CHARLOTTE —The following priest assignments have recently been announced by parishes:
- Father Roger Arnsparger will serve as pastor of St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville, succeeding Father Wilbur Thomas, who is retiring from active ministry. He has served as pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Tryon for the past four years.
- Father Peter Ascik will serve as parochial vicar at St. Matthew Church in Charlotte, after having completed studies in Rome.
- Father Paul Asoh of the Missionary Society of St. Paul is moving from his native Nigeria to St. Therese Church in Mooresville to serve as parochial vicar.
- Father Christopher Bond, who was ordained a year ago, will become the new parochial vicar at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte. He has served at St. Matthew Church in Charlotte.
- Father Matthew Buettner, pastor of St. Michael Church in Gastonia, will leave to serve as full-time spiritual director with the rapidly-growing St. Joseph College Seminary in Charlotte.
- Father Jose Camilo Cardenas-Bonilla will become pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Taylorsville. He had served as priest in residence at St. Francis of Assisi in Jefferson and as Hispanic Ministry vicariate coordinator/minister for the Boone vicariate.
- Father Jason Christian will serve as pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Tryon, succeeding Father Arnsparger. He has served as the academic dean of St. Joseph College Seminary in Charlotte and parochial vicar of St. Michael Church in Gastonia. He will continue his work as a professor and as academic dean at the college seminary
- Father Carl Del Giudice is retiring from active ministry. He has most recently served as pastor of Our Lady of Consolation Church in Charlotte.
- Oblates of St. Francis de Sales Father Peter Leonard will serve as pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in High Point, succeeding Oblates of St. Francis de Sales Father Thomas P. Norris, who had been serving as acting pastor.
- Father Casmir Maduakor will serve at Our Lady of the Mountains Mission in Highlands and St. Jude Mission in Sapphire, succeeding Father Francis X. Arockiasamy, who has served as parochial administrator. The Nigerian-born priest has most recently served as parochial vicar at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in High Point.
- Father David McCanless will serve as parochial vicar at St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville, succeeding Father Morris Boyd, who is retiring from active ministry. He has served at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte.
- Father Paul McNulty will become the full-time chaplain at Christ the King High School in Huntersville while remaining in residence at St. Therese Church in Mooresville, where he had served as parochial vicar.
- Father Lucas Rossi will serve as pastor of St. Michael Church in Gastonia. He has served as parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Church in Salisbury.
- Father Basile Sede will serve as pastor of at Our Lady of Consolation Church in Charlotte. He has served at St. Benedict the Moor Church in Winston-Salem.
- Father Richard Sutter will serve as parochial administrator of St. John the Evangelist Church in Waynesville and Immaculate Conception Mission in Canton. He has served at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte.
- Father Charles Strollo will be leaving as St. Mary Church in Greensboro's pastor to minister seminarians at the Vincentian theology formation house in Philadelphia. He will be replaced by Vincentian priest Father Bill Allegretto, effective Sept. 1.
- Father Henry Tutuwan will be serving at St. Benedict the Moor in Winston-Salem. He had served as parochial vicar at St. Therese Church in Mooresville.
As more unofficial assignments are announced, they will be published here and on the Catholic News Herald's Facebook page.
— Catholic News Herald
CHARLOTTE — About 1,000 youth and parent delegates from all over the United States, including 100 delegates from North Carolina and 45 from Charlotte, attended the 24th Couples for Christ Youth Conference June 30 to July 2 at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.
CFC Youth is the youth ministry arm of Couples for Christ, a global Catholic/Christian organization of men and women aimed at the renewal and strengthening of Christian family life. It began in the Philippines in 1993 and was brought to the U.S. a year later. Youth ministry members of Couples for Christ range from 12 to 20 years old.
The conference theme for this year was “Rekindle the Gift: Fulfill Your Ministry, 2nd Timothy.” The conference’s opening Mass was celebrated at St. Thomas Aquinas Church. In addition to daily Mass, the three-day conference also featured Eucharistic Adoration and hourly intercessory prayers.
It also included activities such as volleyball and basketball contests; song, dance and slam poetry; as well as photography, video and banner contests. There were also workshops, teaching of songs, praise and worship.
“A major conference is a powerful expression of the mission of the community, and in the area the conference is being hosted,” said Lorena Ostrea, who with her husband John are CFC Couple Coordinators for CFC-Youth in Charlotte.
The event was a collaboration of service teams and volunteers from the Couples for Christ, CFC Youth and Singles for Christ ministries. CFC organizing committee heads in Charlotte and North Carolina included Jake and Marie Miranda, Joy and Manny Arrojado, Richard and Nenette Costes, Art Aquino, Oscar and Rina Goco, and Lindo and Betty Javelona.
— Susan Palmes-Dennis, Special to the Catholic News Herald