CHARLOTTE — Parishes across the Diocese of Charlotte united in prayer to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the diocese’s founding Jan. 12.
As Bishop Peter Jugis opened the anniversary year with a Holy Hour and Mass that evening at St. Patrick Cathedral, other churches followed suit – gathering their parishioners for Eucharistic Adoration and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in thanksgiving to God.
Notably, St. Pius X Church’s celebration in Greensboro featured special guest Father Edward Sheridan, who served as the diocese’s first superintendent of schools among other roles during nearly 60 years of priestly ministry.
Father Sheridan gave the homily at the 50th anniversary Mass, reminiscing about the early days of the diocese.
“I’m probably one of the few still alive when the diocese was formed,” he said with a smile.
Father Sheridan was serving in Brevard when he heard the official announcement in late November 1971 that a new diocese was going to be formed.
Western North Carolina was very much still mission territory back then, he recounted. Catholics numbered only about 2 percent of the state’s population.
Yet the timing of the diocese’s founding – in the wake of the Second Vatican Council – was a providential moment.
“Bishop Begley took hold of Vatican II and ran with it, and asked us to run with it as well,” he said. “One of the great results of his leadership was the formation of Vatican II in the Diocese of Charlotte” – and that included building up the role of the laity in the new diocese.
“He really put his heart and soul into it, and invited all of us to be the Church,” he said.
Then and now, Father Sheridan said, “the purpose of a diocese is to preach the Gospel to the people and to help people in their journey spiritually.”
As we commemorate this 50th anniversary, he urged people to remember the spirit of those founding days, he said.
“We look at ourselves and we thank the Lord for all that He has done,” he said.
“My prayer, my hope is that we will reignite the spirit of Vatican II – that we put our faith into action, into our daily lives.”
“Bring the Gospel to others,” he encouraged people. “We are all part of this small diocese of 46 counties, but it is vibrant and it can be more vibrant than ever before.”
“May we continue to live according to that spirit that was there at the beginning and throughout these 50 years. May God bless the Diocese of Charlotte. (May He) bless all of us, bless all of those in leadership to bring about a more vibrant, hospitable, more loving, more caring, more Gospel-like Church.”
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor
