Sept. 26, 2025

At a glance

SEPTEMBER 26, 2025

VOLUME 34 • NUMBER 25

1123 S. CHURCH ST.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. 28203-4003 catholicnews@rcdoc.org 704-370-3333

PUBLISHER

The Most Reverend

Michael T. Martin, OFM Conv., Bishop of Charlotte

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OurCATHOLIC ALL WEEK

Timely tips for blending faith & life

world anticipates change at the end of September, as the colors of the leaves begin to be painted in brighter hues and even the sunlight takes on a more golden glow. Perhaps it’s only natural in this time of transition that the Church celebrates two feast days of angels who guide Catholics through this ever-changing world – the Feast of the Archangels on Sept. 29 and the Feast of Guardian Angels on Oct. 2. Here are some ways to walk with them this month:

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SAVOR THE SWEETNESS

If desserts provide a foreshadowing of heavenly joys, then angel-inspired treats are among the sweetest. You and your family can discuss the role angels play as you bake and assemble some light and delicious desserts that use angel food cake as a base.

Diocesan calendar of events

PRAYER SERVICES

25TH AND 50TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY MASS: 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26, St. Patrick Cathedral, 1621 Dilworth Road East, Charlotte. Bishop Michael Martin will celebrate the diocese’s annual Mass for couples commemorating their 25th or 50th wedding anniversaries. Reception to follow. Register at www.charlottediocese.org/form-wedding-anniversary-mass.

EVENTS

BECHTLER TRIO OPENS 2025 SEASON OF ARTS AT THE ABBEY: 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29, at Mary Help of Christians Basilica, Belmont Abbey College. The Bechtler Trio will explore dance through music from Central European traditions and Latin American rhythms. Free, donations accepted.

DIVINE MERCY – A PILGRIM’S JOURNEY: Saturday, Oct. 4, St. Matthew Church, Charlotte. Join Father Patrick Cahill and guests to explore the connection between pilgrimage and Divine Mercy. 9 a.m. Mass, followed by 10 a.m. Camino Pilgrim breakfast and program in the New Life Center. For more information, visit www.stmatthewcatholic.org/divine-mercy-a-pilgrims-journey.

CATHOLIC GRANDPARENTS GROUP : Saturday, Oct. 18, St. Philip the Apostle Church, Statesville.

9 a.m. Mass followed by coffee and donuts and a 10 a.m. meeting on a Grandparents’ Special Vocation. Learn more at www.catholicgrandparentsassociation.org.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ANGELS

The Bible is filled with gripping stories about the active roles the named archangels – Raphael, Michael and Gabriel – have played in human history. Among other readings, you can dive into St. Raphael’s journey with his very human charge in the Book of Tobit, St. Michael’s role as God’s champion in the Book of Daniel, and St. Gabriel’s role as divine messenger in Luke’s Gospel.

SPEND TIME IN PRAYER

Some of the most beautiful and enduring prayers of our faith are centered around angels. The “Angel of God” prayer is often one of the first prayers learned by Catholic children, and its simple but heart-felt plea for guidance exemplifies the angels’ role in our lives. The St. Michael Prayer, Chaplet of St. Michael, the Angelus, and the Guardian Angel Novena are more that you can set aside time to pray this month. (Links to these and more can be found on our website.)

Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv., will participate in the following events over the coming weeks:

CORRECTION

A Sept. 12 article incorrectly stated Father Jim Collins’ birth year and the 15 years that passed between his initial inquiry and his ordination as a priest. We regret the errors.

Catholic News Herald, Wikipedia, the Catholic Encyclopedia and Rosemarie’s Kitchen

Our faith

God’s love reaches all, even at ‘rock bottom’

When people hit “rock bottom,” they can be confident that God is there ready to rescue and redeem them, Pope Leo XIV said.

“No place is too far away, no heart is too closed (and) no tomb too tightly sealed for His love,” the pope said Sept. 24 during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

In his ongoing series of audience talks on the Jubilee theme, “Jesus Christ our Hope,” Pope Leo continued to talk about Holy Saturday and the hope-filled meaning of Christ’s descent into the realm of the dead.

“When He makes this descent – which is by no means a defeat – He reveals His radical love for humanity and that death is not the final word,” the pope said in his English-language address.

Christ descended to save those who died without knowing Him, Pope Leo said, but He continues to descend into the darkness to bring salvation to all who welcome His help.

“Christ enters our own struggles and touches our deepest sins with His mercy,” he said. “If at times we seem to have hit rock bottom, let us remember: that is the place from which God is able to begin a new creation.”

“May this remind us that if we allow Jesus to enter our own dark places, He is able to create new life in each of us, and we become beacons of hope that radiate the message of salvation for all people,” the pope said.

In the “daily hell of loneliness, shame, abandonment” and struggle, he said, Christ descends “to bear witness to the love of the Father. Not to judge, but to set free. Not to blame, but to save.”

And, Pope Leo said, Christ “does so quietly, on tiptoe, like one who enters a hospital room to offer comfort and help.”

Christ descends anywhere anyone has hidden because of fear, the pope said. He calls the person by name, takes them by the hand and brings them back to the light.

“He does so with full authority, but also with infinite gentleness, like a father with the son who fears that he is no longer loved,” the pope said.

Touched by God’s love and given new life, Christians need to share that with others, he said. “In this time of ours, among the ruins of hatred that kills, let us be bearers of the love of Jesus, which brings light and lifts up humanity.”

The pope then asked Catholics to pray the rosary each day in October for peace. “I invite everyone to pray the rosary every day during the coming month – for peace – personally, with your families and in your communities,” he said.

Seton Shrine highlights American ‘Saints on Their Way’

TESSA GERVASINI Catholic News Agency

The canonization of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in 1975 not only marked the establishment of the first Americanborn saint but also opened the door for other Americans to be honored for embodying the universal call to holiness.

“What made her canonization remarkable was that, after 200 years of history in the country, it was the first time that a nativeborn American was declared a saint of the universal Church,” said Rob Judge, executive director, National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland. “It was this validation, that you can come from these lands and obtain holiness.”

Today there are 87 American Catholics on their way to sainthood. To recognize these men and women, the shrine recent;y put together the “Saints on Their Way Village.”

It was displayed on Sept. 14 – the 50-year anniversary of Seton’s canonization – and was made up of nearly two dozen guilds, each dedicated to advancing the cause of an American on the path to sainthood.

Here are a few of their stories.

DOROTHY DAY

In 2000, Dorothy Day became a Servant of God after her cause for sainthood was opened by the Church.

Day worked as an activist and journalist, focused on social justice and aiding the poor. She influenced 20th-century American Catholicism by demonstrating the “preferential option for the poor,” which integrated faith and action.

“What I find hopeful is that she stayed the course her whole lifetime,” Dorothy Day Guild member Carolyn Zablotny said. “There were times where I’m sure she had her doubts, and she wrote so openly about her struggles. She’s not a cookie-cutter kind of person, she failed at times, but she persevered.”

Daily Scripture readings

SEPT. 28-OCT. 4

Day is a “sign of hope,” Zablotny said. “She’s a radical alternative to militarism, racism and the selfishness that we’re all suffering from. I think she’s a real model for a different kind of holiness.”

BLESSED SOLANUS CASEY

Members of the Father Solanus Guild shared the message of Blessed Solanus Casey. Fellow Capuchin friar and guild member Brother Daniel said Casey’s “main goal” was to “thank God ahead of time” as a way to recognize what he is already doing in our lives.

Casey grew up on a farm in Wisconsin and was known as a “simple man” who dedicated his ministry to the sick and troubled. While the Church has attributed only one miracle to Casey, many people have shared stories of healing after asking for his intercession. “When people come to [Solanus], he may not get rid of all the problems,” Brother Daniel said. “But when they go from him, they feel peace. They feel that someone is there to comfort them.”

MOTHER MARY LANGE

Mother Mary Lange founded the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first African American religious congregation in the United States. In 1829, she founded the order despite the trials she knew she would endure. She believed that “if you put your faith in God, it’ll be OK,” said Phyllis Johnson, a member of her Guild. The guild is advocating for her canonization because “she loved all people,” Johnson said. “Even the people who treated her shabbily, she still cared for them. She’s a saint for everyone. She took care of everyone. She didn’t discriminate … So if anybody should be a saint, it’s the person who says ‘all people

Sunday (Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time): Amos 6:1a, 4-7, Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10, 1 Tim 6:11-16, Lk 16:19-31

Monday (Feast of Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels): Dan 7:9-10, 13-14 or Rev 12:7-12ab, Ps 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 4-5, Jn 1:47-51

Tuesday (Memorial of St. Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church): Zech 8:20-23, Ps 87:1b-3, 4-5, 6-7, Lk 9:51-56

Wednesday (Memorial of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church): Neh 2:1-8, Ps 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6, Lk 9:57-62

Thursday (Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels): Neh 8:1-4a, 5-6, 7b-12, Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11, Mt 18:1-5, 10

Friday: Bar 1:15-22, Ps 79:1b-2, 3-5, 8, 9, Lk 10:13-16

Saturday (Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi): Bar 4:5-12, 27-29, Ps 69:33-35, 36-37, Lk 10:17-24

OCT. 5-11

Sunday (Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time): Hab 1:2-3, 2:2-4, Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9, 2 Tim 1:6-8, 13-14, Lk 17:5-10

Monday: Jnh 1:1–2:1-2, 11, Jnh 2:3, 4, 5, 8, Lk 10:25-37

Tuesday (Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary): Jnh 3:1-10, Ps

are God’s people.’”

BLESSED FRANCIS XAVIER SEELOS

Francis Xavier Seelos was born in Germany in 1819 but lived much of his life in New Orleans. Now that city houses his national shrine, where people come daily “to ask for the blessing of Blessed Francis,” Father Steve, a priest advocating for his canonization, said. Seelos was known “as a wonderful man,” he said. “He was totally selfgiving – the type of person that makes a saint. When people were sick, he didn’t think about himself at all. He went to bless them and ended up getting sick himself, which is how he died.”

BLESSED MICHAEL J. MCGIVNEY

Several employees of the Knights of Columbus shared the cause for canonization of the organization’s founder, Father Michael J. McGivney.

“He’s a powerful intercessor,” said Alicia Mucha, manager of events. “He loves to answer prayers for unemployment, family conflict and any substance abuse.”

In 1882, McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus “to give men a better community, something that was rooted in their faith that would keep them away from drinking,” Mucha said. The organization started in Connecticut “to provide benefits for women and children, in case anything happened to the men. He would ensure that women and orphans were taken care of.” In 2020, McGivney was beatified after the Vatican recognized a miracle attributed to his intercession. Judge said McGivney and the other potential American saints show “us that we, too, can draw closer to God and achieve great things.”

130:1b-2, 3-4ab, 7-8, Lk 10:38-42 Wednesday: Jnh 4:1-11, Ps 86:3-4, 5-6, 9-10, Lk 11:1-4

Thursday: Mal 3:13-20b, Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6, Lk 11:5-13

Friday: Joel 1:13-15; 2:1-2, Ps 9:2-3, 6 and 16, 8-9, Lk 11:15-26

Saturday: Joel 4:12-21, Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12, Lk 11:27-28 OCT. 12-18

Sunday (Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time): 2 Kgs 5:14-17, Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 2 Tim 2:8-13, Lk 17:11-19

Monday: Rom 1:1-7, Ps 98:1bcde, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, Lk 11:29-32

Tuesday: Rom 1:16-25, Ps 19:2-3, 4-5, Lk 11:37-41

Wednesday (Memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church): Rom 2:1-11, Ps 62:2-3, 6-7, 9, Lk 11:42-46

Thursday: Rom 3:21-30, Ps 130:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6ab, Lk 11:47-54

Friday (Memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr): Rom 4:1-8, Ps 32:1b-2, 5, 11, Lk 12:1-7

Saturday (Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist): 2 Tim 4:10-17b, Ps 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18, Lk 10:1-9

Pope Leo XIV

Day

Casey

Seelos

Lange

McGivney

Our diocese

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com

In Brief

Deacon in Forest City receives the Old North State Award

FOREST CITY — Deacon Andrew Cilone, who has served at Immaculate Conception Parish in Forest City for more than 40 years, was recently awarded the Old North State Award – given by the governor to recognize dedication to the state of North Carolina.

A member of the Diocese of Charlotte’s first class of permanent deacons, Deacon Cilone was ordained on May 29, 1983. He cantors at Mass, serves as director of religious education, works in prison ministry, visits the hospitalized and the homebound, and has taught and mentored other deacons in western North Carolina.

In 2017, Deacon Cilone was named Forest City’s Citizen of the Year. He is a leader in the Knights of Columbus, supporting the community through coats and gifts for kids at Christmas, cans for the Kid Backpack lunch program and assisting the Rutherford food pantry.

Belmont Abbey College sees record-breaking enrollment

BELMONT — Belmont Abbey College has announced the highest total enrollment in its history. For the Fall 2025 semester, the college welcomed its second-largest incoming class of students, making a record total enrollment of 1,741 students — a milestone that represents a 3.2% increase over last year.

The total enrollment includes students from traditional and online undergraduate, dualenrolled, non-degree-seeking and graduate programs. The new admissions are an indicator of growing interest in the college’s Benedictine liberal arts tradition and academic offerings –with students representing 48 states and 26 countries.

“We are gratified to see so many students and families connecting with our academic, student and faith experiences,” said Dr. Jesse Dorman, vice provost of enrollment.

Carolina Pro Musica season opens

CHARLOTTE — Carolina Pro Musica presents German Ingenuity as the opening concert of its 48th season. The program features the music of Bach and Handel with Rebecca Miller Saunders, soprano, and Sung Lee, baroque oboist and a string ensemble. The concert is 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 1001 Queens Road, Charlotte. Tickets are $16 or $8 for students and seniors. Tickets are available at www.carolinapromusica.org or at the door.

— Catholic News Herald

At Red Mass, bishop urges lawyers and judges to serve God, their top client, first

LISA M. GERACI lmgeraci@rcdoc.org

CHARLOTTE — Members of the legal profession from the Diocese of Charlotte gathered for the annual Red Mass at St. Patrick Cathedral Sept. 18 to pray for guidance in their occupations ahead of October’s start of a new Supreme Court term.

The Thursday evening Votive Mass was presided over by Bishop Michael Martin, who wore red vestments symbolizing the fire that filled the Apostles in the Upper Room with God’s Presence.

Around 50 lawyers, judges and other legal professionals attended the celebration that traces its roots to a Mass offered by Pope Innocent IV in 1243 for the Ecclesial Judicial Court.

Bishop Martin reminded congregants that the annual Mass offered an opportunity to reflect on the true example of justice – Jesus.

“We have a world that needs justice and truth,” he said. “Too often we have tried to bring our own truth and find ourselves lacking and insufficient, not realizing enough that we need Christ at the heart of all we do.”

Throughout his message, Bishop Martin asked participants if they were serving the greater good.

“When all that we do is see the world through the lens of the law, maybe sometimes we begin to see everything as a legal debate, everything as an argument to be made,” the bishop cautioned.

He urged them to make certain they are rooted in something greater than the law: God’s truth.

Drawing from the Gospel reading from Luke (Lk 22:24-30), which recounts the Apostles’ dispute of greatness, the bishop expressed the importance of service, encouraging them to put pride aside and seek the Lord’s truth. When that happens, “all of creation rejoices with us,” he said.

He called legal professionals to cultivate a heart of service by serving God foremost. The patron saint of lawyers, St. Thomas More, understood that, the bishop said, noting that More’s refusal to accept the divorce and religious

supremacy of King Henry VIII ultimately cost him his life.

“It is a holy thing you do, so do it with holiness by immersing yourself in the grand design of your Creator, who has made this world to be a perfect reflection of beauty and truth and wants that lived out in justice,” Bishop Martin said.

A reception featuring speaker John Bursch, senior counsel and vice president of appellate advocacy for Alliance Defending Freedom, ended the evening. Bursch is an appellate lawyer who has argued 13 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and dozens more before state supreme courts.

He encouraged his peers to uphold their faith, listing actionable steps such as taking time for Mass weekly and making the sign of the cross in public.

“We have to insist, I mean insist, that we need 90 minutes on Saturday evening or Sunday to go to Mass. It’s a nonnegotiable,” Bursch said. “God is the most important person in your life … and you are going to be a better lawyer by taking your time to be with Him.”

He urged them to get involved in the

pro-life movement and in Title IX-related cases, to perpetuate the role and right of the institution of marriage and to stand steadfast against the porn industry and contraceptives.

“You can’t support something that goes against the core teachings of the Church,” said Bursch.

Event coordinator Austin Walsh, a litigator and president of the St. Thomas More Society, said the evening of putting aside arguments and coming together was part of God’s design.

“Both the messages from John and the bishop were that being a Catholic lawyer means you can’t shy away from tough conversation,” Walsh said. “Living your faith is not just on Sunday, but it’s at your workplace, too, and you are called to be charitable and loving.”

As he said, “we as lawyers are not often on the same side, but we come together each year with the common purpose of remembering the faith and integrity of our patron, St. Thomas More, and to orient our work toward giving the glory to God.”

Applications now open for local Rice Bowl Mini-Grants

CHARLOTTE — Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte is now accepting applications for the Fall 2025 Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl Mini-Grant Program. Entities working to address hunger and poverty in the Diocese of Charlotte may apply for $1,000 grants by Friday, Oct. 31.

Guidelines, eligibility details and the application form are available at www.ccdoc.org/cchd-crs. Completed applications should be emailed to jtpurello@ccdoc.org. The Rice Bowl Mini-Grant Program is funded through the annual Lenten CRS Rice Bowl collection. For every $3

collected in the annual Rice Bowl Lenten Program that support CRS overseas projects, $1 stays in the Charlotte diocese to fund local hunger and poverty relief efforts. Depending on available funds, one or two grant rounds are held each year.

In Fall 2024 and Spring 2025, 15 diocesan entities each received $1,000 grants to support food pantries, community and senior meals, school supplies, emergency assistance and more. Two examples are:

n At St. Mary’s Parish, 179 students received backpacks and supplies thanks to a grant. “Many children were so excited about their backpacks and the supplies in them that they actually hugged their

backpacks,” said Ashley Sharkey, the parish’s Social Outreach Committee member. “We have never done anything on this scale before, and the grant money is crucial.”

n At Our Lady of the Annunciation Parish in Albemarle, parishioners combined their $1,000 grant with parish fundraising to serve approximately 600 meals over five Saturdays at the Community Table, noted the parish’s Food for Families Chairman Don Barker. Volunteers included members of the Rev. J.A. Cowan 10495 Knights of Columbus Council and their wives.

—

Joseph Purello

TROY C. HULL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Bishop Michael Martin speaks to members of the St. Thomas More Society about the importance of upholding God’s law before man’s law.

Cursillo members gather to focus on community, evangelizing those on the margins

LISA M. GERACI

lmgeraci@rcdoc.org

SALISBURY — Cursillo members from across the Diocese of Charlotte came together for the annual Grand Ultreya, ending the day of fellowship and reflection with a Mass offered by Bishop Michael Martin at Dan Nicholas Park.

“You are a gift to the Church, not just locally here in our diocese and parishes, but in the universal Church, and a powerful one,” Bishop Martin noted. “Our world, our Church, is richer, is holier, because of how you commit to living the Good News each and every day.”

Cursillo is a worldwide lay spiritual movement focused on helping people live their faith in secular world. Upon joining, participants attend an intensive three-day retreat. Afterward, on “the fourth day,” they put what they learned into action.

Cursillo members then meet weekly to pray, study and reflect on how they are evangelizing their workplaces, homes and communities. Ultreya is a monthly

gathering where they come together in community to share their evangelism stories.

CALL TO EVANGELIZE

The annual Grand Ultreya began with group talks and testimonials. Speaker Erin Hudak, a St. Pius X parishioner, shared her interaction with a woman she felt called to speak with during the Eucharistic Congress.

“The Lord kept saying, ‘Spend time with her; you are a witness, go and talk to her, see where she is at,’” she said. “And all these doors opened up.”

During Mass, Bishop Martin emphasized the power of prayer and evangelism in a world of doubting Thomases.

“Our readings call us tonight to remember who we really are and what we are really called to be, rather than what we are putting out here for the world to see,” he said.

In Luke’s Gospel about the dishonest steward, who reduces debts to cash in future favors, God applauded the man’s shrewdness, but not his motivations, he said.

“Jesus applauds the clever, but what He asks us is: are we bringing that kind of mentality to the proclamation of the Gospel?” the bishop said.

The world, as described in the first reading from the prophet Amos, takes advantage of the lesser, Bishop Martin emphasized.

“That’s the way the world works; the world doesn’t care about who is on the margins; the world cares about one person, ‘me,’” he said. “Justice isn’t found in the world, because the ultimate direction of the world is … self-satisfaction.”

REACHING THOSE ON THE MARGINS

Instead of focusing on self, Catholics are called to be concerned for others, he said. He urged them to pursue lives of daily prayer, the sacraments and the support of a like-minded community – and then carry those blessings forward.

“Take the creative energy that is being given to all of us and put

it towards building the Kingdom,” the bishop said.

For St. Therese parishioner Andrew Robson, a two-year Cursillo veteran, the movement has brought Christ to the front and center of his daily life.

“Christianity was just a casual thing in my life,” he said. “I would go to Sunday Mass and engage in it, check the box, but now it is really becoming integrated in my life. The

powerful thing about Cursillo is it gets you engaged with a group of people who are all working on the same journey together.”

TROY C. HULL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Bishop Michael Martin celebrates the annual Grand Ultreya Mass under a picnic shelter at Dan Nicholas Park in Salisbury with Cursillo members from across the Diocese of Charlotte.

TROY C. HULL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Ben and Diane Smith of St. Leo the Great Parish in Winston-Salem were married for 36 years. Diane was always Catholic, while Ben was Methodist until, through prayer, he embraced the Catholic faith. He completed OCIA and was welcomed into the Church at this past Easter Vigil. Now united in faith, the couple joined Cursillo this summer.

Forest City parish celebrates 75 years of faith

CHRISTINA LEE KNAUSS clknauss@rcdoc.org

FOREST CITY

— Parishioners at Immaculate Conception Church recently celebrated 75 years of keeping the faith in Rutherford County.

The parish, which serves 269 households, celebrated its anniversary with cupcake and cake receptions after Masses on Sept. 13 and 14 and a special anniversary Mass on Sept. 15. Festivities continued with the annual Hispanic Festival on Sept. 20, a day complete with food, music and vendors that was a fitting kickoff to Hispanic Heritage Month.

The series of celebrations was the result of months of planning by a small yet dedicated group of volunteers.

“That seems to be a hallmark of this parish,” said volunteer Penny Watkins. “People give their very best for the honor and glory of God.”

Prayer played a big part in the celebrations. Seventy-nine families and individuals pledged to pray the rosary for 75 days leading up to the anniversary date, meaning that about 6,000 rosaries were recited for the growth of the parish, Watkins noted.

Homebound parishioners weren’t forgotten. Members of the parish’s Third Order of Lay Carmelites prepared anniversary prayer books that included traditional prayers as well as special ones for the lonely and those dealing with chronic illness and distributed them during home visits. Parishioner Donna Kersey wrote an anniversary prayer.

Father Herbert T. Burke has led the parish for 24 years and hopes the celebration reminds his flock of the role they play in sharing the Catholic faith in Rutherford County.

“For three-quarters of a century, Christ has been here in the Eucharistic Presence, and the Sacrifice of the Mass has been here bringing blessings and graces to the county,” he said.

FAITH IN FOREST CITY

The parish’s history is a testament to the dedication and perseverance of the faithful in Forest City, located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Catholics have lived in Rutherford County since the 1840s but had no permanent place to worship until more than a century later.

In the 1880s, a faithful group of six Catholic families traveled about 20 miles to Shelby to attend Mass at St. Mary, Help

of Christians, a mission church started by the Benedictine monks

of nearby Belmont Abbey.

In the 1940s, Monsignor Lawrence Newman, then pastor at the Shelby parish, launched an effort to start a mission in adjacent Rutherford County. With help from the Catholic Extension Society, local Catholics built a church and named it in honor of the Immaculate Conception. It was dedicated in September 1950 by Bishop Vincent S. Waters of the Diocese of Raleigh. Immaculate Conception was

a mission for 22 years, and it took 19 years to welcome the first resident pastor, Father Kenneth Parker, who arrived in 1969. Immaculate Conception became a parish in 1972 after the Diocese of Charlotte was formed.

The parish continued to grow, and a new rectory and parish hall were built and dedicated in 1978 by Bishop Michael J. Begley.

GROWING TOGETHER

Father Burke arrived in 2001, and shortly after, the parish purchased 30 acres of adjacent land to build a larger church to accommodate continuing growth.

In 2010, Bishop Peter Jugis dedicated the current church, a Gothic-inspired stone structure that seats 650 and is filled with inspiring artwork, including beautiful stained-glass windows. Statues of angels and saints and a Celtic cross welcome visitors at the front of the building. The church property also features a 20-foot aluminum crucifix painted to look like wood with the simple inscription: “Follow Me.”

The church is also home to Deacon Andrew Cilone, one of the original deacons ordained in the Diocese of Charlotte more than 40 years ago. Known

Pastors of Immaculate Conception Mission

1950 Father Lawrence Newman 1950-’51 Father Desmond Keenan 1951-’52 Father William Pearson 1952-‘57 Father Michael Carey 1957-’58 Father T. F. Carney

1958-’60 Father Thomas Clements 1960-’62 Father Pat Gallagher 1962-’63 Father John Reagan 1963-’68 Father James Keaney

Pastors

of Immaculate Conception Church

1969-‘70 Father Kenneth Parker 1970-’72 Father Frank Cintula 1972-’76 Father Joseph L. McCarthy

1976-’79 Father Paul C. Wilderotter

1980-’85 Father Jim Stuber

1985-2001 Father Gabriel Meehan

2001- Father Herbert T. Burke

affectionately as “Deacon Andy,” he is well-loved at the parish and in Forest City for his dedication to community service, including work in prison ministry and collecting food and clothing for the needy. He recently was honored with the Old North State Award for his service (see page ). Deacon Cilone is also a gifted singer who once performed with Bobby Vinton and has recorded his own CDs.

Immaculate Conception is also known for its annual Cross Walk and Eucharistic Procession – which takes place this year on Sept. 27 –during which parishioners carry large wooden crosses through downtown Forest City as a public testament to a thriving faith.

Immaculate Conception Parish in Forest City recently celebrated 75 years of building the Catholic faith in Rutherford County.

GIULIANA POLINARI RILEY AND PROVIDED

Immaculate Conception Parish celebrated its 75th anniversary with a joyful weekend of events that included a well-attended Hispanic Festival to kickoff Hispanic Heritage Month and celebrations after weekend Masses.

Belmont Abbey College announces site and design plans for its new Visual and Performing Arts Center

BELMONT — Belmont Abbey College is setting the stage for a new home for its acclaimed theater group, The Abbey Players, its popular concert series and a host of community arts organizations that use its facilities.

The college has selected a site in the heart of campus for its new $60 million Visual and Performing Arts Center and has released conceptual drawings that reveal a picturesque blending of Gothic and modern architecture.

“The Visual and Performing Arts Center will be a vibrant embodiment of the Benedictine values of hospitality, community and tradition, providing a dynamic space that nurtures creativity and growth,” said Adam Caruthers, studio principal at Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, the architect on the project.

“Designed to inspire both students and the greater public, it will serve as a lasting resource that strengthens bonds and reflects Belmont Abbey’s commitment to tradition and fostering a vibrant community.”

IN THE HEART OF CAMPUS

The new center will offer a vibrant venue for theater, dance, visual and performing arts, exhibitions and a variety of educational and cultural events. Designed to be both beautiful and functional, the facility will feature versatile performance spaces that enhance audience experience and support a range of artistic disciplines.

A site for the state-of-the-art facility has been selected along Abbey Lane – the main campus thoroughfare – between the Science Building and Stowe Hall. The location was chosen based on accessibility, parking, traffic flow and utility access, and also reinforces the college’s commitment to integrating the arts into campus life.

Conceptual renderings released by Little present a design that honors Belmont Abbey College’s Catholic heritage and Benedictine values, blending traditional Gothic architectural elements with a modern aesthetic. The result is a welcoming, inspiring space designed to elevate artistic expression and community connection.

The updated $60 million project cost reflects the full scope of the ideal center, which includes a 1,000-seat theater, a full stage with backstage areas, control and

Director of Music

St. Luke Catholic Church Mint Hill, NC 28227

St. Luke Catholic Church is seeking a full-time Director of Music. We are a Catholic parish located in Mint Hill, NC, just outside of Charlotte, NC. We currently have 1,800 registered families and ve weekend Masses.

• Active, practicing Catholic

• Bachelors/Master’s degree in Music

• Piano/keyboard pro ciency

• Choral conducting skills

• Leadership experience in a liturgical setting

• Knowledge of Catholic liturgy

• Strong communication and organizational skills. Requirements for this position:

mixing rooms, rehearsal space that can be covered, storage, a loading dock and a workshop. Additional features will include a dance studio, secondary rehearsal space and an art gallery.

“This performing arts center is not only a transformative addition to the college, but also a vital cultural resource for the greater Gaston County community,”

Salary and bene ts commensurate with education and experience.

said Phil Brach, vice president of college relations at Belmont Abbey College and a representative of the Community Leaders’ Advisory Committee. “Our vision is a shared one – by dedicating over 50% of the facility’s use to community groups, we’re creating a space that will truly serve and enrich the entire community.”

The Gaston County Arts Advisory Committee, which includes more than 40

local leaders and college representatives, played a role in the planning process. Their research, surveys and visits to other performing arts centers have ensured the new facility will reflect community needs.

A CENTER FOR THE COMMUNITY

A range of community organizations have plans to use the new center, including Gaston Dance, which plans to host three annual performances at the venue, while the Charlotte Symphony hopes to bring its first-ever concerts to the county. The Gaston Symphonic Band aims to present its annual concert series there, and the Gaston County Art Guild plans exhibitions in the gallery. Holy Angels anticipates hosting art shows and its annual residents talent show there.

As plans move forward, Belmont Abbey and Little will continue to work closely with community leaders to finalize designs and begin construction.

Belmont Abbey College’s commitment includes hosting the facility on its main campus, operational costs, fundraising, and a pledge to make the facility accessible to local organizations and residents. The project is being funded through North Carolina state grants, private donations and community partnerships, including $9 million the North Carolina General Assembly allocated in October 2023. — Sarah Bolton, Belmont Abbey College, and Catholic News Herald

Join a mission-driven team that’s shaping how the Diocese of Charlotte connects, informs and inspires –in one of the nation’s fastest-growing regions.

We’re seeking a bilingual Communications Assistant to provide essential editorial and administrative support for the award-winning Catholic News Herald and diocesan channels and produce content highlighting our parishes, schools and ministries. You’ll also assist with media outreach and help build relationships and audiences. Candidates should have at least 2 years’ experience as an editorial or office administrative assistant (or similar), an associate’s degree or higher, and fluency in written and spoken Spanish and English.

If you’re detail-oriented, organized and ready to use your skills to advance a mission of communication and evangelization, we’d like to hear from you!

Belmont Abbey College’s planned Visual and Performing Arts Center blends Gothic and modern architecture in a $60 million facility that will be used by the college and community arts groups including the Charlotte Symphony, Gaston Symphonic Band and Holy Angels.

$82,000 Monroe endowment to benefit St. John the Baptist in Tryon

COURTNEY MCLAUGHLIN catholicnews@rcdoc.org

TRYON — Sometimes a small initial gift can grow to have a tremendous impact. That is certainly the case with the Bernardine and Marshall Monroe Memorial Endowment Fund, established in 2015 to assist with the general needs of St. John the Baptist Parish in Tryon. Bernardine Brodzinski was born in Helmetta, New Jersey. She relocated first to Chicago and later to Columbus, North Carolina, with her husband Marshall Monroe in 1992.

Upon moving, the couple became members of St. John the Baptist Parish, where they remained lifelong parishioners. She was active in the community, volunteering at Steps for Hope Thrift Store for 20 years.

When her husband died on Sept. 1, 2015, Bernardine Monroe established an endowment fund with an initial gift of $5,000 in his honor.

“This endowment, created by faithful parishioners, will help ensure that the needs of the parish are taken care of in years to come,” said Father Matthew Buettner, pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish.

“It is a beautiful testament to their love of the Church and their desire to continue to help us do God’s work,” he said.

An endowment is a permanent fund, the principal of which is invested – not spent – that

generates income to help pay for projects and programs specified by the donor.

Endowments are tax deductible and help sustain the strength and viability of the diocese and its entities, paying for capital improvements, charitable outreach, education and parish operations.

Over the years, Bernadine Monroe contributed additional gifts, giving $10,000 in 2018, 2021 and 2022 and making a final gift of $26,970 in 2023 before her death. While the total funding given by Bernardine was just over $60,000, the fund has now grown to a market value of more than $82,000.

“These type of gifts, given over time, can have a long-standing impact on the churches, schools and ministries they are established to serve,” said Jim Kelley, the diocese’s development director. “We are grateful for all those who establish or add to endowments in our foundation.”

Fund an endowment

Interested in setting up – or adding to – an endowment to benefit your parish or Catholic school? Establish an endowment in the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation by leaving a bequest in a will, a beneficiary designation from a retirement plan, a trust or annuity, or a gift of real estate, life insurance, cash or securities. Join more than 1,700 parishioners who have informed the diocese they plan to remember the Church in their estate plans.

For details, contact Gina Rhodes at 704-3703364 or gmrhodes@rcdoc.org.

Turn your unused car, truck, boat, RV, or motorcycle into a force for good. Donate it to Catholic Charities and help fund programs for those in need.

And receive a tax benefit!

All vehicle makes and models are accepted.

Monroe

PHOTOS BY PAUL DOIZÉ | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

A weekend of celebrations

KERNERSVILLE — Holy Cross Parish celebrated the anniversary of its establishment in Kernersville after Mass Sept. 13 with a spirited parish festival that also marked pastor Father Noah Carter’s birthday.

The celebration continued Sunday with a Mass for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Oscar Hernandez assembled a brass band and large choir to provide music.

Music director shares rare gift with Our Lady of Grace during flagship concert

LISA M. GERACI lmgeraci@rcdoc.org

GREENSBORO — Our Lady of Grace Parish recently launched a Sacred Music Concert Series with a performance by its new sacred music director, Dr. Jarred Tafaro, who serenaded the crowd on a piano bequeathed to him by a musical legend: Dr. Charles Callahan.

On Sept. 20, Tafaro demonstrated for the crowd of 100 the beauty a pianist can attain when paired with the perfect instrument –chords that seem to fall from the heavens.

“Callahan played at such a high caliber that when you heard it, it just opened up your horizons of what the piano and organ can really do,” Tafaro said. “He knew how to breathe with the instrument.”

Callahan was a music professor at The Catholic University of America who was internationally known for his 300 compositions, organ consultations and papal commissions.

He was honored with the American Guild of Organists Distinguished Artist Award in 2014 and was an award-winning member of the American Society of Composers, Artists and Publishers.

He also happened to be a dear friend of Tafaro.

Tafaro, who has earned accolades as a composer, conductor, organist and pianist, was not expecting the sudden death of Callahan, his mentor and friend, on Christmas Day 2023.

Music Director

“I spoke to him on Christmas Eve night. He was in the hospital with pneumonia complications, but we expected to have him with us for many years to come,” Tafaro recalled. “I had no idea that he was going to die. It was a very big shock for everybody.”

When Tafaro later learned that Callahan’s rare, $60,000 baby grand Falcone piano, handmade in Italy, was willed to him, he felt deeply touched.

“I was tremendously honored, and now I get to share it with my parish,” Tafaro said. “I was one of his star pupils, and we had a very good friendship.”

Tafaro spent seven years studying with Callahan, filling the nooks of the composer’s home with liturgical notes whispered from them to the angels by those same ebony and ivory keys.

“He had several pianos at his house, but this was the nicest, and we played this and the organ often at his house,” Tafaro recalled. “In one of the rooms he had a tremendously large organ. All the pipes were set up in the room like a church, and then in a living space he had this piano in the center of his house. He was very proud of it.”

Tafaro recently received the piano from Vermont. It waited patiently on the left side of Our Lady of Grace Church’s sanctuary, acclimating to the climate change from New England to Greensboro. Humidity warps wood, so the piano needed time to adjust.

After months of waiting, Tafaro decided the first concert in the series devoted to educating listeners on sacred music was the perfect time.

Tafaro played études and préludes composed by Frédéric Chopin and Claude Debussy during the first half of the concert.

“The études represent meditations on the art of piano playing, comprising explorations of touch, color and velocity,” said Tafaro.

The second half of the concert consisted of three longer pieces: “Ondine,” by Maurice Ravel, a piano sonata by Alexander Scriabin, and “St. Francis’ Sermon to the Birds” by Franz Liszt.

“I feel closer to him sometimes now, when I play,” Tafaro said of his late mentor.

“To have a program to honor him, to come and marry his sounds, is a really nice gift to carry out his legacy through this piano,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll continue to make some beautiful music with it that will touch hearts and share his vision.”

Future concerts in the series will feature a variety of musical instruments and a choir.

St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Charlotte, NC is seeking a full-time Music Director to lead a dynamic and inclusive liturgical music ministry.

Responsibilities include:

• • • • Coordinating music for all parish liturgies

Directing choirs and cantors

Overseeing the sound system

Working collaboratively with clergy and staff.

This role requires strong leadership, musical expertise, and the ability to inspire and guide a volunteer-based ministry.

To apply: please submit a cover letter and résumé to: Glenda Lliguicota at officemanager@4sjnc.org

Dr. Jarred Tafaro inherited a handmade, Italian baby grand piano from his mentor, internationally acclaimed composer Dr. Charles Callahan.

PHOTOS BY LISA M. GERACI | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

The Sacred Music Concert Series at Our Lady of Grace launched with a special performance – the church’s sacred music director playing works that educated listeners on the beauty of classic compositions.

Christ the King speaks one language loudly and together: love

LISA M. GERACI lmgeraci@rcdoc.org

HIGH POINT — Christ the King parishioners, well-known for their rich diversity, united for their annual Mass and

church picnic on Sept. 14 at Washington Terrace Park in High Point.

They deviated from the usual Sunday schedule, which includes Masses in Korean, Vietnamese, Spanish and English, and instead came together to communicate

in their favorite language: love.

“Many, many people see different languages, different cultures and different backgrounds as a threat, but not for us, no,” said Father Joseph Dinh, pastor. “We are the universal Church, and that’s why we welcome everybody. We don’t see it as a threat – we see it as a gift from the Lord.”

ROOTS AS A MISSION

The parish started as a mission church 85 years ago to serve Black Catholics in the Triad. It has since exploded into a true melting pot, with 1,000 members who hail from all over the world, including Nigeria, Somalia, Ethiopia, Ghana and Pakistan.

“I think we are number one in diversity here,” laughed Father Dinh, who has served as pastor for eight years. “We try our best to foster the unity of the Church.”

The most crowded Sunday Mass is the Spanish Mass, with attendance of about 500. Thus, the Vietnamese pastor presided over the outdoor Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Mass in English and Spanish, while a mariachi band filled the air with guitar notes, and the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, traditionally from India, served as ushers and Eucharistic ministers.

In his homily, Father Dinh said, “To exalt the cross means to stand for the poor, to stand for the refugees, to be with the vulnerable, to be with the lonely, to help our brothers and sisters, and to share what we have with them.”

DIVERSITY IS A GIFT FROM THE LORD

Father Dinh’s message resonated with parishioners such as Daphne and Arthur Frank McAdoo, an African American couple who married in the church in 1975 and still live just around the corner.

“We love this community. It is open, it is very friendly,” said Daphne, the faith formation director. “To get people involved in the church, they need to feel welcome, and they need to see that you are not biased.”

After Mass, the Knights of Columbus grilled burgers and hotdogs to accompany the Vietnamese sides of rice and pork. Parishioners shared the meal, sitting side by side at picnic tables, exchanging memories, holding new babies and hugging

old friends. Skin color, homeland and language weren’t barriers. As Father Dinh says, “Diversity is a special gift from the Lord. We are a very loving church, very open to everybody. And we love it.”

The glass window installed in the choir loft in the early 1990s attests to that. It bears the image of Jesus surrounded by individuals of African, Asian, European and Indian descent.

Over the years, the parish has overcome many obstacles. It lost religious orders and needed building renovations, it lost its school, and at one point in the late ’90s, dwindled to 70 parishioners.

The arrival of Father Philip Kollithanath as pastor in 1994 and his vision of unity rebuilt the church physically and grew a congregation that looked like the window.

“Father Philip tried to recruit everybody to come to Christ the King, and he did,” said Father Dinh. “And now, I bring even more; I bring the Vietnamese people.”

That sense of inclusion is vital to Lynn Staub, who raised her three children at the parish. “It is home to us; it has such a family feeling,” she said. “I don’t think anyone, regardless of their own background, would feel uncomfortable here.”

Father Joseph Dinh enjoys being surrounded by his multicultural parishioners and believes the diversity within the welcoming, open-minded community is a gift from God.

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY CURTIS WHITE, IMAGO DEI STUDIO

Christ the King Church in High Point is known for its diversity, celebrating Masses each weekend in Korean, Vietnamese, Spanish and English. On Sept. 14, the entire parish came together for a picnic and outdoor Mass.

Healed and Restored Gala raises $60,000 to help victims of trauma

LISA M. GERACI lmgeraci@rcdoc.org

HUNTERSVILLE — The Healed and Restored Gala at St. Mark Parish was a night to remember, raising more than $60,000 in an event that featured a silent auction and speakers whose personal stories touched the hearts of attendees.

“Our community is amazing,” said Elza Spaedy, organization founder. “I mean, you can’t do this type of thing by yourself. It takes a village.”

Funds raised on Sept. 12 will support the organization, whose mission is to heal and restore women dealing with unresolved sexual, emotional or physical trauma.

“We help women transform pain into purpose, transform from victim to survivor, survivor to thriver, to change-maker,” Spaedy said.

The small staff and group of about 25 volunteers serves 20 women a week, providing counseling, life-coaching, workshops, retreats, food and self-help books in English and Spanish, as well as items to boost their self-worth, such as clothing and jewelry.

They have helped transform the lives of 400 women since the group’s inception in 2020.

‘I WAS NEVER ALONE’

They have impacted the lives of women like Maria Luisa, who shared her experience with the audience at the gala.

She came to Healed and Restored broken from years of physical and sexual abuse, and through the program, surrendered her trauma to Jesus.

“He showed me that I was never alone, and that I was His beautiful daughter, and He poured out His glory on me, healing my wounds and restoring my heart,” Luisa told the audience.

As Spaedy explained, “We are loving women exactly where they are. We help them, give them what they need, have them heal and guide them back to Christ. They learn how to love themselves again and realize that whatever happened to them does not define them.”

During the minimum of eight weeks of counseling, women begin to untangle the knots of abuse, understand boundaries and self-worth, and learn that they deserve better.

“I have witnessed Elza’s compassion for women who want to find healing and trust,”

said event emcee, volunteer and St. Mark parishioner Lisa Modzelewski. “She works relentlessly to this end and wants nothing more than for all women to know the joy of walking in freedom.”

Spaedy recalled her own “freedom walk.” After she was sexually assaulted when she was 9, the trauma festered, causing unhealed wounds, bad relationships, doubts and nightmares that haunted the fragile child and followed her into adulthood.

“It really screws up your identity, and when you don’t know your identity, you are lost,” Spaedy told the audience.

Spaedy and her family moved to Huntersville in 2013 and bonded with St. Mark’s pastor, Father John Putnam, in whom she confided her story.

Father Putnam helped her face that trauma through prayer, novenas, the intercession of the saints, therapy, writing, Eucharistic Adoration, daily Mass and the sacraments.

WORKING TOWARD A VISION

As she worked through her trauma, decades of recurring nightmares dissipated, and a new vision emerged: a large country home with horse stables where women laughed amid green pastures.

Father Putnam encouraged Spaedy to pursue that vision, and he continues to guide her apostolate as its chaplain.

“God will do something wonderful when we open our hearts and say yes,” Father Putnam told the crowd. “Open your hearts, ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and do what God directs you to do, helping these women overcome the damage that the devil reaps with the inhumanity that is so present in our society today.”

Although the vision of a residential healing home is not fully realized, in July 2024 the organization reached a milestone by renting a home with an intake room, counseling area, food pantry, dining area, kitchen and boutique.

St. Mark parishioners donated furniture, clothes and food, while the Knights of Columbus painted, installed cabinets and painted the food pantry.

“This place is a blessing, another example of God opening His doors,” said Spaedy.

Spaedy’s next goal is following her vision

to fruition. She hopes to acquire an 8- to 10acre property and build a home with eight bedrooms to serve women in need.

