College seminary breaks ground as Tropical Storm Florence blows through Carolinas

BELMONT — “We pray that God will continue to shower down His blessings upon this effort of ours,” Bishop Peter Jugis said with a grin before breaking ground for the permanent site of St. Joseph College Seminary Saturday morning – in spite of the wind and rain caused by Tropical Storm Florence.

Bishop Peter J. Jugis, clergy, monks from nearby Belmont Abbey and about 50 additional supporters broke ground Sept. 15 for the $20 million college seminary at the entrance to the 86-acre site located at 22 Arctus Ave.

Hurricane Florence pounded the North Carolina coast in the days leading up to the groundbreaking, making landfall Friday morning with 100-mph winds. But the wind and the rain were slow to reach the Charlotte region, giving organizers just the window of opportunity they needed to proceed with the 10 a.m. groundbreaking.

The college seminary’s 21 students, some of whom held a large tarp over the groundbreaking site, were all there for what Bishop Jugis called a “historic event” for the college seminary and the Diocese of Charlotte.

“We’re here today to ask God’s blessing on St. Joseph College Seminary, as He has been blessing it evidently from the very beginning, since we established the seminary, now two and a half years ago,” Bishop Jugis said.

“We pray that what we begin today He will be happy to bring to a successful completion because this is the Lord’s work, after all. It is His work that we are cooperating with, collaborating with. And it is all of course, for the greater glory and honor of His Name,” he said.

“Despite the weather, it couldn’t be more beautiful,” said Father Matthew Kauth, rector of the college seminary.

Supporters wanted to press ahead with the groundbreaking Saturday because Sept. 15 is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. That day has taken on special significance for the college seminary in recent weeks, as the Church in the United States has been reeling from allegations of clergy sexual abuse, misconduct and abuse of power.

“For a long time, I wanted to break ground on the 22nd of August in honor of Our Lady’s queenship and immaculate heart,” Father Kauth had explained in an Aug. 19 homily as news about the sexual abuse scandal was reverberating. “Yet in the end we were delayed and now I know why. We offer this groundbreaking and this seminary to the Sorrowful Mother, in reparation. We pledge to enter the narrow way and commit ourselves to being faithful sons. Let us be the men that turn that sorrow into joy and gladden our Mother’s heart.”

“I think 100 years from now to look back and see memorialized on the campus that groundbreaking was Sept. 15 and then to recall what state the Church was in when the groundbreaking took place would tell a beautiful story,” said one supporter beforehand.

The college seminary students, led by their rector and other clergy, took part in a “good weather procession” around St. Ann Catholic Church in Charlotte the day before the hurricane was expected to hit their area – Sept. 14, the feast of the Exultation of the Cross – carrying a crucifix and a statue of Mary around the outside of the church that is located next door to the college seminary’s temporary home.

Then the students went out to Belmont, made a wooden cross and planted it at the groundbreaking site.

Matthew Dimock, whose son Matthew attends St. Joseph College Seminary, joked on Facebook as people were wondering whether the groundbreaking would go ahead despite then-Hurricane Florence, “Come hell or high water ... literally!”

The Gospel reading, read by Deacon Peter Tonon, was from Matthew 7:24-27, which some said was even more apropos given the day’s inclement weather:
“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

“This building is a sign of the work that must take place, the building of strong and faithful men for the holiness of the priesthood,” Father Kauth had said in a statement Sept. 13 to announce the groundbreaking moving forward despite the hurricane. “Brick and mortar of a building, form and strength of virtue, will rise on this site together.”

The wind and the rain almost completely stopped for the entire groundbreaking ceremony, and people put down their umbrellas and lowered their hoods to enjoy the moment.

“By the cross we stand,” Father Kauth quoted from the Stabat Mater during his remarks at the groundbreaking. “And that’s why you’re here.”

In spite of “the tumultuous weather that the Church is experiencing, we stand by the cross. And when the storm has ended, those who remain at the cross will still be there,” he said.

Suzette Mahoney from Charlotte said she braved the weather to attend the groundbreaking “because I am in full support of our college seminary in Charlotte. This is the answer to build up our holy Catholic Church.”

The young men ended the ceremony by breaking into their “college seminary fight song” – “Salve Pater,” written by the college seminary’s music director Thomas Savoy.

Opened in 2016, St Joseph College Seminary has been a magnet for young men wanting to discern the priesthood. Enrollment growth has been faster than the diocese had anticipated, from eight students in its first year to 21 this year. The diocese has had to buy two houses and convert a former convent that it owns to temporarily accommodate the students until the permanent college seminary can be built.

The $20 million college seminary will take about 15 months to construct, with the fundraising campaign kicking off this fall. The two-story building will include a chapel, classroom, library, conference rooms, a kitchen and refectory (cafeteria), faculty offices, and a guest room for speakers and visiting priests. It will also include 40 dorm rooms or “cells” for the college seminarians. The original plan called for 20 cells, but enrollment at the new college seminary has already exceeded that number.

It will be the only college seminary located between northern Virginia and southern Florida.
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor