CHARLOTTE — Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv., has appointed Monsignor Patrick Winslow as vicar general and chancellor and Father Christopher Gober as vocations director for the Diocese of Charlotte.
Bishop Martin expressed confidence in the two priests, who served in the same positions under then-Bishop Peter Jugis, and whose appointments provide continuity as Bishop Martin begins his leadership of the diocese following his installation May 30.
“It’s clear to me these two devoted servants have done a great job helping lead our diocese in the face of tremendous growth across western North Carolina,” Bishop Martin said. “I will look to them for guidance and support as I learn more about our opportunities and challenges, and as I get to know the people and the clergy of our diocese.”
WinslowAs vicar general, Monsignor Winslow reports directly to the bishop on matters related to clergy and vocations, and acts in place of the bishop in his absence. As chancellor, he also manages the diocese’s administrative offices and archives.
He was ordained a priest in 1999 and served in parishes and as a maximum-security prison chaplain in the Diocese of Albany, New York, before moving south and becoming incardinated into the Charlotte diocese in 2002.
In North Carolina, he served at St. Vincent de Paul in Charlotte, St. Francis of Assisi in Jefferson and St. Frances of Rome in Sparta, and St. John the Baptist in Tryon before becoming pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas in Charlotte in 2012. He was appointed vicar general and chancellor in 2019.
GoberFather Gober was first appointed vocations director in 2004, helping evaluate and guide men who are discerning a call to the priesthood. During his 20 years of leadership the diocese has called more than 50 men to the priesthood, established St. Joseph College Seminary, and started two vocation discernment camps for young men and women. Next week, the diocese will ordain seven priests – among its largest ever class of ordinands.
Father Gober was ordained in 2000 by then-Bishop William Curlin and served as a parochial vicar at St. Michael in Gastonia and St. Gabriel in Charlotte before his appointment as pastor of St. Lucien in Spruce Pine and St. Bernadette in Linville in 2003. Since 2020, he has served as pastor of St. Leo the Great in Winston-Salem.
— Catholic News Herald