“Adjacent to this house, we want to have a retreat center, so we can help even more women,” she said. “God is in control.”

Learn more At www.healedandrestored.org : Support Healed and Restored or sign up to volunteer.

Do You Have a Donor Advised Fund?

Your parish, Catholic school, Catholic ministry, the Diocese of Charlotte, or the diocesan foundation are qualified charities eligible to receive grants from Donor Advised Funds. Your DAF grant can be restricted for offertory, campaigns, programs, or the DSA.

OLIVIA DIGIOVANNI | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Maria Luisa, who went through the Healed and Restored program, shared her story with gala attendees as life coach and mentor Carmela Morao translated her words into English. (Below) After being healed and restored through faith and prayer, Elza Spaedy launched an organization that has now assisted more than 400 women.

Big Picture: Video wall enhances education at Christ the King

LISA M. GERACI lmgeraci@rcdoc.org

HUNTERSVILLE — At first glance it looks like the performing arts students are enjoying their time with nature on a field trip, but upon closer inspection, it is all a mirage.

In actuality, they are inside Christ the King High School’s gym, posing on a stage in front of the newest innovative tech tool the school recently purchased to increase student engagement and enhance theatrical performances.

The $105,000, 360-square-foot video wall, which has been in the works for years, has already made an impact since it was recently installed. Instructors in the school’s theater department, band program and athletic departments say the tool is not just a home run for students, but also for teachers and coaches.

The coaches are using it to replay games and instruct their teams, while the band teacher has been using it to help students read music without having to flip through pages while juggling their instruments.

“I have been a teacher for 17 years, and this is absolutely the most unique and beneficial tool I have ever used,” said music teacher Hoy Colson. “I can show everything so in-depth; I can lay everything out. It cuts transition times in half.”

The school also plans to use the 30-footwide by 12-foot-high roll-away video screen as a backdrop for school performances.

“We can play a video that makes it look like there is smoke in the background,” theater teacher Sarah Varricchio said.

“Now we are able to do things we couldn’t do with stationary sets. Before, we had to really think outside the box about what we should build; now, instead of trying to create a scene with wooden flats, we can actually go there.”

Christ the King High School presented with Wells Fargo State Cup

HUNTERSVILLE — During the Crusaders’ halftime celebration Sept. 12 fans, alumni, faculty and students cheered even louder than usual as Christ the King High School was presented with the 20242025 Wells Fargo State Cup.

“In our locker rooms, on the field, and in the classrooms, we try to create a spirit of dedication, fortitude, patience and sportsmanship,” said the school’s president, Dr. Carl Semmler. “There is a real sense of positivity, and it all pays off.”

This is the first year the Crusaders won the annual Division 1A first place award for overall sports excellence.

Now Hiring: Fundraising Events Dir ector

Do you thrive on creating events that inspire g enerosity and build community? Catholic Charities is seeking a dynamic and org anized Fundraising Events Director to lead the planning and execution of mission-driven events that eng ag e donors and advance our work of ser vice.

In this pivotal role, you will design and implement event strategies, cultivate cor porate and foundation suppor t, and maintain a g rowing donor base Your leadership will ensure events r un seamlessly, g enerate meaningful suppor t, and strengthen relationships that sustain our mission.

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Visit www.ccdoc.or g/car eers for a full job description and application details.

Be part of a team that puts faith into action and brings hope to neighbors in need.

LISA M. GERACI | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

A new video wall allows Christ the King High School music students to see the notes while they are playing, coaches to walk athletes through games and the theater department to create more intricate sets.

When Hurricane Helene struck Western North Carolina, devastation was everywhere. But thanks to YOU – our donors, volunteers, sta , and community partners – hope has been restored, and recovery is underway.

1,700+

Households receiving personalized support

110 Homes restored and 35 more under contract

Thousands

More served at supply distribution sites as of July 30, 2025

Your Continued Support Matters: Pray. Give. Encourage.

Pray

We are grateful for the powerful partnerships of Catholic Charities, the Chancery, our parishes, parishioners, Catholic schools, and generous supporters worldwide that helped us respond quickly when the oodwaters receded. We will continue walking alongside our neighbors for as long as it takes to restore what was lost.

View the report to hear powerful survivor stories, see photos of rebuilding e orts, and learn how your support is helping Catholic Charities transform lives.

Hold survivors, volunteers, and sta in your prayers as they rebuild lives and communities.

Give Your ongoing support of all Catholic Charities programs and services ensures help reaches where it’s needed most, when it’s needed most.

Encourage

Share messages of support to uplift survivors, volunteers, and sta still working to restore what was lost. or visit: ccdoc.me/HeleneReport Scan to view the report

e love of Christ impels us (II Cor. 5:14) to serve our neighbors in need (Mt. 25: 31-46) –we cannot do otherwise (Deus Caritas Est, no. 25). ccdoc.org

Zip codes assisted

Diocese of Charlotte

As the floodwaters swept through mountain towns and rose to the rooftops, many homeowners had to be rescued by boats,

CHRISTINA LEE KNAUSS

clknauss@rcdoc.org

ASHEVILLE

— One year after Helene devastated Western North Carolina, signs of recovery are everywhere – from rebuilt roads and bridges, to refurbished homes, to revived workplaces. Yet scars remain, too.

Piles of debris trigger traumatic memories. Shuttered storefronts stand eerily next to reopened shops and restaurants. The tourist-driven economy remains soft, and mudslides and flood waters have left their marks.

Reflecting in advance of the storm’s Sept. 27 anniversary, Asheville Catholic School’s Principal Melissa Stuart says: “It is not a celebration – it’s more of an emotional remembrance. While there is a lot to celebrate, people are still traumatized. A lot of areas still look like they did right after the storm.”

Stuart’s school families were relieved last month to kick off a new year quietly. This time last year, kids were out of school for nearly a month after the storm, much of that time without power and water.

For Father Patrick Cahill, who pastored Asheville’s St. Eugene Parish through the storm, the anniversary is a time for reflection: “It will be a day of remembrance sort of like 9/11 – just kind of taking in the impact of all that happened. It will also be a day of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving to God for His grace and for all the people who have come to our assistance.”

In Swannanoa, generally considered “ground zero” for Helene, leaders at St. Margaret Mary Parish discussed what type of anniversary event felt appropriate. A celebration? A shared meal? They ultimately decided on three

Helene day by day

Helene left a path of destruction across the hemisphere. Follow the path of the storm from its origins over Honduras through Western North Carolina.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Volunteers unload supplies Oct. 3, 2024, at Immaculata Catholic School in Hendersonville. Supply centers were lifelines in the early recovery.

hours of Eucharistic Adoration in the church so that parishioners could grieve and offer gratitude before the Blessed Sacrament.

“It’s a big day in many people’s lives and memories,” says Father John Allen, who was reassigned from Charlotte in July to serve as St. Margaret Mary’s pastor. He spent weeks visiting parishioners – including Marisol Mireles, who survived flood waters by clinging to a tree – trying to absorb the depth of the storm’s impact.

“I know there is a deep sense of gratitude to God for all the people who have assisted in relief efforts, from

SEPT. 20-22, 2024

n Over Honduras and Nicaragua, a sprawling low-pressure system drenches the land before turning north. It’s slow and broad, not yet a tropical cyclone, but the National Hurricane Center expects it will be. Soon.

MONDAY, SEPT. 23, 2024

n The system moves into the northwest Caribbean, and a center begins to form.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 24, 2024

n Near Cuba’s western tip, it becomes Tropical Storm Helene, with winds topping 45 mph.

RESILIENCE

One year later, Helene’s survivors still

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 25, 2024

n Crossing Cozumel and Cancun, Helene enters the Gulf and strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane.

n In Asheville, heavy rain has already dropped 4 inches by midnight as a line of slowmoving showers saturates the ground.

n Based on forecasts, N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper declares a state of emergency.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 26, 2024

n Helene rapidly intensifies over warm Gulf waters, becoming a Category 4 hurricane with 140-mph winds and making landfall near Perry, Florida, at 11:10 p.m. –the strongest strike in 125 years of recordkeeping.

n Meanwhile, a stalled stormfront dumps more rain all day in western North Carolina: 9 inches in Yancey County alone. Power fails in Chimney Rock and Lake Lure, and shelters open in Avery, Buncombe and McDowell counties. And the rains are just beginning.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2024

n Though weakened to a tropical storm, Helene speeds across Georgia toward the Carolinas. In Rome, newly ordained Bishop Michael Martin keeps up with forecasts as half his diocese lies in her path.

n Helene’s gusty winds and heavy rains uproot trees, overload saturated ground and trigger landslides. Rivers including the Watauga, Pigeon, North

PHOTO PROVIDED

canoes and kayaks.

Tropical Storm Helene left a path of destruction across the mountain communities of Western North Carolina one year ago. At this

HELENE, SEE PAGE 15

Martin

Cooper

RESILIENCE

feel the pain, but walk forward in faith

Toe and French Broad swell past flood stage; downstream systems like the Catawba also face severe flooding. In Asheville, the Swannanoa River surges to a record 27.33 feet within hours.

n Low-lying areas – in which so many communities sit – fill up. Fast. Riverside homes, businesses and vehicles wash completely away. Stranded residents will soon need to be pulled to safety by helicopters, boats, kayaks and canoes.

n Two St. Margaret Mary parishioners are swept away by the swollen Swannanoa but, after harrowing moments, are fortunate to survive.

Gabriel Gonzales, an Asheville area parishioner also caught by the river’s current, goes missing and is later found dead.

n In Asheville, Biltmore Village floods – including a hotel complex where Catholic Charities refugees live. Catholic Charities staffer Noele Aabye narrowly escapes a tree falling on her own house before helping to rescue the refugees and relocating them to Charlotte.

n A wall of water rockets down the Broad River, overtops Lake Lure Dam and obliterates Chimney Rock. “The village? There’s just nothing left,” an emergency manager later says.

n Mudslides take out roads including stretches of I-40, severing access to much of western North Carolina and isolating victims from rescuers. Electricity, water, phone and internet are out across the region.

n Helene dumps up to 2 feet of rain and spawns six tornadoes before shifting northwest into Tennessee and Kentucky.

HELENE

the first responders to the volunteers to the neighbors who have helped them to weather this horrific event,” Father Allen says. “A quiet moment of Adoration will give people a chance to thank God for all the ways their lives are being rebuilt – physically and spiritually.”

‘CLIMBING A MOUNTAIN’

An estimated 1 in 5 Catholics living in the Diocese of Charlotte reside in the 25 counties initially designated federal disaster areas after the storm. At least

n Local officials describe “biblical devastation.” Calls and texts for help begin reaching diocesan leaders back east.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 28, 2024

n Western North Carolina reels. Gov. Cooper calls it “one of the worst storms in modern history” for parts of the state: dozens of people dead and hundreds more missing, 400 roads closed or washed away, riverside business districts and neighborhoods devastated. President Joe Biden declares much of Western North Carolina a federal major disaster area, triggering FEMA help.

n Despite no electricity, Father Pat Cahill celebrates the vigil Mass by candlelight at St. Eugene in Asheville, offering prayer and solace to those able to make it in.

20 of the diocese’s 93 churches were affected. The widespread impact was a call to action for the rest of the diocese to help in any way possible.

More than $13.3 million poured into the diocese’s Helene Relief Fund over the past year from donors around the world. From its Pastoral Center in Charlotte and parishes across the western half of North Carolina, the diocese launched the largest humanitarian effort in its history –which continues today. It responded first by providing basic necessities, by the truckload, creating a hub-and-spoke network that transformed mountain churches and

n Western Regional Director Jesse Boeckermann and the whole Catholic Charities team go into overdrive – including colleagues in Asheville whose own homes were severely damaged by the storm.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 29, 2024

n Duke Energy outage maps report 396,000 customers in North Carolina and 508,000 in South Carolina without electricity.

n Immaculata Catholic School’s Principal Margaret Beale is finally able to call through to Dan Ward at the diocese’s Properties Office. “There is damage everywhere. Trees are down. Houses and roads are washed away. There is no power – and no water,” she tells Ward. He later recalls, “It wasn’t just what she said – it was how she said it.”

PHOTO PROVIDED

In the days after the storm, Catholics came together to provide food and supplies to those who lacked power, water and basic necessities.

JONATHAN DRAKE, REUTERS | OSV NEWS milestone, people are grateful for how far they have come as they remember the storm and continue to rebuild homes and lives.

HELENE, SEE PAGE 16

FROM PAGE 14

TROY C. HULL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD; PROVIDED Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte and parishes swung into action immediately (above left) delivering water and supplies to distribution centers and then over the long term (above right) by working to rebuild homes damaged by the storm.

Gonzales

HELENE

schools into relief centers. The diocese then shifted to long-term recovery efforts through its Catholic Charities agency.

Helene claimed the lives of 108 people in North Carolina and caused more than $44 billion in damages. Recovery will take years.

“Nobody thought a hurricane could climb a mountain,” says Jesse Boeckermann, Catholic Charities’ western regional director in Asheville.

The agency had never faced such a disaster, says Gerry Carter, president and CEO of Catholic Charities. The agency had to transform itself to deliver services that were so desperately needed – targeting especially people who had little or no insurance or access to other resources.

It was a challenge for Catholic Charities’ staff, some of whom had homes themselves that were flooded or badly damaged.

“We had to figure out how to operate and help hundreds and thousands of people while our own homes didn’t have utilities and we were trying to survive day to day,” Boeckermann recalls.

Somehow, Catholic Charities staffer Noele Aabye helped orchestrate a boat rescue and the relocation of 40 refugees from Asheville to Charlotte – despite the personal trauma she’d experienced when a tree fell into her dining room, narrowly missing her family.

Within a month of Helene, Catholic Charities began hiring a dozen disaster

case managers to ramp up the painstaking work of long-term recovery. They’d already partnered with more than 117 organizations to help storm survivors, building relationships at the grassroots

level. Today, Catholic Charities has assigned the equivalent of 20 staff to working disaster relief.

The agency initially assisted the diocese in securing and distributing supplies to thousands of people. Over the year, it provided one-on-one assistance to more than 1,700 households, including financial support, restorations of 110 homes, rent and temporary lodging payments, vehicle repairs and replacement, and burial costs for needy families who lost loved ones in the storm.

The agency focuses on helping survivors find jobs, navigate housing and financial needs, and in some cases find mental health and spiritual counseling.

Case workers are collaborating in “longterm recovery groups” in some of the hardest hit – and most difficult to access – areas, including Chimney Rock and Bat Cave.

“These are organizations that already know the community” and understand the importance of listening to community concerns, rather than prescribing solutions, says Disaster Program Supervisor Neal Foster, who lived through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

“There are people who weren’t able to get help from insurance or FEMA,” Foster says. “These are areas where topography makes rebuilding much harder than other regions. People can’t access driveways that might serve 40 homes. Some people can’t rebuild because the floodplain is now in a different place.”

PARISHES ‘COULDN’T STOP’

Individuals, parishes and Catholic schools have also continued relief efforts throughout the year.

Within hours of the storm, St. Mark parishioners in Huntersville gathered and delivered basic supplies for airlifts and convoys to the mountains.

