August 18, 2000
Around the Di-
The Catholic News & Herald 3
Monroe Catholic community breaks ground for new By JIMMY ROSTAR Associate Editor MONROE — Within a painted outline of a church yet to be built, the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes celebrated both its history and a new beginning. In the next couple of years, parishioners will move into a new church in the shadows of the current worship space. The parish broke ground Aug. 12 during a bilingual ceremony that reflected the community’s faithful optimism and its multi-cultural heritage. Anglo and Latino parishioners prayed and sang as parish and diocesan officials presided at the ceremony. Spiritan Father Ed Vilkauskas, the pastor of the Monroe church, called the occasion a sacred moment. “Both soil and souls are being turned upward,” said Father Vilkauskas. “With shovels in hand, scores of families ... have come from throughout the parish in Union County as a community of faith.” The new 450-seat church will serve the needs of a parish whose roots are embedded in the time of World War II. It was in 1942 that priests of the Fathers of Mercy from Brooklyn, N.Y., arrived in Monroe to start a church here. Nearby Camp Sutton had previously been established, and at that camp,––– hundreds of soldiers — Catholics among them — trained. Our Lady of Lourdes parish was established May 10, 1942. The community, still mostly composed of soldiers and their spouses, gathered at local venues for Mass until a church was built on the current property on Franklin and Deese streets. Bishop Vincent S. Waters of Raleigh dedicated the church April 24, 1946. The parish grew over the years, despite the departure of the soldiers after the war. The Spiritan Fathers, with Father Vilkauskas as pastor, have staffed the parish since 1988. At the end of this month, Father Vilkauskas holding a Latin Mass at 7 p.m. tonight followed by benediction and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. All are welcome to attend, and for more information, call the church office at (336) 884-0244. 2 SYLVA — Eucharistic adoration takes place today at St. Mary Church, 22 Bartlett St., following 9 a.m. Mass until 3 p.m. For more information, call Annette Leporis at (828) 497-7464 or Linda Knauer at (828) 631-3561. 4 CLEMMONS — There is a charismatic Mass being held at Holy Family Church, 4820 Kinnamon Rd., tonight at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call the church office at (336) 778-0600. 8 HOT SPRINGS — “A Spiritual Retreat for a Creative Mind” is a women’s retreat being led by Mercy Sister Soledad Aguilo, artist and educator, and being held at the Jesuit House of Prayer, 289 NW Hwy. 25/70, today through Sept. 10. For more information, call Mercy Sister Peggy Verstege, director, at (828) 622-7366. 10 CHARLOTTE — The St. Matthew
Photo by Jimmy Rostar
Parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Monroe were invited to bring soil from their own property to add to the groundbreaking ceremony.
enters a new assignment at the direction of his community, and the parish will be staffed with diocesan personnel. Father Luis Osorio-Salazar, one of the diocese’s newly ordained, has already assumed his role as parochial vicar here. Especially in recent years, the parish has seen an influx of Latino parishioners who bring a different culture but the same sense of being a faith community that has existed here for more than a half-century. It is that sense of community that Father Vilkauskas called special attention to during the ceremony. “The work we’re beginning today, then, should enliven our faith and make us grateful,” said Father Vilkauskas. “We know the familiar words of the psalm: ‘If the Lord does not build a house, in vain do the laborers labor.’” “Whenever we look to the interAugust 21 CHARLOTTE — Servite Father Peter Mary Rookey, known as the “healing priest,” is celebrating Mass at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., beginning tonight at 6:30 p.m. with a Servite rosary service. Father Rookey will also be the celebrant at Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 1400 Suther Rd., in Charlotte on Aug. 22, and at Immaculate Conception Church, 208 7th Ave. West, in Hendersonville on Aug. 23. For more information, call Terri DeLuca at (704) 888-6050. 23 CHARLOTTE — All families who have suffered a loss are invited to St. Patrick Cathedral, 1621 Dilworth Rd. East, for a memorial Mass in honor of those who have passed away during the month. Call the church office at (704) 334-2283 for more information and with the name(s) of loved ones so that they may be remembered at Mass. 25 WINSTON-SALEM — St. Leo the Great Church, 335 Springdale Ave., is
ests of our neighbors, the community, and serve them, then we are in a sense God’s own co-workers,” he added. The pastor urged the congregation to seek God’s grace during this special time in the history of the parish. “This will be a privileged place where God can dwell with his people for years and years to come,” he said. “This will be a place of music. This will be a place of poetry. This will be a place of prayer ... wherein God draws all the human corners to center, into a unity — many people, many gifts, but one in Christ Jesus, around his table.” In addition to their own shovels to overturn soil at the groundbreaking, parishioners were invited to bring soil from their property to pour into an opening in the ground over which the altar will someday reside in the new church. The gesture, said Father Vilkauskas, added to the sense of community and ownership all communities of faith share. Latino parishioners led a special procession in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, to whom a shrine will be dedicated in the new church. Carrying a statue of Mary and jars of earth brought from the original Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine in Tepeyac, Mexico, the Latino parishioners offered their prayers for a faith-filled future in the Monroe parish as well. “This event ends a few years and many months of planning, prayer, dreaming and hard work on the part of many people,” said Father Vilkauskas, giving special thanks to the pastoral council, church planning committee, the capital campaign committee, architects John and Anna Lewandowski, builders John S. Clark Construction, and diocesan officials including Father Mauricio W. West, vicar general and chancellor. The pastor also took time to thank the parish, whose faithfulness and dedication has inspired the pastor in
his more than a decade of service in Monroe. In this jubilee year, he said, the parish has a special reason to be thankful — and to continue being that strong family devoted to God. “This year is a time of grace for all Christians and certainly for this community of faith, this parish,” he said. “(It is) a celebration of the rebirth of Christ among us, in the holy temple of glory made not by human hands but by hearts in love with Christ and connected to his service.”
having its semi-annual fall and winter children’s clothing sale from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. this morning and from 8 a.m.noon tomorrow in the activity center. The proceeds from this sale will benefit church and outreach programs. To donate or for more information, call Linda Hutchinson at (336) 748-8277 or Liz Matthews at (336) 768-6641. 27 CHARLOTTE — The Youth in Action group from Our Lady of Consolation Church, 2301 Statesville Ave., is sponsoring a dedication and blessing of the newly renovated cultural center today after 11 a.m. Mass. Refreshments are being served after the ribbon-cutting ceremony. For more information, contact Nanette Lide, youth minister, at (704) 536-2340. CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte area monthly ultreya meets today from 1:30-3 p.m. at St. Matthew Church, 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy., in the parish center. For more information, contact Dan Hines at (704) 3392076. HENDERSONVILLE — The St.
Francis of the Hills Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order meets today from 3-5 p.m. at Immaculate Conception Church, 208 7th Ave. West, in the recently added office wing. Visitors and inquirers are welcome, so for more information, call Pat Cowan at (828) 884-4246. 28 CHARLOTTE — There is a support group meeting for caregivers of family and friends suffering from Alzheimer’s/ dementia today from 2-3:30 p.m. in rooms D and E of the ministry center at St. Gabriel Church, 3016 Providence Rd. Activities for the memory-impaired are also being provided. For more information about the meeting or about the Adult Day Respite Program for the memory-impaired, which meets every Monday and Wednesday from 8:30 a.m.- 1 p.m., call Suzanne Bach at (704) 376-4135.
Contact Associate Editor Jimmy Rostar by calling (704) 370-3334 or e-mail jtrostar@charlottediocese.org.
Elder Ministry schedules “Fall Days” Catholic Social Services’ Elder
Minstry has announced three regional Fall Days of Reflection for seniors at the following locations: Catholic Conference Center in Hickory, Oct. 12; St. Mark Church in Huntersville on Oct. 19; and St. Elizabeth Church in Boone on Oct. 26. All times are 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., and registration is $8 per person. Advance registration is required by Sept. 26 for Hickory, Oct. 4 for Huntersville and Oct. 18 for Boone. Space is limited at the Hickory and Boone locations. For further information, call Sandra Breakfield at (704) 370-3220 or Meg Smith at (828) 464-8442.
September 1 HIGH POINT — Christ the King Church, 1505 East Kivett Dr., is