CHARLOTTE — Father Patrick J. Winslow, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte, has been appointed vicar general and chancellor of the Diocese of Charlotte, Bishop Peter J. Jugis announced today.
Father Winslow’s appointment is effective Monday, April 29.
As vicar general, Father Winslow will report directly to the bishop on matters related to clergy and vocations as well as acting in place of the bishop in his absence. As chancellor, he will oversee the diocese’s day-to-day administrative and business operations.
“I am honored and at the same time humbled to have the bishop’s confidence,” Father Winslow said. “While I’m sure the learning curve is steep, our bishop has over 15 years’ experience and as I understand it, my task is simply to help him fulfill his office.”
Since coming to the Charlotte diocese in 2002 from the Diocese of Albany, New York, Father Winslow has served with distinction in several important diocesan roles, including his role as ex-officio member of the Lay Review Board, which investigates allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual abuse by clergy and other church personnel and advises the bishop on how to respond to allegations once found to be credible.
In his announcement, Bishop Jugis noted that Father Winslow was “highly recommended” to him.
Father Winslow is a member of the Presbyteral Council and the College of Consultors, two groups of priests who serve as advisors to the bishop, and he also serves as formation advisor to St. Joseph College Seminary in Charlotte.
“As we move forward, I shall be further discerning the office of chancellor,” Bishop Jugis also said in the statement about Father Winslow’s appointment.
In many dioceses, the roles of vicar general and chancellor are separated, with a senior priest serving as vicar general and a layperson with a business or financial background serving as chancellor. Since the Charlotte diocese was established in 1972, both roles have been combined.
Father Winslow will be the Charlotte diocese’s fifth chancellor.
Father Winslow will continue to serve as pastor at St. Thomas Aquinas Church for the time being.
A New York native, Father Winslow studied chemistry in college before discerning a call to the priesthood in 1993. He was ordained a priest in 1999 and served in parishes and as a prison chaplain in the Albany diocese before moving south and becoming incardinated into the Charlotte diocese.
He served at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte, St. Francis of Assisi Church in Jefferson and St. Frances of Rome Mission in Sparta, and St. John the Baptist Church in Tryon before becoming pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in 2012.
He earned a Licentiate of Canon Law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and since 2013 he has served extensively on the diocesan Tribunal as Defender of the Bond and as Promoter of Justice.
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor