CHARLOTTE — Bishop-elect Michael Martin was playful, prayerful and true to his promise to get out among the people of the Diocese of Charlotte, traversing the region on Tuesday – just hours after the Vatican announced he would soon become the diocese’s fifth bishop.
Bishop-elect Martin began his day at 8 a.m. with retiring Charlotte Bishop Peter Jugis, concelebrating a moving Mass in the small chapel at the Diocesan Pastoral Center, before they would announce that the episcopal baton will be passed in May. The pair then walked into a conference room full of TV cameras and reporters to talk about the historic transition. (Watch the press conference.)
It has been 20 years since the Diocese of Charlotte installed a new bishop. Bishop Jugis took the helm in 2003 and has guided the diocese – which covers 46 counties in western North Carolina – through unprecedented growth, with the Catholic population surging to more than 530,000.
The future bishop is a Conventual Franciscan who originally hails from Baltimore and has decades of experience in Catholic education and campus ministry. He comes to Charlotte from the Atlanta area, where he currently serves as pastor of St. Philip Benizi Parish in Jonesboro, Georgia.
In the press conference, Bishop-elect Martin pledged to “get out of the office” and meet people in different communities around the diocese, to discover their needs – especially among the poor and marginalized.
“I realize that our Church and our area are growing in so many ways," he said. "To the people of Western North Carolina, and Charlotte in particular, who are of other faiths or of no particular faith, I look forward to being with you as we all strive to make our area a place of dignity, peace and prosperity for everyone, especially the most marginalized.”
His first action after the press conference was to divert briefly from a planned staff meeting to visit the diocese’s food pantry, operated by Catholic Charities every Tuesday and Thursday at the Pastoral Center.
“Oh, wow, I am so excited. I am a Franciscan, too!” food pantry director Sylvia Sekle said as the bishop-elect introduced himself and eyed a dozen carts filled with bags of groceries lining the hallway. Sekle explained to him how the food pantry works, and that momentarily volunteers would roll the carts outside to recipients waiting in their cars. Instantly, the bishop-elect was outside despite the rainy weather, talking and praying car-side with families, and shaking hands with pleasantly surprised food pantry volunteers.
As Bishop-elect Martin departed, Sekle called out, “Thank you. We make a good team!”
He then dashed off to his meeting with diocesan leaders, telling them: “I have a strong personality…but I want you always to feel free to speak up.” He also said he valued their leadership and pledged to help them deepen their own spiritual life. “Regardless of what your faith journey is, we need you to engage the Holy Spirit in your ministry,” he said.
Then he was off to south Charlotte, to a place where the longtime educator felt right at home: Charlotte Catholic High School. His visit came just two days after the school community had learned two of its students – 17-year-old Abby Lyn Robinson and 18-year-old Isabella Tarantelli – had been badly injured in an April 6 car accident near Asheville that killed two other teens. Both girls remain hospitalized in critical condition.
Humor, encouragement and prayers
In the school lobby, a delegation greeted Bishop-elect Martin – teachers, administrators and two students designated to guide a tour. He immediately asked how Abby Lynn and Isabella were doing after the crash, and promised to keep them in his prayers.
Dressed in his gray Franciscan habit, new bishop’s magenta skullcap atop his head, Bishop-elect Martin couldn’t help but attract attention as he walked the halls with Natalie Dominguez and Madeline Lewis, who some call “The Mayor.”
Madeline is student body president (hence the nickname) and is headed to UNC. Natalie is senior class president, planning to attend Yale University next year where she’ll play softball.
“Seniors?” he teased the girls. “You two are already checked out!”
As he learned more, he suggested potential contacts for them at college, then declared, “You two will be the queens from the Queen City,” then later in the chapel called them “spiritual giants,” and in the art rooms named them “art girls.” Fun nicknames appear to be a thing with the bishop-elect.
The tour stopped by five classrooms – each time, the bishop-elect commanding the room the way only a former teacher could. Bishop-elect Martin spent two decades in Catholic schools in Baltimore and New York, as a teacher, basketball coach, principal and school president.
His classroom visits were equal parts humor, encouragement and reflection. Before departing each class, he asked if he could lead students in prayer, calling on the Holy Spirit and then pausing before speaking. He also asked students to pray for him, noting, “This is my first day!”
Later, “Mayor” Madeline, 17, reflected: “I thought he was awesome, really personable. I loved how on his first day he came here. It is so important for everyone to feel some connection to their Catholic family, and having a personal relationship with the bishop is cool. It makes me want to get more immersed in my faith, like they really care about my faith journey.”
When the bishop-elect reached Brian Mathews’ theology class, he found it unusually quiet. The juniors were preparing for a test on the Fifth Commandment. He asked students: “What’s going on? What have you learned about the Fifth Commandment?” When it became clear the students were distracted, he asked if there was anything in particular they wanted to pray for.
A girl raised her hand and asked if they could pray for their classmate Abby Lynn, pointing to Abby Lynn’s empty desk next to her. Someone else suggested praying for all the families involved in the fatal crash.
He agreed: “We love you, Jesus, and we want to love you more. We pray for these families. We want to lift them up and ask that you send your healing and comfort to them and to these students. Every student in this class has something in their heart, something they pray for. We entrust those intentions to you.”
Natalie and Madeline then escorted the bishop-elect to the school’s Options program for students with intellectual disabilities. He sat in a circle with five students, asking about their ongoing training for the Special Olympics, eliciting gleeful answers about swimming and jumping. They held hands for a special prayer.
“I liked how he met students where they are,” Principal Kurt Telford said. “He is able to engage with all kinds of students. You could tell he was totally at home here.”
The last tour stop at the school of 1,300 students was a visit to the cafeteria. The bishop-elect veered off into the kitchen first, visiting with cafeteria workers before emerging into a lunchroom filled with more than 100 students in uniforms of Cougar red, white and light blue.
He was mobbed. Yet he easily flowed between clusters of boys and girls, asking questions and urging students to love Jesus and “keep on” in their studies.
Visiting people in need
A trip to Belmont came next, as the bishop-elect visited Holy Angels and ate lunch at Holy Angels’ Cherubs Café. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1955, Holy Angels cares for 81 residents – toddlers to senior citizens – who have intellectual and developmental disabilities and delicate medical conditions.
Mercy Sister Nancy Nance, a board member and former longtime employee, shared details about Holy Angels’ $21.5 million expansion expected to begin this summer. Included will be three six-bed homes, a community center, learning center and support building.
He then got to meet the residents. He held Holy Angels’ youngest resident, a 14-month-old girl who requires 24-hour nursing care, on his lap, speaking warmly as she fidgeted with the Franciscan San Damiano crucifix hanging from his neck. In the adults’ residence, he met 82-year-old Butch – who is blind, an autistic savant who is said to be able to play any tune on the piano.
The bishop-elect requested “Sweet Caroline,” and Butch delivered, prompting him and others to sing along.
Soon, he lamented looking at a wall clock, he had to depart. He had only 25 minutes to return to Charlotte where he was scheduled to meet many of the diocese’s priests. Some had driven hours from the mountains, flown back early from vacation, or canceled marriage prep meetings and other activities to meet their new shepherd.
“I loved him. He is very personable,” Father Jonathon Torres, Charlotte Catholic High School’s chaplain, said after the meet-and-greet. “It’s pretty amazing how he could talk to anyone, from freshman kids to kitchen workers, to all of us. He is comfortable with everybody.”
— Liz Chandler. Photos by Troy Hull
Fun facts with Bishop-elect Martin
On the lighter side of an historic moment, the Catholic News Herald pitched a few softballs to get to know our new bishop a little better. Here’s what Bishop-elect Martin shared:
What’s your favorite…
CNH: Bible verse?
MARTIN: I can’t give you just one:
• “Jesus said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch’” (Luke 5:4).
• “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
• “One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek: To dwell in the Lord’s house all the days of my life, To gaze on the Lord’s beauty, to visit His temple” (Psalm 27:4).
CNH: Liturgy?
MARTIN: Anywhere God’s grace is celebrated.
CNH: Holy day or feast day?
A depiction of Pentecost
MARTIN: Pentecost – we don’t celebrate the Holy Spirit enough!
CNH: Patron saint?
MARTIN: Need you ask? St. Francis of Assisi!
(Bishop-elect Martin is professed with the Conventual Franciscans, whose order was founded by St. Francis of Assisi in the 13th century.)
CNH: Movie?
MARTIN: Again, it can’t be only one!
• “Patton” with George C. Scott
• “A Few Good Men” – whenever I come across it channel surfing, I have to stop and watch the rest of it!
• “Shadowlands” – a more obscure Anthony Hopkins film about C.S. Lewis. I cried at the end when I first watched it in the movie theater, and I still get a bit choked up thinking about the ending.
CNH: TV show?
MARTIN: “Seinfeld”
CNH: Requested song for a piano sing-along?
MARTIN: “Sweet Caroline”
(Bishop-elect Martin asked one of the residents at Holy Angels to play the tune during his April 9 tour of their Belmont campus for people with intellectual and development challenges.)
CNH: Sports teams
St. Francis of Assisi
MARTIN: I’m a die-hard Baltimore Orioles and Ravens fan. And, yes, I’m a Duke fan – even though most of you aren’t!
CNH: Pastimes?
MARTIN: I love reading historical biographies, and doing handyman things around the house.
CNH: Favorite food?
MARTIN: Maryland crab cakes (only made in Maryland – all others never get it right).
CNH: Favorite golf course?
MARTIN: Any course where someone else is paying.
Other fun facts:
CNH: What is the last book you read?
MARTIN: Religious: “The Spirituality of Imperfection” by Ernest Kurtz and Katherine Ketcham; Non-religious: “First: Sandra Day O’Connor,” a biography by Evan Thomas
CNH: What do you know about NASCAR?
MARTIN: Only what I have learned driving in the HOV lanes in Atlanta! I know nothing, but admire the athletes, technicians, and precision of the sport.
CNH: Have you visited Charlotte before?
MARTIN: Yes, I once officiated at a wedding at St. Patrick Cathedral, and I’ve been to a few bowl games in Bank of America Stadium.
Maryland crab cakes
CNH: Do you have a specialty dish you make?
MARTIN: I make a decent chili (but I won’t disclose the secret ingredient).
CNH: What’s your biggest pet peeve?
MARTIN: Being late for anything.
CNH: What is something most people don’t know about you?
MARTIN: I once was scratched by a bat – mammal, not baseball – and had to receive all of the rabies shots. Not fun.
CNH: What is your best golf score and worst golf score?
MARTIN: Best is 82 – that was a number of years ago. Worst, well, I can’t count that high! I am a 15 handicap.
CNH: What is the most famous golf course you’ve played?
MARTIN: Cypress Point Club in California.
CNH: What’s an obscure talent you have?
MARTIN: I am an OK barber. My first year in the seminary, I was named the barber, and have been cutting the hair of my brothers ever since.
CNH: What are three things you know or love about Western North Carolina?
MARTIN: Grandfather Mountain, St. Francis Springs Prayer Center in Stoneville, and the rocking chairs at the CLT Airport.
Grandfather Mountain
— Catholic News Herald
Read more:
Diocese welcomes bishop-elect at press conference
Friends, family and faithful react to Bishop-Elect Martin’s assignment in Charlotte diocese
Fun facts with Bishop-Elect Martin