Within days, Father Richard Sutter and volunteers from St. Gabriel Parish in Charlotte were on the ground in Swannanoa.

Catholic schools outside the disaster area became collection points for supplies, while those within the disaster zone focused on bringing back normal structures for students – yet also providing room to process the trauma and disruption of the storm.

Asheville Catholic School launched “Wellness Wednesdays” shortly after

n Bishop Martin prepares to return early from Rome and, with Monsignor Patrick Winslow already leading on the ground in Charlotte, directs pastors, Catholic Charities and the faithful to “get people what they need – now.”

n Over half the diocese lies within the federal disaster zone, including 20 churches directly impacted. Built on high ground, the church buildings are mostly unscathed although have no power or water. Over the coming days, many are converted into emergency aid centers.

n In Huntersville, some 400 St. Mark parishioners and others rush supplies of diapers, nonperishable goods and water to Hendersonville and Waynesville. Joining St. Mark, St. Gabriel, St. James in Concord, St. Matthew and other Charlotte-area parishes spin up additional relief efforts.

n Diocesan staff and Catholic Charities start marshaling donations of food and water at the Diocesan Pastoral Center. By Sunday afternoon, a

truckload of bottled water arrives at Immaculata Catholic School, where Beale and others have set up a relief supply hub in the gym despite the school suffering storm damage of its own.

n Over the next five weeks, volunteers deliver 67 trucks carrying more than 480,000 pounds of supplies from the Diocesan Pastoral Center alone – the largest humanitarian relief effort in the diocese’s history.

MONDAY, SEPT. 30, 2024

n The diocese and Catholic Charities launch a Helene Relief Fund for online donations, eventually raising $13.3 million from more than 10,200 donors in every U.S. state as well as six other countries.

TUESDAY, OCT. 1, 2024

n Buncombe County’s sheriff confirms 43 deaths in his county – the most of any community hit by Helene.

n Catholic Charities USA dispatches several tractor-trailer loads of water to Western North

Carolina, sends an initial $1 million for immediate disaster relief, and begins helping Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte coordinate with sister agencies in Raleigh, Virginia, Louisiana and elsewhere to start scaling up for long-term aid work. CCUSA will eventually donate another $2.2 million.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 2, 2024

n More than 350,000 North Carolinians remain without power, as search-and-rescue efforts and supply airlifts continue. Diocesan trucks funnel supplies up to Immaculata Catholic School and other drop sites as those who can get out of the mountains fill vehicles and ATVs one at a time to carry back to their more remote or trapped neighbors.

n Starting with a delivery from the diocese, St. Margaret Mary Church begins handing out food, water, diapers and other necessities in a community relief effort that will go on for months. Similar aid hubs are busy at churches in Mars Hill, Brevard, Asheville, Waynesville, Spruce Pine and elsewhere.

FRIDAY, OCT. 4, 2024

n Bishop Martin visits the aid hubs at Immaculata in Hendersonville and St. Margaret Mary in Swannanoa, delivering more supplies from Charlotte and telling people “you are not alone.”

SUNDAY, OCT. 6, 2024

n The first weekend after the storm, churches across the diocese take up a special collection to help affected parishes and fund Catholic Charities’ initial aid efforts. Churches in the storm-hit region offer Sunday Masses as usual despite no electricity.

TUESDAY, OCT. 8, 2024

n Catholic Charities serves more than 10,000 people at its distribution sites in the first two weeks, including mobile deliveries and home check-ins. Forty-seven tons of supplies are given out and 5,000 hot meals are provided. The agency secures warehouse space through a partnership with the Knights of Columbus and continues to receive supplies for the affected areas.

HELENE, SEE PAGE 17

FROM PAGE 15

PHOTO PROVIDED

Priests blessed supplies headed toward the mountains in the early days, and continued to provide spiritual and financial support to those impacted.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Catholic Charities formed relationships with community partners to help rebuild houses. Supply chains in many areas are still far from normal.

GABRIEL SWINNEY | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

(Above) Bishop Michael Martin prays with people Oct. 4, 2024, outside St. Margaret Mary Church in Swannanoa. (Below) Parishioners from St. Mark Church in Huntersville drove donated supplies to the Statesville airport to be airlifted to the hardest-hit regions just hours after the storm had passed.

TIMELINE FROM PAGE 15

FROM PAGE 16

students returned, to demonstrate healthy ways of dealing with emotional stress through art and conversation. By spring, students were testing at expected growth levels.

Still, the new school year brought sadness over the loss of five teachers whose families had to relocate due to job loss and other storm impacts.

In Mars Hill, St. Andrew the Apostle Parish still operates a food pantry on Wednesdays, born out of the months it served as a vital supply hub for the community.

“There are still people out there trying to come back, still pockets of land that are

n Over the coming months, Catholic Charities adds 12 disaster case workers to its existing team in Western North Carolina to survey storm damage and start organizing long-term recovery work. With 20 staff focused on Helene relief efforts, the agency connects with 400 people by Nov. 1 to start providing help.

THURSDAY, OCT. 10, 2024

n The Sister Parish program launches, pairing 31 unimpacted parishes with 21 WNC churches in need of long-term financial and spiritual support.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 16, 2024

n Classes resume at Immaculata Catholic School, thanks in part to clean-up help from Charlotte Catholic High School students. Students and staff from Asheville Catholic School briefly share the school with them until the city’s water system can be restored and their school building can reopen.

SATURDAY, NOV. 2, 2024

n Instead of going on retreat, Campus Ministry students go to Asheville to help out with relief efforts.

devastated,” says parish secretary Kelly Hansen. “Many of the folks we see are poor, they didn’t have insurance, and they’re still trying to get back on their feet. A lot of their jobs are gone because businesses were wiped out. People that aren’t from around here might not understand what we’re seeing. We got through the first year, but we’re not over it.”

Deacon Daren Bitter from St. Matthew Parish worked from his home in Charlotte, coordinating air drops of supplies to people stranded in areas of Yancey and Mitchell counties where roads had washed out.

“I started the work right after the storm and was still at it two months later,” Deacon Bitter recalls. “At times I broke down because of the emotions from what we were hearing about, but I knew I couldn’t stop.”

TUESDAY, NOV. 19, 2024

n Bishop Martin returns to Immaculata Catholic School and the region to survey recovery efforts.

TUESDAY, DEC. 31, 2024

n Second collections taken up by parishes raise $466,954 for the Sister Parish program.

Catholic groups of volunteers have also continued to serve, including the Knights of Columbus from Holy Spirit Parish in Denver. They made dozens of trips to far-flung rural communities delivering building supplies and heaters in the winter months.

Although the diocese’s churches mostly escaped damage, their parishioners were struggling. As a result, Bishop Michael Martin established a “Sister Parish Program” to help parishes in the disaster zone replace declining offertories so they could continue their operations and outreach. The program paired parishes in the central and eastern parts of the diocese with those in the west, raising more than $466,000.

HELENE, SEE PAGE 18

MARCH 27, 2025

n In the first six months, Catholic Charities spends $5.1 million of the Helene Relief Fund to provide direct assistance to 1,162 households and rebuild 53 homes, with another $5 million committed to rebuild more homes and handle case management and $2.2 million set aside for long-term recovery.

MARCH 28, 2025

n While clearing debris in Avery County, workers find the remains of Russell Wilber – bringing North Carolina’s death toll from Helene to 108. The Raleigh News & Observer reports five people remain missing.

MARCH 29, 2025

MARCH 19, 2025

n In total, says a National Hurricane Center report released this day, 250 people died because of Helene, counting direct and indirect deaths along her more-than-500-mile path. In North Carolina, the storm kills more than 100 people and causes damages exceeding $44 billion.

n Following Catholic Charities rebuilding work, Allen Campos Trailer Park in Swannanoa holds a reopening celebration as residents begin moving back into rebuilt homes.

SEPT. 27, 2025

n At the one-year mark, the long work of rebuilding lives and the region’s economy continues.

North Carolina counties initially declared federal disaster areas Catholics in the Diocese of Charlotte impacted

million people in disaster zones

in 5

6,900+

billion in direct damage, billions more in economic impact million raised for Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte

gifts from 5 continents and all 50 states

million from parish second collections in the Diocese of Charlotte schools held emergency supply drives

committed to the economic redevelopment of the River Arts District homes rebuilt and 35 more under contract volunteers roads and bridges destroyed damaged homes

$13.3 10,263 1,000+ 46 1,700+ 110 $10,386,781 $250,000 $1.1

households received support, including 289 months of rent paid, 20 vehicles, 17 burials paid for expected to be spent by end of 2025-2026 fiscal year, with balance funding future long-term needs

*as of July 30, 2025

MARCO BELLO, REUTERS | OSV NEWS

A drone view shows the scale of damage in one section of Asheville Sept. 29, 2024, after Tropical Storm Helene.

HELENE

“The donations from our sister parishes helped us to help some of our parishioners in more rural areas to repair their homes,” says Father Adrian Porras, pastor at St. Barnabas Parish in Arden. “We were able to help with food donations and distribute some financial assistance not only to parishioners, but people in need in the community.”

‘VALUE OF SUFFERING’

Coping with the trauma from Helene is a focal point.

“There are people around here who still get scared every time it rains,” says Father Christopher Bond, pastor of St. Lucien Mission in Spruce Pine, where flooding destroyed the town’s brick riverfront.

Many are dealing with a maze of paperwork and phone calls and frustrations, he says, as they try to rebuild their homes and lives.

“A couple of the families we help are having problems finding people to come out and do the work they need,” says Father Bond, also pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Linville. “They’re dealing with property line issues and permits –so much red tape.”

Gregory Stewart is one of those frustrated parishioners. His house took on five feet of water from Linville River flooding. “We’re moving along slowly, and right now, we’re insulating the house,” he says. “It’s been a struggle to secure

funds. Our main help has come from our parish.”

Father Cahill acknowledges he, too, feels stress when it rains.

“There was a storm in Charlotte that kind of freaked me out,” says Father Cahill, who was recently reassigned as pastor of St. Matthew. “We have a creek behind the rectory and I found myself wondering what buildings the water might wash away.”

At ground zero, St. Margaret Mary Parish brought in trauma counselors for both English and Spanish speakers, a resource that continues today.

Clients initially reported a wide variety of symptoms including flashbacks, trouble sleeping, and general anxiety about threatening weather, says Nancy Hartman, a licensed clinical mental health counselor.

A year later, she says many have made significant progress, although they are “understandably tired from a year of digging out from under the rubble of their lives, both literally and figuratively.”

Swannanoa still has no grocery store, post office or city park.

“They say that although the hurricane will always be there, they see how they were also blessed with so much afterward,” Hartman says. “Support of family and colleagues, a new understanding of themselves and their ability to thrive in difficulty, and especially a deeper understanding of the tremendous value of suffering, as well as an increase in their gratitude for every little good thing.”

— Liz Chandler contributed.

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CHARLIE BRYANT AND JACKIE SANDOVAL | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Bishop Michael Martin visited with students at Asheville Catholic School Sept. 12 to start the school year, offer Mass for the school community, and learn more about how Helene continues to impact them one year later.

Resiliencia

Un año después, los sobrevivientes de Helene aún sienten dolor, pero avanzan con fe

ASHEVILLE — Un año después de que Helene devastara el oeste de Carolina del Norte, los signos de recuperación están en todas partes: desde carreteras y puentes reconstruidos, hasta viviendas renovadas y lugares de trabajo reabiertos. Sin embargo, también quedan cicatrices.

Montones de escombros despiertan recuerdos traumáticos. Los escaparates cerrados se alzan inquietantemente al lado de tiendas y restaurantes reabiertos. La economía impulsada por el turismo sigue débil, y los deslizamientos de tierra y las inundaciones han dejado huellas visibles.

Al reflexionar antes del aniversario de la tormenta, el 27 de septiembre, Melissa Stuart, directora de la Escuela Católica de Asheville, afirma: “No es una celebración, es más bien un recuerdo emotivo. Aunque hay mucho que celebrar, la gente sigue traumatizada. Muchas áreas todavía se ven como justo después de la tormenta”. Las familias de la escuela de Stuart se sintieron aliviadas el mes pasado al iniciar un nuevo año en calma. A estas alturas, el año pasado, los niños estuvieron sin clases casi un mes después de la tormenta, gran parte de ese tiempo sin electricidad ni agua.

Para el padre Patrick Cahill, quien fue párroco de la Parroquia San Eugenio de Asheville durante la tormenta, el aniversario es un momento de reflexión: “Será un día de recuerdo, un poco como el 11 de septiembre, para asimilar el impacto de todo lo que ocurrió. También será un día de acción de gracias. Gracias a Dios por su gracia y por todas las personas que vinieron en nuestra ayuda”.

En Swannanoa, considerada generalmente como el “epicentro” de la devastación de Helene, los líderes de la Parroquia Santa Margarita María debatieron qué tipo de evento sería apropiado para el aniversario. ¿Una celebración? ¿Una comida compartida? Finalmente decidieron dedicar tres horas a la Adoración Eucarística en la iglesia para que los feligreses pudieran llorar y dar gracias ante el Santísimo Sacramento.

“Es un día muy importante en la vida y la memoria de mucha gente”, dice el padre John Allen, quien fue reasignado desde Charlotte en julio para servir como párroco de Santa Margarita María. Pasó semanas visitando a los feligreses, incluida Marisol Mireles, quien sobrevivió a las aguas de la inundación aferrándose a un árbol, tratando de comprender la magnitud del impacto de la tormenta. “Sé que existe un profundo sentimiento de gratitud hacia Dios por todas las personas que ayudaron en los esfuerzos de socorro, desde los socorristas hasta los voluntarios y vecinos que apoyaron a otros para resistir este terrible evento”, afirma el padre Allen. “Un momento de adoración en silencio permitirá a la gente dar gracias a Dios por todas las formas en que sus vidas están siendo reconstruidas , física y espiritualmente”.

‘ESCALAR UNA MONTAÑA’

Se estima que 1 de cada 5 católicos en la Diócesis de Charlotte vive en los 25 condados que inicialmente fueron designados como áreas de desastre federal después de la tormenta. Casi 20 de las 93 parroquias de la diócesis fueron afectadas por la tormenta. El impacto generalizado fue un llamado a la acción para que el resto de la diócesis ayudara en todo lo posible.

Durante el último año, llegaron más de 13,3 millones de dólares al Fondo de Ayuda de Helene de la diócesis gracias a donantes de todo el mundo. Desde su Centro Pastoral en Charlotte y las parroquias en la mitad occidental de Carolina del Norte, la diócesis lanzó el mayor esfuerzo humanitario de su historia, que continúa hoy.

Primero respondió proporcionando necesidades básicas, por camiones enteros, creando una red que convirtió iglesias y escuelas de montaña en centros de ayuda. Luego, la diócesis pasó a esfuerzos de recuperación a largo plazo a través de Caridades Católicas.

Helene cobró la vida de 108 personas en Carolina del Norte y causó más de 44 mil millones de dólares en daños. La recuperación tomará años.

