Father Richard Hanson would want to slow down a bit, especially after 40 years of priestly ministry traversing western North Carolina to serve in more than 15 parishes, campus ministry, a Catholic high school and now in nursing home and hospital ministry. Quite the opposite is true, though, as Father Hanson, who also takes care of his 97-year-old mother Leone, would enthusiastically attest. In addition to his nursing home and hospital ministry, he is a regular confessor at St. Matthew Church in south Charlotte. He also celebrates the Hanson overflow Masses for St. Matthew Church at Charlotte Catholic High School at Christmas and Easter. Several local pastors also reach out to him when they need help covering a Mass or confessions in their absence. Father Hanson is a 1962 graduate of Charlotte Catholic High School, making him the first priest for the Diocese of Charlotte to graduate from its largest high school. How he came to be a priest for the diocese is a story in itself. Born in Wisconsin, he relocated to Charlotte with his family in 1960 as a teenager. His family is one of the founding families at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte. After graduating from Charlotte Catholic, Father Hanson discerned God calling him to the priesthood. He entered Holy Cross Seminary in Wisconsin, at that time being considered a seminarian for the Diocese of Madison as that had been his family’s home before moving to North Carolina. North Carolina Bishop Vincent Waters then sent him to St. John’s Seminary in Little Rock, Ark., which closed in 1967. Father Hanson left the seminary and went on to earn a business degree at Kings College, formerly in Charlotte. Military service then called him, and he enlisted in the Army, serving from 1966 to 1969, including in Korea. Upon returning to the U.S., he returned to his seminary studies. During his transitional diaconate year, he was given permission to become a seminarian for the newlyformed Charlotte diocese and was ordained at the age of 31 by Bishop Michael Begley on June 1, 1975, at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte. “I was studying for the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, (originally) and Bishop Cletus O’Donnell signed a $25,000 extension check to Bishop Begley (for me) and said to me, ‘I give you as a gift to the Diocese of Charlotte,’” Father Hanson recalls, smiling. “I certainly had a beautiful ordination with Bishop Begley at the cathedral,” he adds. “Monsignor Richard Allen (now deceased) was the rector of the cathedral at the time. I spent time before the ordination with him. I remember steel drums playing at the reception. It was very special.” His first assignment was as an assistant pastor, serving with Monsignor William Wellein at St. Leo the Great Church in Winston-Salem. He also worked in campus ministry at Wake Forest University and taught at Bishop McGuinness High School. Over the past 40 years he has been assigned to Our Lady Fr. HANSON, SEE page 25
Other May jubilarians Other priests celebrating special anniversaries of ordination this month include: Father Mark Lawlor, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte, Father James Collins, pastor at St. Joseph Church in Newton, and Father Eric Houseknecht, 20 years.
sueann howell | catholic news herald
Jesuit Father Patrick Earl, who is leaving as pastor of St. Peter Church in Charlotte, is pictured with the relief sculpture of Chilean Jesuit Father Alberto Hurtado created in his honor. The dedication of the sculpture and a farewell reception for Father Earl will be held May 31.
Father Patrick Earl bids farewell to St. Peter Church Sculpture of Chilean saint to be dedicated in pastor’s honor May 31 SueAnn Howell Senior reporter
CHARLOTTE — The past six years have been a sweet surprise for Jesuit Father Patrick Earl, pastor of St. Peter Church. The Philadelphia native says he had no idea what he was getting himself into in 2009 when he accepted the assignment in “The Bible Belt” where Catholics make up just 2 percent of the population. He will step down as pastor June 15. As a Jesuit of the Maryland Province who was ordained 41 years ago this June, Father Earl has served in academia, as a director of formation for the Jesuits, in addition to his assignments as a pastor. He has traveled the world, but coming to the South was not what he had expected. “When my provincial asked me to come down and be pastor and I said yes, I was thinking, ‘I’m going into the South!’ And I thought, ‘What’s it going to be like? Will I fit in?’” Father Earl recalls. He says he will never forget a particular moment that happened a couple of weeks after he moved to Charlotte: “I remember sitting at my desk two weeks after my arrival and was thinking about things, and a big, big smile came to my face. I thought, ‘You are really happy here!” He attributes his joy and love for the parish to the people who make up the community. “It’s the people. The people love this parish. They were wonderfully welcoming. That is a characteristic I have found at the parish that I’ve seen throughout my past six years here. It’s a community that welcomes people.” Father Earl is pleased how the parish has grown from 800 families to more than 1,700 families over the past six years he has served as pastor. “Our new members tell me when I’m talking to them is that they were genuinely welcomed by members of the parish. That, to me, speaks of the spirit of God in this parish, the spirit that reaches out and welcomes all in the
A dedication and bon voyage The dedication of the sculpture of St. Alberto Hurtado and a celebration honoring Father Pat Earl’s six years as pastor will be held at 2:15 p.m. Sunday, May 31, in the garden behind St. Peter Church, 507 S. Tryon St. in Charlotte. A reception will follow. Everyone is welcome.
parish,” he explains. Father Earl also shared that St. Peter Church has a particular interest in the poor, which as a Jesuit concerned with social justice issues, really resonates with him and is a key reason behind the selection of the particular tribute the parish has selected to commemorate his service. On Sunday, May 31, a bronze relief sculpture of Jesuit St. Alberto Hurtado mounted on stone will be dedicated in honor of Father Earl. The sculpture was created by renowned artist Chas Fagan, whose work is featured at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Fagan, who has lived in Charlotte for 13 years, is a parishioner of St. Peter Church. He also created two prominent statues located in Charlotte, one being the Capt. James Jack statue, which depict moments and people important to the city’s history. “I knew nothing about St. Alberto and I learned a lot, which was great,” Fagan says. “There were very few images. I had to find the ones that were most popular and make an image of that.” Fagan first painted an image of the relief sculpture, then worked with a monument company to find just the right stone to use. The bronze relief itself weighs at least 30 pounds, Fagan says, and it took three people to hoist the even Fr. earl, SEE page 25