“Nadie pensó que un huracán pudiera escalar una montaña”, dice Gerry Carter, presidente y director ejecutivo de Caridades Católicas de la diócesis. Su agencia nunca había enfrentado un desastre de tal magnitud, explica Carter, y tuvo que transformarse para brindar los servicios tan desesperadamente necesarios,

LISA M. GERACI | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Esta estatua de la Virgen María de 10 pies de altura en Marshall, fue creada por la artista católica Beth Cefalu, hecha con parte de los 10 millones de yardas cúbicas de escombros de Helene.

especialmente a quienes tenían poco o ningún seguro o acceso a otros recursos.

Fue un reto para el personal de Caridades Católicas, algunos de los cuales tuvieron sus casas inundadas o gravemente dañadas.

“Tuvimos que descubrir cómo operar y ayudar a cientos y miles de personas mientras nuestras propias casas no tenían servicios básicos y tratábamos de sobrevivir día a día”, recuerda Jesse Boeckermann, director regional occidental de la agencia en Asheville.

De alguna manera, la trabajadora de Caridades Católicas Noele Aabye ayudó a coordinar un rescate en bote y la reubicación de 40 refugiados de Asheville a Charlotte, a pesar del trauma personal que sufrió cuando un árbol cayó en su comedor, por poco alcanzando a su familia.

Un mes después de Helene, Caridades Católicas comenzó a contratar a una docena de gestores de casos de desastre para intensificar el arduo trabajo de la recuperación a largo plazo. Ya se habían asociado con más de 117 organizaciones para ayudar a los sobrevivientes de la tormenta, construyendo relaciones a nivel comunitario. Hoy, Caridades Católicas tiene asignado el equivalente a 20 empleados a labores de socorro.

La agencia inicialmente ayudó a la diócesis a asegurar y distribuir suministros a miles de personas. A lo largo del año, brindó asistencia personalizada a más de 1,700 hogares, que incluyó apoyo financiero, reparaciones de 110 viviendas, pagos de renta y alojamiento temporal, reparaciones y reemplazo de vehículos y gastos funerarios para familias necesitadas que perdieron seres queridos en la tormenta.

La agencia se centra en ayudar a los sobrevivientes a encontrar empleo, resolver necesidades de vivienda y finanzas, y en algunos casos, acceder a consejería espiritual y de salud mental.

Los trabajadores de casos colaboran en “grupos de recuperación a largo plazo” en algunas de las áreas más afectadas, y de más difícil acceso, incluyendo Chimney

Rock y Bat Cave. “Estas son organizaciones que ya conocen a la comunidad” y entienden la importancia de escuchar las preocupaciones locales, en lugar de imponer soluciones, dice Neal Foster, supervisor del programa de desastres, quien vivió las secuelas del huracán Katrina.

“Hay personas que no pudieron obtener ayuda del seguro ni de FEMA”, señala Foster. “Estas son áreas donde la topografía hace que la reconstrucción sea mucho más difícil que en otras regiones. No se puede acceder a caminos que sirven a 40 hogares. Algunas personas no pueden reconstruir porque la llanura de inundación ahora está en otro lugar”.

‘NO PODÍAN DETENERSE’

Individuos, parroquias y escuelas católicas también han continuado los esfuerzos de ayuda durante todo el año.

Pocas horas después de la tormenta, feligreses de San Marcos en Huntersville reunieron y entregaron suministros básicos para puentes aéreos y convoyes a las montañas. Días después, el padre Richard Sutter y voluntarios de la Parroquia San Gabriel en Charlotte estaban en Swannanoa.

Las escuelas católicas fuera de la zona de desastre se convirtieron en centros de acopio de suministros, mientras que las que estaban dentro del área afectada se concentraron en restablecer estructuras normales para los estudiantes, pero también en ofrecer espacios para procesar el trauma y la interrupción causados por la tormenta.

La Escuela Católica de Asheville lanzó los “Miércoles de Bienestar” poco después del regreso de los estudiantes, para enseñar formas saludables de manejar el estrés emocional a través del arte y la conversación. Para la primavera, los alumnos ya estaban alcanzando los niveles de crecimiento esperados.

Aun así, el nuevo año escolar trajo tristeza por la pérdida de cinco maestros cuyas familias tuvieron que reubicarse debido a la pérdida de empleo y otros impactos de la tormenta.

En Mars Hill, la Parroquia San Andrés Apóstol sigue operando un banco de alimentos los miércoles, nacido de los meses en que funcionó como un centro vital de suministros para la comunidad.

“Todavía hay gente que intenta recuperarse, aún hay terrenos devastados”, dice Kelly Hansen, secretaria parroquial. “Muchas de las personas que vemos son pobres, no tenían seguro, y todavía intentan levantarse. Muchos de sus trabajos se perdieron porque los negocios fueron destruidos. La gente de fuera quizás no entienda lo que vemos aquí. Superamos el primer año, pero no hemos terminado”.

El diácono Daren Bitter, de la Parroquia San Mateo, trabajó desde su casa en Charlotte coordinando lanzamientos aéreos de suministros para personas varadas en áreas de los condados de Yancey y Mitchell donde las carreteras se habían destruido.

“Comencé el trabajo justo después de la tormenta y seguía con ello dos meses después”, recuerda el diácono Bitter. “Hubo momentos en que me quebré por la carga emocional de lo que escuchábamos, pero sabía que no podía detenerme”.

Los grupos católicos de voluntarios también han seguido sirviendo, incluidos los Caballeros de Colón de la Parroquia Espíritu Santo en Denver. Hicieron docenas de viajes a comunidades rurales lejanas entregando materiales de construcción y calentadores durante los meses de invierno.

Aunque las iglesias de la diócesis escaparon en gran medida de los daños, sus feligreses estaban sufriendo. Como resultado, el obispo Michael Martin estableció el “Programa de Parroquias Hermanas” para ayudar a las parroquias en la zona de desastre a compensar la disminución de las colectas, de modo que pudieran continuar sus operaciones y alcance comunitario. El programa emparejó parroquias del centro y este de la diócesis con las del oeste, recaudando más de 466,000 dólares.

“Las donaciones de nuestras parroquias hermanas nos ayudaron a asistir a algunos de nuestros feligreses en zonas más rurales a reparar sus casas”, dice el padre Adrián Porras, párroco de San Bernabé en Arden. “Pudimos ayudar con donaciones de alimentos y distribuir asistencia financiera no solo a feligreses, sino también a personas necesitadas de la comunidad”.

— Christina Lee Knauss y Liz Chandler

El amor de Dios puede alcanzar a cualquiera

Cuando las personas tocan fondo, pueden tener la confianza de que Dios está ahí, listo para rescatarlas y redimirlas, dijo el Papa León XIV.

“Ningún lugar está demasiado lejos, ningún corazón demasiado cerrado, ninguna tumba demasiado sellada para su amor”, dijo el Papa el 24 de septiembre durante su audiencia general en la Plaza de San Pedro.

En su ciclo de catequesis sobre el tema del Jubileo, “Jesucristo, nuestra Esperanza”, el Papa León continuó hablando sobre el Sábado Santo y el significado esperanzador del descenso de Cristo al reino de los muertos.

“Cuando realiza este descenso, que de ninguna manera es una derrota, revela su amor radical por la humanidad y que la muerte no es la última palabra”, dijo el Papa en su discurso en inglés.

Cristo descendió para salvar a quienes murieron sin conocerlo, dijo el Papa León, pero continúa descendiendo en la oscuridad para traer salvación a todos los que aceptan su ayuda.

“Cristo entra en nuestras propias luchas y toca nuestros pecados más profundos con su misericordia”, dijo. “Y si a veces nos parece tocar el fondo, recordemos: ese es el lugar desde el cual Dios es capaz de comenzar una nueva creación”.

“Cristo desciende entre los muertos para manifestar el amor del Padre. Por tanto, no existe un pasado tan dañado o una historia irreparable que no pueda ser tocada por su misericordia”, dijo en su resumen en español.

“Si permitimos que Jesús entre en nuestros lugares oscuros, él puede crear nueva vida en cada uno de nosotros, y nos convertimos en faros de esperanza que irradian el mensaje de salvación para todas las personas”, dijo el Papa en inglés.

“Los infiernos no son solo la condición de quien está muerto, sino también de quien vive la muerte a causa del mal y del pecado”, dijo, en su discurso principal en italiano.

En el “infierno cotidiano de la soledad, de la vergüenza, del abandono, del cansancio de vivir. Cristo entra en todas estas realidades oscuras para testimoniarnos el amor del Padre. No para juzgar, sino para liberar. No para culpabilizar, sino para salvar”.

Y, añadió el Papa León, Cristo lo hace en silencio, “de puntillas, como quien entra en una habitación de hospital para ofrecer consuelo y ayuda”.

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Miles de católicos hispanos celebran el comienzo del mes de la Herencia Hispana

BRIAN SEGOVIA bmsegovia@rcdoc.org

CHARLOTTE — Del 15 de septiembre al 15 de octubre se celebra oficialmente el Mes de la Herencia Hispana en los Estados Unidos, una conmemoración reconocida a nivel federal desde 1988. La fecha de inicio no es coincidencia: el 15 de septiembre marca el aniversario de independencia de varios países latinoamericanos, entre ellos Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras y Nicaragua. Poco después celebran también México y Chile.

Este mes rinde homenaje a la riqueza cultural y las contribuciones históricas de los latinos en los Estados Unidos. Durante la última semana, diversas comunidades en la diócesis se han reunido para celebrar esta herencia a través de festividades culturales en sus parroquias. Estas celebraciones no solo reconocen la importancia del mes, sino que también impulsan el crecimiento de los ministerios hispanos en sus respectivas comunidades de fe.

Tal fue el caso en la parroquia Santa María en Greensboro, que celebró el 14 de septiembre, y Divino Redentor en Boonville, donde el evento se realizó el 20 de septiembre.

Por su parte, en Charlotte, la parroquia Nuestra Señora de

Guadalupe, que organiza una de las celebraciones más grandes de la diócesis durante este mes, llevó a cabo su tradicional “Gran Kermés Familiar” el pasado 21 de septiembre. El evento reunió a latinos de varios

países con una jornada llena de música, bailes folklóricos, comida típica y actividades para toda la familia.

Según los organizadores, desde las 5 de la mañana comenzaron a llegar los voluntarios para preparar los juegos, el escenario, los puestos de actividades y, sin duda, lo más esperado por muchos: la comida.

La oferta culinaria fue tan diversa como tacos, pupusas, flautas, quesadillas, ceviche y, como novedad este año, sushi. Ya para las 9 de la mañana comenzaron a llegar las multitudes, recibidas con sonrisas por más de 1,200

voluntarios, todo bajo un sol radiante.

Las misas celebradas durante el día también estuvieron completamente llenas, al punto de que muchos feligreses debieron seguir la celebración desde fuera.

Esteban Chávez, feligrés desde hace 18 años y organizador principal de la Gran Kermés, explicó que el evento busca fortalecer la convivencia entre los distintos ministerios de la parroquia, así como dar la bienvenida a quienes visitan por primera vez.

“A simple vista se nota cómo esto crea un sentido de comunidad,” comentó Chávez. “Queremos que todos vivan un pedacito de su país aquí.”

Elizabeth López, mexicana que lleva 35 años viviendo en Estados Unidos, asistió por primera vez al evento y quedó fascinada con los bailes folklóricos presentados por grupos juveniles en el escenario. “Me encanta cantar, y para mí es algo tan lindo poder disfrutar de algo así,” dijo López.

Según los organizadores de los festejos, las ganancias se destinan a apoyar a las parroquias.

El Mes de la Herencia Hispana es más que una celebración; es un momento para reconocer y valorar la rica diversidad, cultura y aportaciones de la comunidad latina, que representa aproximadamente la mitad de la población de la Diócesis de Charlotte.

Peregrinos de la Esperanza tejen su huella por la Diócesis en el primer Camino Carolina

BRIAN SEGOVIA Y LISA M. GERACI catholicnews@rcdoc.org

CHARLOTTE — La peregrinación inaugural Carolina Camino, una caminata de 10 días y 145 millas desde Asheville hasta Charlotte en honor al Año Jubilar 2025, fue un éxito, y sus participantes ya se preparan para su próxima aventura.

La caminata comenzó el 26 de agosto en la Basílica de San Lorenzo en Asheville y terminó el 5 de septiembre en la Catedral de San Patricio en

Charlotte, recorriendo los tres lugares de peregrinación del Año Jubilar en la diócesis y llegando justo a tiempo para el 21º Congreso Eucarístico. Los siete peregrinos enfrentaron físicamente el terreno mientras se elevaban espiritualmente en su silenciosa caminata con Dios. El grupo se motivaba unos a otros con compañerismo, comida y oración, mientras encontraban personas en el camino que impulsaban su comodidad y confianza.

CAMINO, PASA A LA PÁGINA 21

BRIAN SEGOVIA | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

La Gran Kermés también se celebra en honor a San Vicente de Paúl, patrono de las caridades y los voluntarios. Su fiesta se conmemora el 27 de septiembre.

BRIAN SEGOVIA | CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

Los peregrinos del Camino de Carolina recorrieron un promedio de 14.5 millas por día, para un total de 145.4 millas entre Asheville y Charlotte.

Papa León XIV

CAMINO

La idea del viaje surgió de los feligreses del Sagrado Corazón, James y Melinda Osborne. La pareja pasó su aniversario de 30 años peregrinando por Portugal y España, recorriendo una ruta por la que más de 400.000 peregrinos cada año caminan para seguir los pasos de Santiago el Apóstol en el Camino de Santiago. Decidieron llevar su experiencia al oeste de Carolina del Norte.

Pasaron meses trazando rutas, colaborando con cinco iglesias locales, dos monasterios y cuatro negocios locales para abrir un camino a pie desde Asheville hasta Charlotte. Durante ese proceso, fundaron una organización sin fines de lucro, Carolina Camino Inc.

El peregrino Josh Martin, feligrés de Santa Teresa en Mooresville, planea hacerlo de nuevo el próximo año.

“Fue transformador.” dijo Martin. “Fue lo más difícil y asombroso que probablemente haya hecho hasta ahora en mi vida.”

Aunque su trayectoria tuvo cumbres y valles, los peregrinos dijeron que mantuvieron a Dios como su enfoque. Como dijo Martin: “Tienes mucho tiempo contigo mismo, y en esos momentos, sentí una profunda conexión espiritual con Dios.” Hubo sacrificios en el camino. Melinda Osborne y Eva Frank renunciaron al tiempo frente a pantallas, y Martin ayunó del café. Dijeron que lo mundano, tan prominente en sus vidas cotidianas, tuvo poco impacto en sus aventuras por el sendero.

“Si caminas con Cristo todo el tiempo y sabes que Él está ahí y lo amas y confías en Él, tienes esa esperanza,” dijo Melinda Osborne. “Te dices a ti misma: ‘Señor, ¿cómo voy a lograr llegar hasta mañana?’ Pero cada mañana al surgir el sol, sentía a Cristo en mi corazón. Podías ver Su belleza en todo lugar por donde caminabas. Es curioso lo agradecida que te vuelves por una acera, por un instante de sombra, o por la ropa que llevas puesta. Es una locura

pensar en lo que damos por sentado en nuestra vida cotidiana.”

El cansancio, el hambre y los dolores musculares hicieron que algunos dudaran si podrían terminar, pero fue en esos momentos de derrota cuando el Señor les mostró el camino.

“Hace dos días pensé que no podría continuar,” dijo Karen Perry, de 72 años, feligresa de San Marcos en Huntersville, quien tuvo problemas con la rodilla. “Pero aquí estoy, en la línea de meta.”

No eran maratonistas ni buscadores de aventuras, solo un grupo diverso de católicos dispuesto a aceptar un desafío espiritual y físico. En el camino conocieron sacerdotes, hermanas, monjes y nuevos amigos. Oraron, comieron y rieron con las Hermanas Benedictinas del Monasterio de la Reina de la Paz en Rutherfordton. Asistieron a misa y durmieron en el salón parroquial de Inmaculada Concepción en Forest City y cantaron vísperas con los monjes en la Abadía de Belmont.

Aunque ocasionalmente se detenían a oler glicinas, el mundo no se detuvo para ellos. La vida y la muerte continuaron; la nuera de Osborne dio a luz a un nuevo nieto, mientras otro peregrino recibió la noticia del fallecimiento de un amigo querido.

Siguieron adelante, rosarios en mano, cantando por las calles públicas, alabando a Dios por una gota de agua, y compartiendo una pequeña parte de Su sufrimiento a través de las ampollas en los talones y las rodillas hinchadas.

“Aprendí de lo que era capaz con Dios. Nunca pensé que podría haber caminado esa distancia, especialmente sin años de preparación,” dijo Martin. “Es algo que realmente no creía que pudiera hacer, pero con Dios todo es posible.”

Se encontraron con personas sin hogar, aún devastadas por la furia de la tormenta tropical Helen, y también con quienes se preguntaban por qué aquel grupo curioso se tendía en sus céspedes bien cuidados vertiendo botellas de agua sobre sus cabezas.

Las personas que conocieron contaron sus propias historias de dificultades y luchas, al mismo tiempo que pedían selfies y oraciones.

José Muñoz, feligrés de la parroquia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en Charlotte se sumó a último momento a la peregrinación hacia Charlotte. Desafortunadamente, debido a la dificultad del trayecto y a las ampollas en sus pies, Muñoz tomó la difícil decisión de abandonar el camino. Sin embargo, cuando los peregrinos llegaron al último tramo de la ruta, en el décimo día, pudo unirse nuevamente al grupo tras haberse recuperado.

Durante ese tramo final, compartió que visitar la Parroquia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe llevando la imagen de la Virgen en sus manos fue una experiencia profundamente emotiva.

“Fue una emoción muy grande,” expresó el feligrés de 70 años, con lágrimas en los ojos y la imagen de la Virgen entre las manos. “Gracias a Dios tuve la fortuna de regresar para apoyar al grupo.”

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Caballeros de Colón

Considere unirse a los más de 2 millones de miembros de la organización fraternal católica más grande del mundo y registrándose en línea hoy en: www.kofc.org/joinus/es

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Fiesta de Nuestra Señora de la Merced

La Santísima Virgen se le apareció a San Pedro Nolasco, en 1218, recomendándole que fundara una comunidad religiosa que se dedicara a auxiliar a los cautivos que eran llevados a sitios lejanos. Esta advocación mariana nace en España y se difunde por el resto del mundo.

San Pedro Nolasco, inspirado por la Santísima Virgen, funda una orden dedicada a la merced (que significa obras de misericordia). Su misión era la misericordia para con los cristianos cautivos en manos de los musulmanes. Muchos de los miembros de la orden canjeaban sus vidas por la de presos y esclavos. Fue apoyado por el rey Jaime el Conquistador y aconsejado por San Raimundo de Peñafort.

San Pedro Nolasco y sus frailes muy devotos de la Virgen María, la tomaron como patrona y guía. Su espiritualidad es fundamentada en Jesús el liberador de la humanidad y en la Santísima Virgen, la Madre liberadora e ideal de la persona libre. Los mercedarios querían ser caballeros de la Virgen María al servicio de su obra redentora. Por eso la honran como Madre de la Merced o Virgen Redentora. En 1272, tras la muerte del fundador, los frailes toman oficialmente el nombre de La Orden de Santa María de la Merced, de la redención de los cautivos, pero son más conocidos como mercedarios.

Esta comunidad religiosa se ha dedicado por siglos a ayudar a los prisioneros y ha tenido mártires y santos.

El Padre Gaver, en 1400, relata como La Virgen llama a San Pedro Nolasco y le revela su deseo de ser liberadora a través de una orden dedicada a la liberación.

Nolasco la pide ayuda a Dios y, en signo de la misericordia divina, le responde La Virgen María diciéndole que funde una orden liberadora.

Desde el año 1259 los padres Mercedarios empiezan a difundir la devoción a Nuestra Señora de la Merced la cual se extiende por el mundo. Una de las imágenes de gran devoción en Santo Domingo, y la más antigua es la de Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes.

Lecturas Diarias

28 DE SEPTIEMBRE – 4 DE OCTUBRE Domingo (XXVI Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario): Am 6, 1a. 4-7, Sal 145, 7. 8-9. 9-10, 1 Tim 6, 11-16, Lc 16, 19-31

Lunes (Fiesta de los santos Miguel, Gabriel y Rafael, arcángeles): Dn 7, 9-10. 13-14 o Ap 12, 7-12ab, Sal 137, 1-2ab. 2cde-3. 4-5, Jn 1, 47-51

Martes (Memoria de san Jerónimo, presbítero y doctor de la Iglesia): Zac 8, 20-23, Sal 86, 1b-3. 4-5. 6-7, Lc 9, 51-56

Miércoles (Memoria de santa Teresa del Niño Jesús, virgen y doctora de la Iglesia): Neh 2, 1-8, Sal 136, 1-2. 3. 4-5. 6, Lc 9, 57-62

Jueves (Memoria de los Santos Ángeles Custodios): Neh 8, 1-4a. 5-6. 7b-12, Sal 18, 8. 9. 10. 11, Mt 18, 1-5. 10

Viernes: Bar 1, 15-22, Sal 78, 1b-2. 3-5. 8. 9, Lc 10, 13-16

Sábado (Memoria de san Francisco de Asís): Bar 4, 5-12. 27-29, Sal 68, 33-35. 3637, Lc 10, 17-24

5–11 OCTUBRE

Domingo (XXVII Domingo del Tiempo

Ordinario): Hab 1:2-3, 2:2-4, Sal 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9, 2 Tim 1:6-8, 13-14, Lc 17:5-10

Lunes: Jon 1:1–2:1-2, 11, Jon 2:3, 4, 5, 8, Lc 10:25-3, Martes (Memoria de Nuestra Señora del

En marzo de 1495 Cristóbal Colón, acompañado de unos cuantos españoles, tuvo que enfrentar a un crecido número de indios acaudillados por un cacique. Levantaron una trinchera y junto a ella colocaron una gran cruz de madera. Los indios lograron desalojar a los españoles, quienes de inmediato se replegaron a un cerro. Mientras tanto los indios prendieron fuego a la cruz y con hachas intentaban destruirla, sin poder lograrlo. Ante la agresividad de los indios, Colón y la mayoría de la tropa decidieron retirarse del lugar. Sin embargo el mercedario Fray Juan Infante, confesor de Colón, que llevaba consigo una imagen de Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, exhortó a los españoles a seguir combatiendo y les prometió la victoria en nombre de la Virgen. Al día siguiente ls fuerza de Colón obtuvieron una increíble victoria frente a los indios, quienes se dispersaron por los montes. Luego de este suceso se construyó un santuario a Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes en la misma cumbre del cerro. donde Colón colocó la milagrosa cruz. — ACI Prensa

Rosario): Jon 3:1-10, Sal 130:1b-2, 3-4ab, 7-8, Lc 10:38-42

Miércoles: Jon 4:1-11, Sal 86:3-4, 5-6, 9-10, Lc 11:1-4

Jueves: Mal 3:13-20b, Sal 1:1-2, 3, 4 y 6, Lc 11:5-13

Viernes: Joel 1:13-15, 2:1-2, Sal 9:2-3, 6 y 16, 8-9, Lc 11:15-26

Sábado: Joel 4:12-21, Sal 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12, Lc 11:27-28

12–18 OCTUBRE

Domingo (XXVIII Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario): 2 Re 5:14-17, Sal 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 2 Tim 2:8-13, Lc 17:11-19

Lunes: Rom 1:1-7, Sal 98:1bcde, 2-3ab, 3cd4, Lc 11:29-32

Martes: Rom 1:16-25, Sal 19:2-3, 4-5, Lc 11:37-41

Miércoles (Memoria de Santa Teresa de Jesús, Virgen y Doctora de la Iglesia): Rom 2:1-11, Sal 62:2-3, 6-7, 9, Lc 11:42-46

Jueves: Rom 3:21-30, Sal 130:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6ab, Lc 11:47-54

Viernes (Memoria de San Ignacio de Antioquía, Obispo y Mártir): Rom 4:1-8, Sal 32:1b-2, 5, 11, Lc 12:1-7

Sábado (Fiesta de San Lucas, Evangelista): 2 Tim 4:10-17b, Sal 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18, Lc 10:1-9

VIENE DE LA PÁGINA 20

Carolina Camino se asoció con Caridades Católicas de la Diócesis de Charlotte para apoyar los esfuerzos de ayuda ante desastres en el oeste de Carolina del Norte.

Spiritual bouquet gathers more than 2 million offerings for pope

HUNTINGTON, Ind. — Pope Leo XIV turned 70 on Sept. 14, and more than 2 million prayers and works from 72 countries around the world were offered for him for the occasion through an OSV News-organized initiative, making up one very special “spiritual birthday bouquet” of prayer, love and support.

The effort resulted in 1,005,687 rosaries, 6,520 remembrances at Mass, 2,485 Chaplets of Divine Mercy, 1,777 Eucharistic Holy Hours, 693 novenas, 644 recitations of the Divine Office, and 1,000,866 acts of mercy or other prayers for the pope, for a total of 2,018,672 offerings.

In addition, the “Pizza and Prayer” spiritual bouquet encouraged participants, when possible, to pray together and then raise a slice of pizza in honor of one of the Chicago native’s favorite treats.

OSV News, which is based in Huntington, was joined in partnership by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; the Pontifical Mission Societies, USA; Relevant Radio; Hallow; the National Eucharistic Revival; the Daughters of St. Paul; Sing the Hours; Pray More Novenas; the Daily Nothings; and more to help spread the word.

The name of every person and organization that participated in this spiritual bouquet was included on the card OSV News sent.

St. Thérèse ‘provides a light’

for today’s world, says rector

ROYAL OAK, Mich. — The National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak will host the major relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Oct. 1-8 as part of a national tour, which ends Dec. 8.

The shrine was the first parish in the United States to be named for St. Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897). It was established in 1925, shortly after St. Thérèse – popularly known as the Little Flower – was canonized, making it the ideal location to kick off the national tour.

The Royal Oak basilica already houses smaller relics of St. Thérèse, along with relics of her parents, Sts. Louis and Marie-Azelie Martin. But the last time St. Thérèse’s body – the reliquary contains most of her bones – was at the National Shrine of the Little Flower was 1999, before the shrine was declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2014.

Father John Bettin, the basilica’s rector,

Our nation

said St. Thérèse is among the most popularly venerated saints today, with millions devoted to her spirituality of the “Little Way.”

The opportunity to venerate her relics is a chance to connect to the saint, he said. “St. Thérèse is a model for Christian life and virtue in what many times can feel like a dark world. St. Thérèse provides a light.”

Religion must serve God, not man, says patriarch

WASHINGTON, D.C. — “Wherever you think you see religion still serving prejudice and hatred, you are not seeing true religion,” but rather “the manipulation of religious values to serve a kingdom of Man, and not the Kingdom of God,” said the spiritual leader of the majority of the world’s Orthodox Christians.

Amid his eighth apostolic visit to the United States from Sept. 14-25, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople addressed attendees at a Sept. 16 State Department dinner in his honor, hosted by Deputy Secretary of State Michael J. Rigas.

Campus ministry’s coffee shop helps students encounter Christ

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Tech’s Catholic Campus Ministry has launched a new outreach pairing a free coffee shop with Eucharistic adoration, aiming to draw students into

community and prayer.

The “Pour Into Others” initiative runs Wednesdays at the Newman House, with coffee served downstairs while adoration takes place in the chapel upstairs. Ministry director Chris Hitzelberger said the effort is designed for students not active in campus ministry.

“If we can allow students the opportunity to build good community and grow in their relationship with Christ … they’re going to be inspired to go and do awesome things for the Lord in our world,” he said.

The project is one of three 2025 recipients of a $25,000 evangelization award from the Associates of St. John Bosco.

— OSV News and Catholic News Agency

Please pray for the following deacons who died during the month of September

Albert Renaurt 9/24/2002

Charles Knight 9/13/2017

Tim Ritchey 9/11/2022

Sponsored by the Knights of Columbus www.kofcnc.org

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Our world

Pope nixes ‘virtual pope’ idea, explains concerns about AI

CINDY WOODEN Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV said a proposal to create an AI-version of him so people could have a virtual audience with the pope pretty much horrified him.

“If there’s anybody who should not be represented by an avatar, I would say the pope is high on the list,” he said in an interview with Elise Allen, a journalist and author.

Allen’s July 30 interview with Pope Leo is the last chapter of her biography, “Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the XXI Century,” which was published in Spanish by Penguin Peru Sept. 18. The text of the interview, in English and Spanish, was given to reporters.

Pope Leo, who has made his concerns about the potential pitfalls of artificial intelligence clear since immediately after his election in early May, gave some concrete examples about why.

“Someone recently asked authorization to create an artificial me so that anybody could sign on to this website and have a personal audience with ‘the pope,’” he told Allen. “This artificial intelligence pope would give them answers to their questions, and I said, ‘I’m not going to authorize that.’”

While human creativity can be amazing, and artificial intelligence already has proven its usefulness in some fields,

A band performs in front of an

of

Leo XIV during

as part of the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers. Pope Leo XIV recently talked with Elise Allen, senior correspondent at Crux, for a biography, “Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the XXI Century,” in which he talked about the impact of artificial intelligence on human life.

“there’s a danger in this because you do end up creating a fake world and then you wonder, what is the truth?”

IMPACT ON PEOPLE

At the core of his concern, the pope said, is AI’s impact on human dignity and on jobs.

“Our human life makes sense not because of artificial intelligence,” he

said, “but because of human beings and encounter, being with one another, creating relationships, and discovering in those human relationships also the presence of God.”

“The danger is that the digital world will go on its own way, and we will become pawns, or left by the wayside,” particularly when it comes to employment, he said.

“Human dignity has a very important

relationship with the work that we do,” the pope said. “The fact that we can, through the gifts that we’ve been given, produce, offer something in the world and earn a living” is a sign of human dignity.

Pope Leo said he believes there is a crisis looming of not having enough decent jobs for people because of technology and artificial intelligence.

“If we automate the whole world and only a few people have the means with which to more than just survive, but to live well, have meaningful lives, there’s a big problem, a huge problem coming down the line,” he said.

AI IMPACTED POPE’S NAME

“That was one of the issues in the back of my mind in why I chose the name Leo,” the pope said. His choice honored Pope Leo XIII, author of the encyclical “Rerum Novarum,” which addressed issues of labor and workers’ rights during the Industrial Revolution.

“The Church is not against the advances of technology, not at all,” he said, but it also insists on maintaining a relationship between faith and reason, and science and faith.

“I think to lose that relationship will leave science as an empty, cold shell that will do great damage to what humanity is about,” Pope Leo said. “And the human heart will be lost in the midst of the technological development, as things are going right now.”

PABLO ESPARZA | CNS

image

Pope

a festival in Risorgimento Square July 29 in Rome,

Family’s role in Church, society needs support, pope says

VATICAN CITY — The strength of families and their ability to thrive and witness as a “domestic Church” requires support from the wider Church and from governments, particularly in the face of poverty, Pope Leo XIV said.

“We are aware that today there are real threats to the dignity of the family such as poverty, lack of employment, lack of access to health care, abuse of the most vulnerable, migration and wars,” the pope told a group of Latin American Church representatives Sept. 19.

The Latin American bishops’ council, the Pontifical Academy for Life and the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences brought the representatives to Rome Sept. 17-19 for a shared Jubilee Year reflection on “the future of life and the family” in Latin America.

“Both public institutions and the Church have the responsibility to seek ways to promote dialogue and strengthen the aspects of society that support family life and the education of its members,” the pope told the group.

60 people killed in Congo by Islamic State group supporters

NTOYO, Congo — Aid to the Church in Need is sounding the alarm after a brutal massacre in eastern Congo. On the night of Sept. 8-9, attackers linked to the Allied Democratic Forces stormed the village of Ntoyo in North Kivu, killing at least 64 people. Many of them were mourners gathered for a wake in the area of St. Joseph of Manguredjipa Catholic Parish.

Witnesses said the militants used guns, hammers and even set homes on fire in what appears to have been a planned act of terror.

Bishop Melchisédech Sikuli Paluku of Butembo-Beni expressed his closeness to grieving families, asking God to strengthen

them amid what he called “this horrible carnage.”

The ADF, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2019, has waged a campaign of extreme violence against civilians, especially Christians.

ACN urged prayer, pressing the international community to act and warning that the region faces a worsening humanitarian crisis under the weight of more than 120 armed groups.

In another recent atrocity, at least 43 people, including children, were killed July 27 in a brutal overnight attack on a Catholic church in Komanda in eastern Congo.

In February, more than 70 corpses were found in a Protestant church in Lubero. “Many of them had their hands bound and had been decapitated,” ACN said.

French Christians shocked by murder of influencer from Iraq

PARIS — French Christians are reeling after the brutal murder of Ashur Sarnaya, a 45-year-old disabled Iraqi Chaldean Catholic who was stabbed in the throat outside his Lyon apartment.

Sarnaya, confined to a wheelchair, was livestreaming on TikTok about his faith when he was attacked.

Originally from Ankawa in northern Iraq, Sarnaya had fled persecution by an Islamic State group a decade ago and found refuge in France with his sister.

Known for his deep devotion, he was active in Lyon’s St. Ephrem Chaldean Parish and had built a following online through prayer and Christian songs in Arabic.

Christian groups condemned the killing, calling Sarnaya a “martyr for his faith.”

Archbishop Olivier de Germay of Lyon urged prayer and dialogue, warning that “violence is a dead end.”

Authorities have yet to identify a suspect, but speculation over religious motives has fueled political debate. France’s Eastern Christian communities, many themselves refugees, said they fear rising hostility directed at their faith.

and, also through you, we draw close to those who suffer.” The women present also included members of the Sisters of St. Catherine, the Salesian Missionaries of Mary Immaculate and the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres.

Chinese government bans priests from teaching, evangelizing online

Pope praises women’s religious orders for courage,

generosity

VATICAN CITY — In its religious orders, the Catholic Church has an array of strong, courageous and generous women who care for the poor, defend peace and share the Gospel message of salvation, Pope Leo XIV said.

Meeting Sept. 22 with four communities holding their general chapters in Rome, Pope Leo singled out the Discalced Carmelite Sisters of the Holy Land. “What you are doing is important: your vigilant and silent presence in places sadly torn by hatred and violence, your witness of trusting abandonment to God, your constant prayer for peace,” the pope told them.

“We all accompany you with our prayers

CHINA — New regulations from the State Administration for Religious Affairs in China have enacted a ban on several major forms of online evangelization for religious clergy of all religions, including Catholic priests.

Among the new stipulations is that clergy must “love the motherland” and support the Communist Party and its socialist system. Faith leaders are banned from preaching and performing other religious rituals through live broadcasts, short videos or online meetings. When using social media accounts or messaging apps, clergy must provide “certificate of membership as registered religious clergy” to their internet providers. — OSV News and Catholic News Service

ViewPoints

Bishop Michael Martin

Fed up with the news lately?

Ask yourself: What will I do?

In the wake of recent tragedies – a random stabbing here in Charlotte, a mass shooting at a Minneapolis church and the assassination of a national political activist in Utah – we are all left reeling at the evil that plagues our broken world. While these high-profile losses dominate headlines, we also know there are countless daily acts of violence in our neighborhoods and around the world that rarely make the news. Precious lives are cut short and families are left grieving, broken and facing an uncertain future.

In moments like these, we can feel helpless and rightfully cry out to our leaders to do something to stop the madness. But are we really powerless?

As Christians, we know the answer is no.

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE, WITH GOD’S HELP

We believe in a God who has empowered us with not only the creativity and abilities of our humanity, but also with His grace to make a difference in our world.

The Sept. 7 canonizations of St. Pier Giorgio Frassati and St. Carlo Acutis remind us that ordinary people can have an extraordinary impact. We must look within ourselves and ask the simple question: “What will I do?”

“I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me,” St. Paul says to us this day and every day (Philippians 4:13). We are more capable than we realize and, in moments like these, are called to recommit ourselves to the ways of Jesus – the only path to healing, peace and salvation for our broken world.

Each of us needs to find specific and personal ways to turn away from the anger that leads to violence and instead choose to foster understanding and reach out in love to walk with those who are struggling.

HOW TO ENGAGE IN PEACEMAKING

If I may suggest three concrete ways we can all actively engage in peacemaking:

n Fast for a time from social media, and instead spend that time reading sacred Scripture.

n Speak and act with charity, especially in face-to-face and online conversations with those you disagree with.

n Reach out to someone you know who is struggling in some way and spend time with them.

These actions may sound small – even naïve – but saints including St. Pier Giorgio Frassati and St. Carlo Acutis, who were once dismissed in the same way, now inspire millions. Look at what they accomplished (and continue to accomplish) with God’s grace.

As St. Paul reminds us, “Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more” (Romans 5:20).

May we choose grace, and use our gifts to bring peace to our own small corner of the world.

Leah Libresco Sargeant

‘A

Wrinkle in Time’ and confronting impossible love

It’s no surprise that “A Wrinkle in Time” didn’t work as a movie. Madeleine L’Engle’s classic novel follows one girl’s adventures across space to rescue her father and brother. The story reaches its climax when Meg, a stubborn, angry, loving 13-year-old, faces down IT – a monster of conformity that has all of the planet Camazotz, plus her brother Charles Wallace, in thrall. IT is seen as an enormous, repellent brain in a room of pulsing, rhythmic lights.

On the page and in Meg’s head, it’s terrifying. On film, it’s ridiculous.

At Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., I recently saw a much better retelling of the novel’s story as musical theater. The heightened staging that musicals allow lets the story be almost as unsettling and moving as it needs to be.

Whether Meg and her friends are flying above a garden planet on the back of a winged centaur or overwhelmed by the psychic force of IT or folding time and space in a tesseract, a chorus makes audible what cannot be shown. Its layered harmonies give texture both to Meg’s thoughts and

‘She felt the necessity of love alongside the impossibility of it. It was God who bridged the gap.’

to the magic of the world around her. A countertenor in the chorus helps convey the piercing beauty and strangeness that animates the novel, which is by turns meditative, terrifying and beautiful.

A WIN WITHOUT TOTAL VICTORY

The one false note in the production came in the climax, when the adaptation made victory simpler and cheaper.

In both the book and the musical, Meg is able to rescue Charles Wallace only because she has something IT does not. At first her hate for IT blazes forth, but hatred is easy for IT to assimilate into itself – IT nearly takes in Meg along with the hatred. Meg’s love for Charles Wallace, though, is utterly alien to IT. She loves her brother with all the force of their small traditions, their great adventures, loving even the strangeness of him that she cannot fully compass. It is enough.

But it is not enough for Camazotz. In the book, Meg and Charles Wallace escape and bring their father home. The musical is determined to deliver a bigger victory: Meg gives her love to Charles, and then is able to give her anger, her stubbornness and her capacity for love to all the people of Camazotz. IT’s power is completely broken.

The climax is well staged, and I would have found it satisfying if I weren’t familiar with the text.

Perhaps the adaptors felt that the seven actors who portray the chorus and Camazotztians cannot

fade out of the story on stage. In the book, the final confrontation is between Meg and IT in a closed room. On stage, the chorus is still there, providing the rhythm of the battle, and will remain on stage to animate the terror of tessering across time and space. It isn’t simple to leave them behind.

Making Meg’s victory total, however, inadvertently undercuts one of L’Engle’s clear Christian themes: There are acts of reconciliation that are beyond us – but not beyond God. We must be faithful in the work in front of us and must not assume that hope is limited by our own strength.

The chapter where Meg rescues Charles Wallace is titled “The Foolish and the Weak,” and the connection to First Corinthians is made explicit by one of Meg’s guides, who quotes from it. When Meg realized that love is her weapon, she paused for a moment, unsure where to aim it. If she could give love to IT, perhaps it would shrivel up and die. But she, in all her weakness and foolishness, was incapable of loving IT. She could not do it.

It’s unusual to see a heroine acknowledge that something might be necessary but beyond her. It matters that Camazotz is left in shadow and that Meg recognizes she can’t save it.

IN REAL LIFE, A NAZI SEEKS FORGIVENESS

Meg’s moment of insufficiency reminded me of a real-life moment of impossible love. During World War II, Corrie ten Boom and her family hid Jews from the Nazis in the Netherlands.

When they were caught, she and her sister Betsie were sent to the concentration camp at Ravensbrück. Corrie survived, but Betsie did not.

After the war, ten Boom cared for concentration camp survivors and collaborators. At one event where she was preaching on forgiveness, she came face to face with an SS officer from Ravensbrück.

The former Nazi put out his hand and asked for her forgiveness. Like Meg, ten Boom did not feel that she had it in herself to forgive this man or to offer him love. As she wrote in her memoir, she prayed, “Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness.”

Accepting she could not move her heart herself, she tried to just move her hand, and “into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.” Her own insufficiency was immaterial. She felt the necessity of love alongside the impossibility of it. It was God who bridged the gap. As ten Boom concluded, “When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.”

When we limit our tales to the victories we can achieve on our own, we make our stories too small. We may never confront the enormity of evil that Meg and Corrie ten Boom saw face to face. But each of us will find a moment when what is asked of us is more than we can offer. L’Engle’s story gestures at the scandal of the cross in a way the musical can’t quite imagine.

LEAH LIBRESCO SARGEANT is the author of “Arriving at Amen” and “Building the Benedict Option.” This is condensed from an article at www.wordonfire.org.

BISHOP MICHAEL MARTIN, OFM CONV., leads the Diocese of Charlotte.

Laura Kelly Fanucci

‘What a beautiful family’

Whenever I take my kids anywhere in public, I get comments.

“All boys?! Didn’t you ever try for a girl?”

“Five?! You must be crazy!”

“Are they all yours?”

We are far from the only family whose mere presence attracts attention. The same phenomenon happens to friends whose children use wheelchairs or walkers, families whose kids come from different racial backgrounds, and parents with wide age gaps between children.

Strangers’ curiosity leads to prying questions, even insulting insinuations: “Which ones are yours?” “Don’t you know how this happens?” “What’s wrong with that one?” “Couldn’t you have more?”

‘Rather than jumping to assumptions or asking curious questions about the makeup of anyone’s family, why not follow Jesus’ lead and simply welcome each other with open arms?’ This all-purpose response blesses those who hear it

Suddenly you find yourself defending your most personal or painful experiences in public.

After a while, even your polite replies can wear thin. I’ll never forget the sweltering day at the state fair when my spouse was so sick of strangers stopping us to comment on our brood of boys that when one man yelled at us, “What happened to the girls?” my normally patient husband hollered back, “They’re in heaven!” (We still laugh that our twins must have smiled from above to watch their dad defend their existence.)

THE FAMILY YOU CAN’T SEE

Any version of a family you see in public might be only the tip of the iceberg. You can’t see the babies who didn’t survive, the adoptions that

unraveled, or the estranged adult children for whom their parents pray every night.

Families deserve to be seen and supported not for whether they measure up to anyone else’s expectations, but because they are formed by humans created in the image of God, striving to love each other through their struggles. A married couple makes a family, two people blessed to share life together. A single person is part of their family of origin and their chosen family of friends. Widowed, divorced and remarried people often remain part of multiple families. What a gift we could give to each other if we stopped the curious question (or the catchy quip) that leaps to our lips and instead offered a simple encouragement with a smile: “What a beautiful family!”

When Jesus welcomed a child into His arms – embracing the very distraction that His disciples tried to prevent – He reminded us that whoever welcomes a child welcomes Him and the One who sent Him (Mark 9:37). Part of our calling as Catholics is to support the sacredness of life, no matter the context or circumstances. Rather than jumping to assumptions or asking curious questions about the makeup of anyone’s family, why not follow Jesus’ lead and simply welcome each other with open arms?

THIS GREETING WORKS WONDERS

“What a beautiful family” has become my default response whenever I meet someone new. I can tell you that it works wonders. Stressed parents will smile over the heads of rowdy children. Doting dads of one will thank you for seeing their family as full and worthy. Mothers who have lost babies to miscarriage can feel all their children included for once. Married couples are grateful for the affirmation of the family they have made together.

The Body of Christ is a beautiful, diverse family. We are single and married, divorced and widowed. We have built families through adoption and fostering, marriage and birth. We have known deep loss and great joy from our families of origin, and we have widened our circles of welcome to build chosen families, watching in awe as God creates anew.

Jesus Himself defied traditional definitions of family when He taught His followers that “whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:35). May we always remember that in the kingdom of God, kinship is defined by faithful love.

LAURA KELLY FANUCCI is an author, speaker and founder of Mothering Spirit, an online gathering place on parenting and spirituality.

‘Whoever serves God becomes free from wealth; but whoever serves wealth remains its slave.’

Pope Leo XIV

From online story: “Use wealth to help people, not destroy them, pope says”

The Catholic News Herald reached the Facebook and Instagram feeds of more than 1.6 million people in English and Spanish last month. The most talked about post? Coverage of the 2025 Eucharistic Congress. Join the conversation: www.facebook.com/ CatholicNewsHerald

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n Bringing hope to the world

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